In February of my sophomore year I remember spending hours scrolling study abroad websites trying to decide if Tropical Island Biodiversity Studies in Isla Colon, Panama was right for me. If that’s you, then hopefully this post will reduce that scrolling time! For most of my life, I had imagined I would study abroad in a European country, do the traditional classy outfits, nights out, cozy cafes, etc. It wasn’t until I got to college that I even realized there was more out there, and in fact, my major really encouraged us to explore it! Panama is such a beautiful country unlike anywhere I have ever been before, with incredible ocean views, rainforest hikes, and ecotourism destinations. However, there are so many other reasons to come to Panama!

In any case, studying abroad will be an incredible experience for you–but I want to give you a few more reasons why choosing Isla Colon, Panama might be an even better experience than a “typical” study abroad. First, I wanted to live in a country that would begin to feel like home, experiencing culture first hand and waking up everyday to the sights, smells, and sounds of another country. While traveling Europe would surely have been incredible, I felt that I could travel and backpack around that area at any point in my life, so I really wanted to hone in on one country, one town, for my study abroad experience. So far, that has completely been the right choice - I love feeling familiar with Bocas town, understanding the surf, and getting to know local citizens. It is the coolest feeling to start to feel at home in a completely different country and I don’t think I would have gotten this with a more “traditional” program.

Second, getting to experience a beautiful country with a close community of students,  professors, and other local and expat staff ensures that you can explore respectfully. One of my favorite things about Tropical Island Biodiversity Studies in Isla Colon, Panama is the opportunity to eat with our professors, get to know fellow students, and enjoy the small campus feel. This home base makes it a little easier to be away from the United States because you have such a supportive community behind you! The whole time we have been here in Bocas, I have felt so comfortable going about town, beaches, and other islands, largely because we got so much advice from staff, both local and expat, who know Bocas very well. Getting to learn about a place from locals is an unbeatable experience which makes it so easy to explore a country you might have never visited otherwise.

Third, you can try out a lifestyle you might never experience again–in this case, living near a beach and exploring nature on a daily basis. I grew up in the midwest suburbs, currently go to college in a small city, and will likely work post grad in a large city, so I really wanted to experience this different lifestyle. It has been a truly incredible experience swimming in the ocean whenever we want, waking up to sounds of the jungle, and feeling more laid back and less rushed than any other time in my life. Who knows if this is what I would want for the long term–but it is safe to say that I have learned so much more about myself as a result of my time abroad.

Finally, I was excited at the prospect of field work as that is truly in an area of interest of mine (in both natural science and social science!). I’ve done research at my home university, but it is almost always one step removed from the source. Getting to collect data from the reefs surrounding our home and interviewing locals to better understand impacts of tourism has been more eye-opening than I could have ever imagined. I know that studying abroad for three months  is nothing compared to a life on Bocas and that I could never fully understand the struggles and joys shared by Bocas locals. That being said, I now have more perspective into another part of the world and a greater appreciation for the nature that we so rely on.

In summary, if you have the chance to study abroad in Panama–do it. It is most certainly different from a “traditional” study abroad in Europe, but the benefits SO outweigh anything you might feel you’re missing out on. In addition, there are still a lot of aspects of traditional study abroad that you get to experience as part of Tropical Island Biodiversity Studies in Isla Colon, Panama. We still spend weekends going to bars and clubs in town, visiting delicious restaurants, and taking fascinating tours of other islands. We still take super cool pictures to post, work out often, and make time for ourselves and self discovery (journaling is amazing in the jungle!). As the student who was always worried I was making the wrong choice before coming here, I cannot emphasize enough that if you feel at all drawn to Tropical Island Biodiversity Studies in Isla Colon, Panama, take the leap and go! It will truly change your perspectives, lifestyle, and you for the better.

An Extremely Detailed Day in the Life at Tropical Island Biodiversity Studies in Isla Colon, Panama

Prior to studying abroad with CGIS in Panama, I worried that my days would be so packed that I would never have any free time, while simultaneously worrying that we would have so much homework that we would never do anything fun! I want to emphasize that every day is truly different and on average, we also have 2-3 field trips every week,. However, days at the study center are just as fun–so here is an extremely detailed, non-field trip, day in the life at Tropical Island Biodiversity Studies in Isla Colon, Panama:

 

7:30am: Wake up 5 minutes before my alarm. When we get to bed early (last night our bungalow went to bed around 10:15) I almost always wake up on my own, which is lovely. Some people, like one of my roommates, wake up earlier to work out, do homework, or journal.

7:40am: Brush teeth, make bed, unplug computer and put in bag for the day (I find it easier to carry my things in a tote bag so I always have my computer, notebook, journal, pencils, and earbuds for little free moments).

8:00am: Breakfast bell rings! Today we had a panamanian fry bread, fried eggs, scrambled eggs, patacones, beans, salsa, and fruit. You go through and tell the kitchen staff what you would like and how much as they put it on your plate. Then you grab toppings (like nutella on fried bread–so good!), coffee, juice, etc. and sit down at a table to eat.

8:30am: Clear off plate, go back to bungalow to grab water bottle, get dressed, and put away dirty clothes.

8:45am: RAP! Our wellness director, Sydney, gives us announcements for the day, then the student of the day gives us the question “what color do you most identify with?” (lots of fun answers!). After that, she leads a game called poison dart frog.

9:00am: Tropical Coastal Ecology with Dago! First class is about coral reefs so we take notes and ask questions.

9:45am: Break. I fill up my water then join in a game of hacky sack.

10:00am: More class with Dago, this time learning about quantitative methods for marine research. This class, we have an activity sheet to fill out during lecture, practicing measures of species diversity, evenness, etc.

12:00pm: Break before lunch, work with a group on our marine field guide, identifying pictures from our snorkel the other day.

12:30pm: Lunch! Today was rice, a potato squash mix of sorts, chickpeas, and salad–so good!

1:00pm: Short hacky sack sesh with professors Leon and Daniel.

1:30pm: Tropical Forest Ecology with Daniel–today we are prepping for our hike to look for frogs, specifically identifying tropical frogs we might see.

3:00pm: Free time. Personally, I’m heading to work out, then a quick swim across the street and work on our forest field guide that’s due later this week.

5:00pm: Meet up to plan our community engagement for this coming Saturday. We are heading to Isla Popa to go bird watching and play games with the kids there!

6:00pm: Dinner! We all sat and talked about the day and our plans for surfing this weekend as well as a movie we might watch later tonight.

7:00pm: Movie night. We all sat in the classroom and watched a movie with snacks and blankets–a great way to end the day!

9:00pm: After the movie, I facetimed my sister for a bit before bedtime. Service and wifi here are usually pretty good despite the occasional outages and as long as we use the bandwidth correctly, it’s not too hard to stay in touch with home.

10:00pm: Get ready for bed with roommates. We chatted about our day, got ready for bed, then stretched together since we all are pretty sore from various activities (running, swimming, hiking, etc.)

10:35pm: In bed, ready to hit the hay!


Thanks for following along for a detailed day in the life!

 

Have questions for Alina about her experience on Tropical Island Biodiversity Studies, Panama?

Contact her at alinajm@umich.edu.

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