Learning then Experiencing

By Corinne Tarantino

           

          One of the most amazing parts of this trip so far has been the ability to experience what I have learned at my university previously and understand more of its context. At school, we learn about so many interesting biological or social phenomena, but we do not always have the chance to experience what we are learning about. Here in Costa Rica, the natural world around us is our classroom and we have the opportunity to learn about something and then see it happen.
            I was excited to see the mutualism between a species of Pseudomyrmex (a genus of ants) and the Acacia trees. The tree provides the ants with food via the extrafloral nectaries (which are glands that produces sugar, not in the flowers). The tree also provides the ants with shelter through the domatium (thorns that have a tiny chamber). In exchange, the ants defend the tree from herbivores. This interaction was particularly interesting for me to witness, because I work in an ant lab at my university. For the last year, one of the graduate students kept a colony of Pseudomyrmex. During that time, I learned a little bit about Pseudomyrmex behavior, including their love of eating fresh prey. They preferred attacking and killing fresh fruit flies over dead ones. When I saw them on the Acacia tree, I was finally able to understand a reason why they might prefer the live prey. This love of live prey would be more advantageous to the plant, because then the ants will kill live insects that land on the tree. This was just one moment, so far on this trip, where I was able to connect what I had seen or learned previously about biology to the natural environment.

            In addition to seeing biological phenomenon, I was able to learn more about the social problems of the Nicaraguan workers on sugar cane farms. As a part of a public health class at school I learned about the healthcare system of Costa Rica, which is part of the social welfare system. In 2010, Nicaraguan workers were included into the system to decrease the burden. However, the system isn’t perfect. Here in Costa Rica, I learned about how the workers are directly hired by contractors who may not enroll the workers in the system or will disappear, so they do not have to pay for the healthcare. This is probably part of the reason why the migrant workers continue to burden the health care system. Here I also learned and saw that their working conditions often lead to needing more healthcare. At the sugar cane farms, they are working under hard conditions, such as, the hot sun, the lack of breaks, and exposures to smoke from fires. It was interesting to realize how this social issue, with lack of enforced regulation of working conditions of Nicaraguan migratory workers, can affect the healthcare system.

            Each of these experiences, though brief, have reminded me of how interconnected everything is between what you learn and the natural world. Each part of this trip, so far, has brought learning to life. I have enjoyed making connections between my previous knowledge and the applied knowledge here in Costa Rica and look forward to continuing to make these connections as the semester progress.