Day 7

We had to be down in the lobby by 5am to board the bus and leave for Tocumen International Airport for our 8:30am flight to San Jose, Costa Rica. We had about a three hour bus ride from the airport to the Karahe Hotel with our new bus driver Marvin. While on the bus, Estaban gave us a brief introduction to his native country, Costa Rica. The name Costa Rica, the rich coast, originated from Christopher Columbus who had originally founded this land in hopes of finding gold. When he arrived, however, all the gold that remained was in the hands of the indigenous people. The country had been abandoned until 1565 when the second largest city, Cartago, was founded. During this time, the economy was based purely on the sale of tobacco and mules. The mule trade route went from Cartago to Portobelo to Peru. Even though the economy was growing, no Spaniards wanted to move here because of the difficult terrain. In 1821, Costa Rica, along with Mexico and the other Central American countries, became independent countries. However, the people of Costa Rica didn’t know how to run a government so they tried to model themselves after the British colonies in North America. When they asked the Queen of England to become a colony, she refused because of all of the issues England was having with the North American colonies. However, she did offer to help their economy. Shortly afterwards, Jamaican pirates were found off the coast of Costa Rica and brought to the mainland. They brought with them coffee plants, now a staple of the Costa Rican economy. The biggest importers of coffee at the time were England and New York. The coffee is referred to as the “golden bean” because it was the product that really helped the Costa Rican economy flourish. Currently, technology is the number one revenue generator in the country, followed by tourism. The economy is considered fragile because of its large dependence on tourism. After the September 11^th attack tragedy, many people around the world were afraid to fly, especially Americans who are the number one tourists in the country. The highway we took from the airport to the hotel had been under construction and was just opened this year. After much influence from President Oscar Arias Sanchez, who had won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1987, the highway was carved through the mountains which surround Costa Rica. After changing some of the laws, Sanchez was the first president to ever be reelected. The completion of this highway has allowed the people of Costa Rica to travel from San Jose to Puntarenas in only one hour.
The national expression of Costa Rica is “pura vida,” literally meaning “pure life.” After we arrived at the hotels and unpacked, we took a trip to Manuel Antonio National Park. Once we arrived, we were separated into two groups. Our group was lucky enough to see a variety of animals such as howler monkeys, squirrel monkeys, woodpeckers, and deer.

Our tour guide also used his telescope to point our tree frogs, bats, sloths, and owls. When the tour was over, we got to spend some time at the beach. The water was beautiful and we all jumped right into the warm water. We learned that the movie Spy Kids 2 was filmed on this beach. Afterwards, everyone went their separate ways to spend their free time downtown.

Nosotros subimos al bus a las cinco de la mañana y viajamos al aeropuerto internacional tocumen por nuestra vuelta a San José en Costa Rica. Tuvimos un camino de tres horas desde el aeropuerto al hotel Karahe con una nueva persona que maneja el bus, Marvin. Durante la viaje, Esteban habló de su país materna, Costa Rica. El nombre Costa Rica, “rich coast” en ingles, viene de Cristóbal Colón quien encontré este país con la intención de encontrar oro. Al llegar, todo el oro estaba en las manos de las indígenas de Costa Rica. El país estaba abandonada hasta 1565 cuándo la ciudad, Cartago, estaba encontrada. Durante este tiempo, la economía estaba basada en la venta de tabaco y burros. Los burros fueron entre Cartago y Portobelo e un más tiempo, entre Portobelo y Perú. Aunque, la economía estaba creciendo, los españoles no tuvieron una parte porque la tierra estaba difícil para navegar. En 1821, Costa Rica, México, y los otros países de Latinoamérica cambiaron a países independientes. Desafortunadamente la gente de Costa Rica no sabia como operar un gobierno, entonces traté de ser como las colonias en Norteamérica. Cuando pregunté a la reina de Inglaterra si pude ser una colonia, la reina dije no porque las colonias y Inglaterra tuvieron malas relaciones. Ella ofreció a ayudar a Costa Rica. Después, piratas jamacas estaban encontrados cerca de la costa de Costa Rica. Compraron muchos plantos de café, ahora una parte importante de la economía. Los importadores más grandes de café eran Inglaterra y Nueva York. Café esta referido a “Golden Bean” porque era el producto que ayuda la economía de Costa Rica más. Hoy en día, tecnología es el primer generador de dinero, siguiendo de turismo. La economía es frágil porque la economía depende mucho en el turismo en Costa Rica. Después de la ataque de la once de Septiembre, muchas personas en el mundo tenían miedo de volar, especialmente los americanos. El camino grande que tomamos desde el aeropuerto al hotel estaba construido muchos anos en el pasado y solamente abrí este año. Después de mucha influencia del presidente Oscar Arias Sánchez, quien gané el premio nobel en 1987. El camino estaba poniendo en las montañas después de romper partes de las montañas. Después de cambiar unos leyes, Sánchez era la primer presidente que estaba presidente mas de un rato. La terminación de construcción significa que las personas de Costa Rica pueden viajar desde San José a Puntarenas en solamente una hora. La expresión nacional es “pura vida” que significa “está bien” o literalmente pure life en ingles.Después de la llegada al hotel, viajamos al parque nacional Manuel Antonio. Al llegar, estábamos separados a dos grupos. Nuestro grupo tenemos suerte al ver fauna incluyendo monos diferentes y otros animales. Nuestra guía usé un telescopio para ver ranas, búhos, y murciélagos. Cuando terminamos, vamos a la playa. El agua era bella y entramos rápidamente. Entendemos que la película “Spy Kids Two” estaba a esta playa.

