First-year students study abroad: Adventures in Puerto Rico

RELEASED: February 7, 2008

DANVILLE, KY—During CentreTerm, the College's unique three-week January term, a group of first-year students, led by visiting assistant professor of biology Paul Sikkel, traveled to Puerto Rico to study "The Natural History of the Eastern Caribbean." This is the second time Sikkel ventured to the Caribbean with a group of first-year students. Their exciting adventures and experiences are chronicled below in journal entries by the professor and several members of the class.

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An Introduction to Puerto Rico
by Paul Sikkel, course instructor

Building on the success of the first-ever study abroad opportunity for Centre first-year students in 2007, "The Natural History of the Eastern Caribbean" course returned to Puerto Rico again last month. We're very fortunate to have had an excellent group last year that made clear to us that first-year students benefit tremendously from these kinds of field experiences. This type of experience gives students a clearer idea of what the possibilities are—that biology offers more than just clinical medicine and helps them make better decisions about their academic future.

Like last year, we began our trip at the El Yunque rain forest, one of the largest remaining rain forests in the Eastern Caribbean, with the highest density of frogs of any place in the world. We were guided on a 12-mile trek through the forest, which included a near-vertical climb of 400 feet to a waterfall surrounded by one of the few remaining patches of virgin forest in the Caribbean.

This year's class was the first to explore the Island of Culebra, our next stop after leaving El Yunque. Culebra is a small island with only a few thousand residents, and it's only 12 miles from the U.S. Virgin Islands. There we explored nesting beaches of leatherback sea turtles, seagrass beds, mangroves and coral reefs. We explored coral reefs and observed many activities that most people, not even most marine scientists, ever observe, including the dawn and dusk migration of French grunts (a type of fish) and the dawn spawning of yellowtail damselfish.

Students constructed and deployed their own plankton traps and compared the size and diversity of zooplankton (which include fish parasites) that are active during the day rather than the night. A graduate student at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez came out to Culebra to talk to the class about her research on movement patterns in grunts.

One of the most sobering aspects of the trip was the discovery that the reef off of Carlos Rosario beach, which was once one of the "prize" reefs of Puerto Rico, was dead due to a massive bleaching event that occurred in 2005. I think it made clear to the students that reefs are impacted by local events (such as eutrophication, an increase in chemical nutrients, and sedimentation) as well as global events, in this case rising sea temperatures. So the lifestyle we live in the continental United States can contribute to the decline of coral reefs. It's a "small world," indeed.

The final part of the trip exposed students to an important part of Puerto Rican culture: the street festival of San Sebastian. This is part of the Christmas holiday season and is similar to the Carnival celebrations held throughout the Caribbean and parts of Central and South America.

I have been running field courses for 14 years and have even included high school students and teachers, and the more I do it, the more I see the importance of moving outside traditional "classroom" learning at all levels of our educational system.

El Yunque Rainforest
by Brittany Coppola
Having the chance to study abroad as a first-year student is an opportunity I'm glad I had. Dr. Sikkel's CentreTerm course, "The Natural History of the Eastern Caribbean," was a class that challenged me to look at issues regarding the environment, to develop close relationships with other students and to grow as a person.

Our first activity as a class was to study the rainforest in the El Yunque National Park in Puerto Rico. We stayed in a house owned by one of Dr. Sikkel's friends, who was the guide on our hike. Living with others in a small space and only two showers may have appeared at first glance to be a challenge, but ultimately this living arrangement allowed us to really be present in the moment by not being distracted by the computer, television and other disruptions of daily life.
           
On our second day in the rainforest, we went on a 12-mile hike through the El Yunque. Along the way, our guide, Robin, pointed out various plant species and told us interesting facts about the rainforest, such as how bananas have been cultivated by man for 4,000 years and have healing properties. By being able to use all of our senses to experience the rainforest, everything I've learned has stuck with me and has more meaning than if I'd simply read these facts in a book.

