Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
ALEC Abroad

Hunters and Gatherers

By Erynne Treptow

I would like to describe day five in Costa Rica with three words: hunters and gatherers. Today started off like the rest, Costa Rican breakfast with rice and beans. Afterwards I was able to lead the second go around of the ab workout. I don’t know why everyone is excited to join in in this exhilarating ab circuit, but those who are involved are exciting.

Today we also got a break from the mountainous trek we have usually been taking. Surprisingly there were no complaints about taking the bus! Our first destination was Finca Estudiva San Juan, an educational organic farm. We were able to see more of Costa Rica’s farm products. I don’t know the exact names but I can tell you what I call them: red die fruit, musty underarm fruit, cacao not to be mistaken with caca, many herbs and flowers, yuca, banana plants, and sugar cane.

We also milked a cow, tried some edible plants, sugar can juice, pure sugar cane, and candy that tasted like molasses. Our gathering skills came in as we pulled the yucca (cassava) for our lunch, which we helped prepare!

Up next was a tilapia farm. To our surprise, we were able to relax our sore bodies in the pool and fish in the tilapia pools. The real excitement came when the fish slapping began. We had to rangel up the fish we would have for our AMAZING dinner! Several student got in the pond and netted the fish, while getting belly and face slapped. This was truly my favorite day and at 7:30 I’m already ready for bed!

Rewarding Experiences

By Christy Jones

What an amazing day we had on the last day of 2012!

We started our morning off by hiking to a local farmer’s property and helped him plant his crop of beans. Young coffee plants were already growing and we planted six to seven rows of beans in between. We poked a hole in the ground with a stick and placed three beans in the hole.

We were told that there were three reasons for planting the beans in with the coffee. One reason was to add nitrogen to the ground. Beans are a legumes and which are filled with nitrogen, which the coffee beans benefit from. The second and third were  to prevent erosion with a cover crop and to keep the weeds under control. We only did half of the field at first. As a whole we decided to continue and plant the rest of the half-acre. What would take the farmer two or three days to plant we planted in two hours.

ALEC students planting beans for a local farmer.

It was a lot of hard work but one of the most rewarding experiences I have had thus far. Selfless service is my favorite of the core values. And it was an amazing feeling to know we worked together as a team and helped this farmer. This country has been such an eye opening experience for me.

That evening we all got ready to go to La Fortuna to ring in the New Year with the locals at block party with music, food and dance. It was amazing. My favorite part of the evening was dancing with an older gentleman. I love to dance and it allowed me to feel like I was back in my element. He had to teach me a little of the steps, but I caught on quick. The fireworks at midnight were beautiful. The last day of 2012 was one of my favorite days out of the whole year as far as memories and friendships go. I can’t wait to see what the rest of this trip has in store for us!

HIKE OF DEATH = beautiful discovery

By Jules Henry

Word to the wise: Exercise on a treadmill with a 30 degree incline setting! This was the warning given to us by Dr. Strong to prepare for our study abroad in Costa Rica.  A majority of us should have taken that advice more seriously.

I wish I had. Hmm…best way to describe it … MUD MUD MUUUUD! Add in steep hills and you got yourself a death hike.

However, I must say this was one of the most rewarding experiences  I have ever been able to experince.  I saw a…A LEGEN…wait for it…DARY waterfall!!!  (Hehe, a reference for fellow How I Met Your Mother).

You Spin Me Round

By Jules Henry

Imagine, 24 faces made up of two professors, a TA, 10 graduate students, and 11 undergraduates. . . BOY HOWDY, what a great combination of individuals! This is the group of ALEC students participating in the wintermester study abroad to the Texas A&M Solsis Center in Costa Rica.  Graduate students will be mapping out the community while the undergraduates are learning about how change happens and innovations are diffused.

Many of us left the airport in Houston on Saturday full of anticipation for what would lie  ahead in the next two weeks.

We arrived in Liberia, Costa Rica and started a  day full of traveling on winding roads and epic hills (no joke!). We traveled on the Pan-American road, which is being expanded to two lanes. How cool is that?!