Samantha Faille Class of 2014, Robert Gingras Class of 2014

Day 6

We started our day off by heading to two artisan markets. We originally intended to only go to one artisan market, however our bus driver Jaime ( pronouned Hy-mae) directed us to another market. The first was smaller, with more local vendors and more goods that would have come directly from Panamanians. The second was a lot larger and more of a tourist attraction with lots of handmade and local goods, but you could tell there were a lot more mass produced goods that may have been imported from other countries. A specialty here in Panama is the Mola, which are panels sewn into textiles with complex patterns and multiple layers.

We also got a chance to practice the art of bargaining, which is very common in a lot of countries outside the United States. These vendors would always set the price higher than its worth because they expect you to try to bargain it down to a reasonable price.

After we left the artisan markets, Hieme suggested that we take a quick visit to the Panama Canal Administration Building where we saw a monument dedicated to Major General George W Goethals who was the chief engineer of the Panama Canal Project.

Coincidently, today was the Panamanian holiday called ¨Day of the Martyrs¨, which celebrates the victory by University Students of Panama in 1964 for the Panamanian Flag to be flown side by side with the American Flag at the U.S. Canal Zone Building. During the series of riots which led to this vicotry, 22 Panamanians were killed, and many others were wounded. This day is celebrated because it is thought to be the beginning of the movement to give the Panama Canal Zone back to the Panamanian Government.

The next and final stop in our day was the Panama City Fish Market. Here we observed locals purchasing and selling seafood products including a very interesting delicacy called ¨Ceviche¨. This is raw fish which is safe to eat because it is naturally cooked with acid from limes and lemons. Professor Annavarjula kindly bought us some cups to share so we could all get a taste of this local snack.

We also ate Raspas, which is basically a snow cone, but the ice is shaved right in front of you, and then flavor is added to make a delicious dessert to end our day.

To end our day, we recapped the trip so far with a midterm review.

Michael Donovan ´14 and Ellena DiPaterio ´14

Day 5

Today we visited the Metropolitan Park in Panama. It was an unexpectedly long hike, but was worth every minute. The park is situated right in the middle of the city. When you are there, however, you wouldn't have any idea there is a major city so near.

Our group split into a spanish-guided tour and an english-guided tour.

We encountered many types of flora and fauna. A very interesting tree on the trail was named "Espave" which derives its name from the phrase "Es para ver" (it is for seeing). This name was bestowed upon these massive trees because the spanish explorers used to climb them in order to see for days.

We discovered termite and ant nests, beautiful flowers, and stretch-marked trees with "bellies" full of water.

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One of the most amazing things we encountered were the "ant highways," where thousands of ants scurry back and forth, carrying leaves to their nest. These leaves are not for eating, however. The ants actually mix their saliva with the leaves, and eat the fungus that grows from the mixture. You can even see where the ants' travels have worn a path in the earth.

The park was also great or bird watching. We saw a beautiful orange-bellied bird high in the canopy.

We learned the origin of the country's name: The Panama tree! This one happened to be shedding its leaves at the time.

More crazy flora and long hikes. We even saw two tiny monkeys and a sloth far up in the canopy! They were too far for my camera to capture them, though.

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There are 5 biologically distinct levels of the forest, from the moss on the ground to the plants living atop the other trees, over one hundred feet in the air.

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Here is Profesora Gomez making her classic picture-taking face.

Here we are, the two groups meeting at the halfway point.