Our hike culminated in one of the scariest things I've ever done—climbing a waterfall! We took our shoes off, and one by one we began climbing up the side of the waterfall. Luckily the surface was old volcanic rock that was peppered with holes and crevices in which you could put your hands and feet. The trick was keeping your feet dry so they wouldn't slip.

Reaching the top was such an adrenaline rush, and I felt so proud of myself. The view of the rainforest was breathtaking, and as classmate Ashton Hupman said, "Pictures just don't capture what I'm seeing." It began to rain as soon as we reached the top, which meant that we had to climb down the waterfall via rope. This involved much patience and trusting classmates you had only known for a few days. Needless to say, everyone became very close within that hour and a half or so.
           
Ultimately, this entire experience transformed 15 classmates into 15 friends. The advantage of going out into the "field" is that you have the chance to experience the forces of nature in action, which creates a lasting impression and helps you retain the information you've learned. In addition to being able to explore and learn on your own, this class pushed me out of my comfort zone. I was challenged to participate in things I never would've dreamed of doing, such as climbing a waterfall, which allows for self-growth. Sharing this opportunity with others capped off the entire experience. Perhaps classmate Kyle Forte put it best when he said, "There's nothing better than this: getting to be with friends and explore nature."

Arriving at Culebra
by Kristen Baumgartner
We arrived at Culebra after a dizzying ferry ride to a concrete dock next to a parking lot lined with tan- and pastel-colored buildings. Soft tunes of salsa music drifted out from an open restaurant, and we all rushed to a vending machine to sip on a cold soda while we waited for Dr. Sikkel to pick up our rental car. Later in the day, while one group went to the store, another group piled into the silver minivan for a tour of the island and to search for a perfect beach for snorkeling.

After a rocky trip down a dirt road pitted with several pot holes, we found the perfect beach that came to be our regular snorkeling sight over the next couple of days. That evening, we decided to go snorkeling at dusk and explore the reef.

It seemed like some sort of adventure into the unknown, as we adjusted our masks around our eyes and, wearing flippers, goose-stepped awkwardly toward the water. It was easier to back slowly into the water rather than attempt to walk forward and risk tripping on the ends of our flippers and doing a face plant. Even then, gravel managed to leak into the empty pockets, lodging in the most uncomfortable places as we dove into the water and started swimming out to sea. Eventually, as the light slowly dwindled, we resorted to scanning the coral for different species of fish with our flashlights.

At night, the coral appears to loom before you, dotted with inky black sea urchins with protruding spines and pale shadows of fish. Bug-eyed squirrel fish dart into miniature caves away from the light. And when the fish refused to come out, we floated on our backs and looked up at the multitude of stars glittering overhead.

The next day, Dr. Sikkel divided us into groups and assigned each a particular species of fish to observe and record behavior and movement patterns, as well as the time of day they're active around the coral. During the day, the water is clear as glass, and tourists watched amused as we trouped by with our snorkel gear and clipboards with waterproof paper. The coral was teeming with hoards of fish of all different sizes, colors and shapes. Rainbow-colored parrot fish swam lazily toward the coral only to be chased away by black damsel fish half their size. Sea fans waved back and forth in the current, and bright blue tang flitted about in cavernous canyons in the coral. Dr. Sikkel caught several species of fish to process in our search for parasites and a possible connection between species behavior and time of day.

We arrived back at the beach house where we doused the fish in fresh water and then filtered the water through a mesh to trap the parasites that we then blasted into a Petri dish. We added red food coloring and filtered the contents again. The first catch was entirely free of parasites except for a fat isopod that looked like a swollen maggot with groping legs and pinchers clinging to one unfortunate fish.

Floating in the buoyant waters off of Culebra watching fish dart to and fro in a colorful marine wonderland, we not only learned about a field that might never have caught our interest in a classroom, but we also experienced a trip of a lifetime—a trip where we discovered how to go beyond our limits of learning and do things we might never have done if given the choice before taking the class.

