Eighteen ISU students traveled to Panama during winter break for a College of Agriculture study abroad program. The students were able to experience and compare the agriculture in Panama to that in the United States.

The trip lasted from Dec. 28 to Jan. 7 and was the first College of Agriculture study abroad trip taken over winter break since 1993, when a group went to Australia.

“We chose to go to Panama because of the transfer of the Panama Canal,” said Eduarda Becerra, International Ag program assistant and organizer of the program. “We wanted the students to be a part of history.”

For many of the students, swimming in the Panama Canal was the highlight of the trip.

About half of the 18 students who went on the trip got stuck in the middle of the canal when their boat ran out of gas, so they decided to swim while they waited for help.

“The water was green, and it ended up that anything we were wearing that was white turned green, too,” said Stephanie Creese, senior in agricultural business.

She said the canal was different than what she had expected.

“The thing that surprised me about the canal was [the boats] were really quiet and peaceful. The boats weren’t making a lot of noise as they went through,” she said.

The students, who come from a variety of agricultural majors including agricultural business and agronomy, were able to learn about and compare Panama’s agriculture to Iowa’s.

“My favorite agricultural site visited would have been the shrimp farm,” said Ann Moberg, senior in agricultural education. “I never knew how they were raised, and we were able to see the process they went through to care for them firsthand.”

Along with the shrimp farm, a few of the other sites the students visited included coffee farms, an irrigated tomato farm and a hog confinement.

“When we stopped at the hog facility, I was surprised on how updated it was. They are in the process of building a new facility close to the ones you would see in the states,” Moberg said. “I thought it would be more antiquated.”

Becerra said she is planning another trip to Panama in the summer of 2000. She is looking for students who are interested in a two-month internship in Panama and are enrolled in either the College of Agriculture or the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

“This is a great opportunity for students to experience a different area and culture and to learn Spanish,” Becerra said.

Any students interested should contact Becerra, whose office is located in Room 111 of Curtiss Hall.