Week 1

First week of the semester is over and there is definitely a ton of things to be done before we go to Panama. Only three days of class each week is very misleading, but I'm not complaining :o). My classes are History of Latin America, Race and Ethnicity (interdisciplinary), Tropical Biology (Research Projects), and Environmental Studies (service-learning). For the biology research, I will be looking at the diversity and abundance of frogs after the introduction of chytrid in 2004, with the help of Courtney and Julie Ray. As for the service-learning project, I will be working with some of my classmates to help make an arboretum tourist friendly, which will be an excellent contrast to last semester's service-learning project with Power Shift and Kirksville High School.

It's still incomprehensible to me that I will be in Panama a month from today. I can't wait to go there and start searching for frogs, helping the locals, and making the arboretum ready for tourist. I'm also looking forward to experiencing the Panamanian culture since my only other time out of the United States was less than 20 miles pass the Canada border, and their was no noticeable culture difference then. 

So now all I'm doing is preparing for my time in Panama. I've already spent about 12 hours in the past two days looking at panamanian frogs and making a file for them all. I have also had a great time looking at the La MICA webpage, save the frogs, and youtube videos of El Cope and the rainforest. Next on my list is to read the many papers about chytrid fungus and the decline of frogs in Panama, depressing. I also need to call my doctor and remind him of my need for vaccinations.