"The Centre term trip to Puerto Rico was absolutely amazing," said classmate Regina Basoni. "Not because we were in a lush country hiking in the rainforest and snorkeling on a beautiful island, but because of how much we were able to learn. Sure, we learned a lot about the El Yunque Rainforest and about the types of fish in Culebra and their activity patterns, but most of all we learned a lot about ourselves. We learned to not only survive, but also to excel in a different environment. And we learned how to step outside our comfort zones and experience once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, like climbing a 400-foot waterfall barehanded and barefoot. It became clearer to us what life is about—learning through new friendships, brilliant teachers, beautiful atmospheres and difficult, new situations. I feel changed for the better after this trip, not only through my new knowledge of biology and Puerto Rico, but also through the ways I've changed into a new person who will be more prepared for the world.”

Culebra Continued…
by Jim Taylor
The last two days of our Culebra experience were perhaps the most eventful. Wake up time was 4:30 a.m. in order to set emergence traps. These handmade (by us!), specially designed traps served the purpose of trapping parasites and other microscopic organisms that emerge from the substrata at certain times. One trap was set at night and one during the day for the purpose of comparison. Through our research, we discovered that more emergence activity tends to happen at night when there's less predation on microscopic organisms.

These final days in an island paradise were when the most bonding took place between the members of our class. Instead of simply being students, stuck in a class we were less than thrilled about, we were field biologists and, most importantly, friends. As stated by classmate Ashton Hupman, we became companeros. The things we experienced together brought us closer than any of us could've imagined was possible. These are days and invaluable experiences none of us will forget.

Our Last Day in San Juan
by Ellie Barhorst
After living in the remote depths of the rainforest and on the lazy beaches of Culebra, it only made sense that we spent our last day in the thriving city of San Juan. Incidentally, we were lucky enough to be there on the last night of the festival de le Calle de San Sebastian, the street festival that concludes the celebration of Christmas. It was the perfect way to end our trip because we'd already experienced the ways in which people prosper in the rainforest, and we learned the concept of island time on the reefs of Culebra. But in San Juan we were in the midst of real Hispanic culture. Strolling through the narrow cobblestone streets of old San Juan, pulsing with music and the excitement of the festival, we all discovered why the Puerto Ricans appreciate music, food, friends and family above everything else.

According to the locals, the festival de la Calle de San Sebastian is similar to Mardi Gras. As soon as we arrived in old San Juan it was clear where the festivities were because the area was overwhelmingly consumed with excitement. Street vendors packed the streets with bold jewelry, paintings of the cityscape and carved wooden Wise Men. Christmas lights were sprinkled atop trees and on the lampposts, along with decorative poinsettias. Stages were scattered about the festival with dancers who wore brightly colored costumes and danced to Salsa music while the audience sang along to every word. Whole families danced together in little groups, the grandparents with the toddlers, all celebrating together.

My friends and I were in awe at the crowds of people just dancing to the music and having a good time. I think we agreed that we could all get used to the island life, as we attempted to mimic the dancing of the locals and as we shopped for souvenirs just beside the stone boardwalk that overlooked the famous old forts of San Juan.

Our final meeting with our class as a whole was a discussion that was held on the top of our hotel so that we could see the entire city. We all talked as a group about what we learned by living in El Yunque and on Culebra. We also talked about what we learned about our future and ourselves. Unlike some class discussions where only some people are paying attention and the contributions seem robotic and rehearsed, our conversations flowed and everyone was eager to make their statements because we all were so passionate about our trip.

Even though it's likely that most of us will not go into field research indefinitely, I think that what we all learned about ourselves, and the friendships we made will last longer than any facts we have to memorize in our general education courses. I know that it definitely changed my opinion of science, a subject I've always been good at but have never been interested in for a career. Now I'm eager to take biology and chemistry courses at Centre in the future.

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