Penn Global Seminars All I Want for Christmas is DEET

PGS: Sustainable Development and Culture in Latin America

One of my favorite courses I have taken at Penn was “Latinx Environmental Justice” with Dr. Teresa Giménez, where I was able to learn about the implications of various policies here in the United States and their impact on marginalized Latinx communities across the United States. On the last day of that class, Dr. Giménez plugged her Penn Global Seminar she was teaching the following school year – Sustainable Development and Culture in Latin America. 

From the second she announced the class, I knew I had to take it. It was the perfect intersection between my three majors and closely aligned with career interests, and I felt that it would give me the opportunity to apply what I had learned about the Latinx diaspora in Dr. Giménez’s first class to the unique challenges various countries across Latin America face. As I have always wanted to pursue a career in international development and affairs, taking the class in my final year at Penn felt like the perfect ending to my undergraduate studies, and having to wait for so long to take the class felt like an eternity.

Fast forward to the end of the fall semester, and I can truly say that “Sustainable Development and Culture in Latin America” has been one of the most impactful and insightful courses I have taken at Penn. Everyone who pursues a career in international development has genuinely good intentions in terms of bettering the livelihoods of the communities they create policies and programs for. However, this course illuminated the fact that positive intentions do not always result in positive impacts, and that international development is incredibly multifaceted

Each student in my class chose both an article and a case study relating to sustainable development across Latin America. For my article project, I researched the idea of “ecosocialism” in Venezuela, focusing specifically on the negative impacts this government-led idea has had on indigenous communities across the country. For my case study, I really wanted to find a topic related to Cuba, as I hope to one day work to craft policy to improve the conditions for the country’s citizens. I discovered organopónicos – urban farms created by typical Cubans in response to the risk of famine triggered by the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. They symbolize not only innovation and resilience in the face of crisis, but also an example of sustainable development inspired by necessity. These two assignments were one of my favorite parts of the course, as I was able to both learn from my peers and discover what the other students in my class were passionate about.

On a less scholarly note, looking forward to our trip to Costa Rica in just a few weeks, I asked my mom for only one thing for Christmas: DEET. During our pre-departure meeting, it was stressed to us that the mosquitoes in Costa Rica are no joke. Growing up in South Florida, I truly believed that I had formed an alliance with the mosquitoes, but it sounds like the mosquitoes I’m going to meet on our trip may be strong enough to take a native Floridian down. That being said, if anyone has a ton of travel-sized DEET they don’t need, you can find my email in the Penn Student Directory. 

I am also super excited to explore the flora and fauna of Costa Rica. As a kid, I definitely tripped over street iguanas on my way to school a few times (yes, there are tons in South Florida), and I can’t wait to encounter even cooler animals during our trip. We’re also going to go ziplining over the treetops of Monteverde, and the thought of having a birds-eye view of the gorgeous rainforest and all of its creatures feels completely unreal. We have tons of hiking in store for our trip, so Pottruck is definitely going to see me a ton before we depart for San José next month. I cannot wait to set forth on this once-in-a-lifetime experience with my friends from Penn this month and to see all of the beauty Costa Rica has to offer!