So in the last post I talked a bit about our geology course and one of the cool (and half-naked) excursions we went on.. Turns out we got to do some more cool stuff! For example, we traveled by boat to a bunch of different islands within the Bocas del Toro archipelago and took samples of rocks ranging from 6.9-1.4 million years old. "Taking a sample" basically means that you get to hack like crazy at the rock with geological picks, kinda like the ice picks used in lobotomies, but not exactly. Here's a pic of my friend Jacinto as he prepares to hack a sample out of the rock.
In case you're wondering, the rocks were pretty soft so it's not that daunting to chip away at them.
After taking samples, we cleaned and sorted all the invertebrates that had been inside the rock. It's neat, because you can tell a lot about climates that existed millions of years ago just by looking at the kinds of inverts associated with them. For example, we found corals in our younger samples and not the older samples, which is consistent with corals evolving and spreading in the Caribbean after the isthmus of Panama closed ~3.4 million years ago. Geology = fun fun fun fun
Our last class had an archaeology component in addition to the geo.. And the highlight was definitely a visit we made to a village of Embera Indians, a people proud of their strong cultural heritage and connection to the environment. The idea behind our visit was to learn about their way of life and, in exchange, provide them with funds for their new community center.
Much of our visit was spent learning how to make baskets. It was SO COOL (not kidding). We used dyed palm fiber and thread to construct these sweet little multi-colored baskets. I'd call it weaving, but it wasn't exactly that. Basically you add each new layer of palm fiber on top of the last and stitch them together with lots of little in-and-out connections. F'sho made for a unique "classroom" experience. Here's what my final basket looked like:
my 'lil basket! a little mishappen, but functional
an Embera child and me (plz note my tat)
The Embera also danced for us and made us a traditional lunch of yucca, rice, and chicken (served in a leaf!).. And the lemongrass tea they served was unreal. So delicious. Aand we got these nifty legit-looking-but-actually-temporary tattoos whose ink comes from a seed the Embera collect in the forest. Here's Karen getting her leg done up:
nnice
Another cool thing we did was to visit this old Indian burial site somewhere in the heart of Panama. Basically, for the past 5 years archaeologists have been excavating this site, which has produced an incredible array of skeletons, pottery, GOLD, jewelry, and other amazing artifacts. There will be a Nat Geo feature on it coming out in Jan. 2012, so look out for that.
At any rate, we saw the super-pro archaeological site and then did our best to imitate it by starting our own dig nearby. It was actually pretty legitimate, because we used all these fancy tools and had to dig down carefully and systematically. We found a lot of ceramic pieces, pottery, etc. which was exciting. Some EEBers even found some animals bones..! Here's a pic of our little plot after 2 days of digging:
hard at work
some of the boss tools we used
drigo's friend at the archaeology site
a boa that got into our dorm!
Everything that happened after the dig wasn't that exciting.. Papers, exams, etc. And man, when I first got back to the States last week, it felt really weird. The boondocks of Panama to Princeton houseparties weekend is a pretty stark transition. But still it's really, really good to be back and see many of you guys again!
Final Reflections
After a full academic year abroad and the process of growing through a whole slew of new experiences and opportunities, all I can really say is that I feel incredibly blessed by God. I've been so fortunate to have the cultural and language immersion in Europe and then the field biology immersion in Panama, and I'm really grateful for the friends and family (that's YOU ALL) I've been able to share those times with. It's funny, I've just sort of been typing away about my thoughts and doing my thing, but then hearing your responses and comments reminds me that others are thinking about me and have some interest in what I'm doing.. and that's been a wonderful realization that you guys have given me over and over. Thank you for that.
SO, I really appreciate your sticking with me throughout the blog's development. You guys have really been the heart behind this project. Without you, I for sure wouldn't have had the motivation to record what I've been up to. I'll miss traveling & blogging, but at the same time it's satisfying to bring my Estancia en el Extranjero to a close.
Love,
Dave