The scenery was full of life and deep green colors. From the very beginning, there were many cultural differences like money, stop signs (they look like the ones at home but have ALTO on them) and even bathroom labels for men and women. The people are very welcoming and polite; it is nice that they try to converse with us even though we may not know the language. I should have been prepared! Other than that, what a welcoming community and country!

As expected, I think many of our heads were spinning from all the new sights and information that our brains were absorbing when we made it to our final destination, the Soltis Center. With that said, our first day was quite a whirlwind! And the wheels on the bus go round and round. . . haha, the buses are quite impressive for they are able to carry so much weight and go up very steep hills. I’m surprised we didn’t slide down!! Until tomorrow, keep on chuggin’ along!

Don’t Mind the Cold

by Gary Wingenbach

In retrospect, it wasn’t that cold at the University of Namibia-Neudamm Campus. At least our brief time on campus was not “snow-worthy” cold, as reported by Dr. Martin Schneider (see photo), on this lovely mid-August morning. Then again, time has a way of softening the edges of every experience. So, the 75-degree difference between Windhoek, Namibia, and College Station, Texas, doesn’t seem that grand now.

I feel a bit guilty seeing next week’s planning meeting for “Namibia 2013.” Wait, is that possible? Weren’t we just there a few weeks ago for the Namibia 2012 experience? Yes, and yes. Time waits for no one, especially adventuresome Aggies wishing to feel desert winds, scream wildly at lowly baboons, climb sand dunes, smell seal-fouled ocean breezes, and speak cheetah.

What will Namibia 2013 bring for those adventuresome Aggies? I remain hopeful they’ll experience the same awe and impact, as did students during Namibia 2012. I hope we’ll make new connections, like Chris Janes and Matt Flick, Peace Corps Volunteers making a difference in Namibia’s educational system. You can follow their blogs at http://mathinnamibia.blogspot.com (note: don’t be scared of the word “math”) and http://whereintheworldisflick.tumblr.com.

Maybe some of those Aggies will be inspired to take on new global challenges, whereby their presence will be counted in months or years like those of Chris and Matt, rather than weeks. Don’t get me wrong; such a long-term outcome is “nice,” but not totally necessary to change one’s outlook on life.

I read students’ reactions to the Namibia 2012 experience, and suffice it to say their lives will be forever changed. For some, the surprise of Namibia’s “developed world” status in their electrical, transportation, and water systems changed long-held perceptions of the “African condition,” as seen by most in US-based media portrayals. For others, the lack of student resources at the UNAM campuses will be etched in their memories, causing them to “do something” to ameliorate those situations. Fantastic! Every long journey starts with just one step.

For me, Namibia was a vastly different experience than what I witnessed in Guatemala. My colleague helped me sort out the differences: in Guatemala, Aggies worked in elementary schools with youth groups, while in Namibia, Aggies worked primarily with organizations external to formal school systems and only with adult groups. Neither experience was better than the other, just different. That is to say, Namibia’s freezing cold nights are not necessarily better than Texas’ fiercely hot days, just different.

That difference really sums up an important belief about study abroad at Texas A&M. At least in the Guatemala and Namibia programs, we strived to help Aggies understand that one people, culture, food, or social system is not necessarily better than another, but it is different. When students and faculty, understand and appreciate those differences, we will have impactful study abroad programs at Texas A&M University.

Namibia Translated

by Josh Hardcastle

Studying abroad in an English-speaking country has been quite different than my last study abroad experience. In Guatemala, a simple conversation could have taken 30 minutes and might have consisted of a three-language (English to Spanish to Ixil) translation. Conversing in Namibia has been quicker.

While speaking to Namibians has been easier, our group has noticed several phrases here that are much different than what we would find in the United States.

In case you ever decide to travel to this beautiful country, Brandy Dangelmayr, Samantha Alvis and I have composed the following list of Namibian phrases and their U.S. counterparts so that you may have an even easier time conversing than we did.

Food

Chips = French fries

Braii = Barbecue

Coke light = Diet Coke

Spur’s = Chili’s

Wimpy = Denny’s

Pick ‘n’ Pay/Spar = HEB

Crackers = Cookies

Youngberry = Blackberry

Transportation

Land Rover = Jeep

Robots = Stoplights

Petro = Gasoline

Engen = Exxon

Housing

Hostel = Dormitory

Toilets = Restroom

Communication

SMS = Text message

High Five = Match.com

Education

To sit for an exam = To take an exam

Learner = K-12 student

Student = College student

Diploma = Technical degree

Degree = Bachelor’s degree

Occupations

Farmer = Rancher

Time

8:00 a.m. = 8:30 a.m.