This is the peak of the hill we were climbing. Such an amazing view of the city. This was basically the only way we could tell how close we were to all the hustle and bustle.

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We also made a new friend! A cousin of the raccoon called a Coati. Some of us got a bit closer than others.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89_GLGQj6yo

After the trip our awesome bus driver Jaime drove us back to the hotel, and we got the rest of the day off!

-RJ Darabant

Day 4

Hola! Our fourth day consisted of a guided tour of the world-renowned Panama Canal! It was everything that we expected and more. We were served a delicious breakfast and lunch and were able to enjoy the sun. In addition to Panama’s beautiful scenery, the canal’s engineering and structure was truly incredible. The canal was completed in 1914 and cuts across the Isthmus of Panama, creating a faster and shorter route for ships. We experienced the complex process of how ships pass through the two oceans, The Atlantic and The Pacific. This process includes a series of locks, which solve the problem of the difference of sea level between the two oceans. The gates, which separate the chambers, hold an unbelievable amount of water weight. We also had the opportunity to watch a larger ship pass through the canal in front of us, which was guided by mules, electric locomotives. These mules run along the walls of the canal and prevent the ship from altering from its course. After enduring this procedure, it was obvious why the Panama Canal is one of the seven wonders of the modern world. After the tour, we were able to go to The Miraflores Visitor Center, with a gift shop and museum, and where we had an interesting exterior view of the canal. Overall, it was an incredible experience and we are glad we were able to see the original canal before the completion of its expansion, which we also hope to return to see. Now, we are all excited for our dinner with a cultural dance show! Adios.

Meghan Connolly and Michaela Cheevers Class of 2014

Day 3!

Today was an extremely eventful day to say the least...We started our morning with a trip to the Colon Free Trade Zone where we met up with Bryant alumni, Julio Pretto. Julio was a 1988 marketing major graduate and is currently a marketing director and business owner at the free trade zone. We were lucky enough to listen to an informative presentation by Julio and some of his coworkers emphasizing the importance of the free trade zone and international trade. We were given some free time, along with a tour, to walk around in some of the stores, showrooms and warehouses. Because the free trade zone has no taxes, the prices were unbeatable! After this trip we left for Portobello and stopped for lunch at an ocean front restaurant called Los Cañones on the way. Upon arrival at Portobello, we explored Fuerte San Jeronimo, an old fort set on the water. We got to interact with some of the locals including a very affectionate monkey! Then we went into a church that is famous for depicting a black Jesus. This concluded our tours for the day and we're all extremely excited for the Panama Canal trip tomorrow!

Taylor Bell and Matt Borsuk Class of 2014

Day 2

Hola! Our second day started off with a presentation by Maurice Belanger, a graduate of the Whardon school of The Univeristy of Pennsylvania. He is the Executive Director of PANAMCHAM, the Panama-American Chamber of Commerce. The presentation gave us a useful background of Panamanian economy as a whole. We learned that Panama is the safest of all the Central American Countries and has the highest GDP per capita in the Region. The three major engines that give Panama a great reputation is its construction and infrastructure, transportation, tourism. After the presentation and before our next trip to Dell Inc., we had an hour of free time and laid out by the luxurious pool and tried to get a tan so we do not stand out as much.

Upon arriving at Dell, we were provided with a great presentation by Chachy Ayarza´Sanchez, who works in the Human Resources and University Relations department at Dell. Dell is the number 1 PC provider to the United States and 3rd Worldwide. If you are seeking an international internship, Dell would be a great place because they were constantly stressing the importance of internships as well as looking for students. Panama is big on the ecotourism and wants to be environmentally friendly. Currently, they are building a 100% green powered building which should be completed this August. All in all, today was very educational and we are looking forward to what tomorrow brings.

Nicholas and Tomas Alberti Class of 2014

1st Day in Panama

It's funny when we left Bryant at 1:30 am it was a bitter 15 degrees, 12 hours and a layover in Miami we landed in Panama City Airport to a scorching 90 degree weather. We checked in to the hotel by 3:30 and by 4:15 we were out visiting the old city "Casco Viejo". We strolled through the old city and heard about the history through our wonderful guide Esteban. Everybody and all of our luggage made it safe. What a terrific start to SIE Latin America 2012.

Tomorow early morning at 9 am we will have a presentation from the Panama American Chamber of Commerce in the morning and then a visit to DELL corporation in the afternoon.

Adios for now and lots more to come.

Prof. Gomez and Prof. Madan and Amy (group leaders)