The Namibia Phenomenology…

by Dr. Tracy Rutherford

This trip has been filled with -ologies, much more than any of us anticipated: anthropology, paleontology, archaeology, geology, technology and zoology.  Brooke has had many opportunities to demonstrate that she paid attention in class while many of us wish we had done more than memorize the information for the test.

That’s what I have learned on this trip – it is about the experience and applying what you’ve learned, not the grade on your transcript. Neudamm reminded us of the importance of agriculture, Gobabeb challenged our research skills, and Etosha brought Africa to life (as the elephants blocked the path of the bus and later intimidated a young lion pride), I can only wonder what lessons we’ll learn in the final days of our adventure.

Jack Elliot told me Namibia is his second home because it reminds him of Arizona. I think all of us appreciate the similarities between this country and the United States, while enjoying the hospitality of our hosts and the abundance of excellent chefs. We have definitely received the red carpet treatment, and I am grateful that our students have the chance to give back to this country – the chance to leave a legacy that will guide this program for years to come. 

My hope is that the legacy of this program is for our students to learn beyond the book, apply beyond the test and do something with their education.

We started this experience with the study of agricultural communications and leadership at Neudamm preparing to translate scientific information based on the research at Gobabeb. Now we are fine-tuning those skills to emphasize education about science as we prepare to work with the Cheetah Conservation Fund.

We are still exploring all those -ologies and have added two more, sociology and psychology, as we continue to learn about ourselves, our group and the people of Namibia.

The Wonderment

by Gary Wingenbach

Thank goodness for youthful reactions! 

Sometimes we (the royal “we,” for all those 29 and older) aren’t impressed by the unusual because we’ve “been there, done that.” Then, along comes an opportunity to watch someone young see something so extraordinarily unusual, that you can’t help but be excited for that person. Maybe it even causes you to think about your own extraordinary circumstances.

And so it was that I came to own a truly unique African experience, vis-à-vis, Beth’s reaction to a troupe of baboons. Baboons are, for argument’s sake, interesting creatures, but not the warm and fuzzy beings I’d go out of my way to see. They certainly don’t measure up to Black Jack and Holly Brown, two smiling, laughing Labradors who are tearing up my back yard while I’m away.

Yet, Beth didn’t care about equating baboons to lovable labs. She was in the moment, as it were, and I couldn’t help but laugh at her enthusiastic praise for the lowly baboon.

Namibia 2012 isn’t my first, and I hope won’t be my last trip to somewhere cooler for the month of July. Yes, it’s been very cool, even cold, here as southern Africa grinds through the steely grip of winter. Texans suffer July’s increasing furnace, but here in Namibia it’s cold enough that my good friend Dr. Martin Schneider had to loan me his trusty sleeping bag. Ah, a reprieve from frostbitten nights at the University of Namibia’s Neudamm Campus!

Anyway, back to the baboons.

Beth Alexis is a dedicated graduate student at Texas A&M University. She has a bright future, as do many Aggies in the ALEC Department. Like other graduate and undergraduate students participating in the Namibia 2012 study abroad program, Beth is a first-time visitor to Namibia.

We all braced against a rough and dust-laden trail on the Neudamm Campus, when a troupe of baboons thought it a good idea to jump not one, but two fences, to cross our path as we made our way back to the Neudamm farm’s headquarters.

I saw the baboons running through the brush to beat our oncoming vehicle. Beth saw them as they scaled and/or jumped the fence in single bounds.

“This is so wild!” Beth screamed. “This is AWESOME!”

Her words were ringing in my ears as I watched the last baboon scurry safely into the brush.

I hadn’t really thought about it before that moment, but Beth’s words hit me like ton of bricks – “we’re in Africa!” You’re right Beth, this isn’t some sad zoo or game farm in Texas, WE ARE IN THE AFRICAN WILD! Scream it! Shout it out! Remind yourself and those around you about the wonderment of it all. Your experience is truly unique to you, but your reaction to it helped me remember the same feelings, thoughts, and reactions I had so many years ago in South Africa.

Thank you, Beth, for sharing your baboon enthusiasm. Thanks for making me smile and laugh. Thank you for reminding me why the wonderment of this experience should be shared, even the wonderment of encountering the lowly baboon in the African wilds.

Africa, Here We Come!

by Josh Hardcastle

On Friday, 12 Aggies and I will embark on a three-week study abroad trip in Namibia (which is located just above South Africa, for those of you who need clarification).

While abroad, we will be studying agricultural communications and technological change. Our group will also work with the University of Namibia as well as Gobabeb Desert Research Center and Cheetah Conservation Fund on some of their communications efforts.

Between our trips to these institutions, we Aggies will have the chance to visit several Namibian attractions including Etosha National Park. At Etosha, our group will get to do what everyone who travels to Africa wants to do – go on safari!

This being the reason I wanted to go to Namibia, I am quite excited about our stop at Etosha and hope to see my favorite animal, the giraffe, in its natural habitat.

Most of us going to Africa for the first time, we know little of what to expect on our trip but hope you all will join us here to learn of our new experiences in Africa. We are sure to have a great experience and hope you don’t miss out!

In just a few hours, our plane will take off, granted that our “seat backs and tray tables are in the locked and upright position.”

Africa, here we come!

…and then it was done, for now.

by Gary Wingenbach

At some point in life, we all have the same nagging doubt, “if only I knew then what I know now, it would’ve been much different.” I could’ve acted differently. I would’ve, or wouldn’t have, said what I said. Damn it all, if only I had known that time was running out!

We seldom get the chance to purposefully plan our thoughts, actions, and deeds when we know the imminent end of something is near. But, that shouldn’t keep us from purposefully planning our future thoughts, actions, and deeds for living a different life because of our most recent experience.

That is how we find ourselves, 10 Aggies, three ALEC faculty members, and one future Aggie, preparing to leave Chajul, Guatemala this morning. Our time here was too short, but we vow to live our lives differently because of the changes Chajul has made in us.

Ironic, we came to Chajul to collaborate with the Philanthropiece Foundation and Limitless Horizons Ixil in service-learning projects that would change lives in several mountainous villages. Chajul and her villages of Visuchuj, Batzul, and Ixla, changed us!

Now we are more open-minded about rural development. We are more tolerant and accepting of each other. Certainly, after many “it’s just a short hike” warnings, we’re more in shape now than when we arrived. Probably most of all, we are less naive about the necessities of life.

We could not help but be changed by the thousands of warm smiles, waves, and greetings every place we visited. We could not help but be changed by Jake Matlak and Laura Myers, our ever positive, upbeat, and energetic cultural program leaders. Thank you Jake and Laura! Thank you so much for understanding that the transition from a U.S. cultural perspective to what you now see from our group is an arduous undertaking. Thank you for your infinite patience.

A little more than two weeks ago, we all knew this ending would occur today. Yet, I don’t think any of us realized just how difficult it is to say goodbye. Through the many heart-felt conversations yesterday and last night, through the hugs and the tears with our Guatemalan collaborators, these Aggies have dedicated themselves to take their experience back to Aggieland, to share it widely with family and friends, to make a difference elsewhere in life.

Several Aggies now have plans to assist the Philanthropiece Foundation and Limitless Horizons Ixil with their artisan projects, agricultural science curriculum development, and sponsorship of a LHI scholar. I am not surprised by this outcome because the Aggie spirit and work ethic knows no bounds to the challenges of life.

I am very proud to have shared this experience with Annalee Antoon, Caroline Black, Julie Brod, Kesley Fraley, Joshua Hardcastle, Daniel Haywood, Jenna Howell, Cristina Palomino, Poleth Robledo, Cera Southerland, Lori Moore, Landry Lockett, and most of all, with Sydney Wingenbach!

And so, our Guatemala Study Abroad 2012 is nearing its end. A mere four days from this writing will find us checking monitors in the Guatemala City airport, anticipating our return to a very hot and humid Texas.

I will miss this cool, spring-like climate. I will miss these mountains. And until 2013, I will surely miss you, Chajul!