By Pradiip Alvarez

    It was 10:30 pm in our hostel in Boquete. Marie-pier woke me up and asked me in an almost inaudible whisper if I was ready to go up Volcán Barú. Despite the fact that we had been preparing mentally all day, I was still mixed up. A part of me wanted to be safe in bed, while another wanted to take the risk of getting to the top of Panama. It had been raining for God knows how many hours and finally it stopped. It was now or never: indecision at that moment would most likely erase the possibility of reaching the top before sunrise and experiencing a spectacular moment.  

    A taxi took us (Marie-pier, Melissa and I) to the bottom of Barú, which we started hiking at 11:15 pm. In our bags, there was chocolate, honey, crackers, parmesan cheese (which I bought as a reward if we got to the top) apples, and water, as well as sweaters, raincoats and a sleeping bag with sheets. In our mind, there was 15 km of hiking and a sunrise at the highest point in the country.  

    The first half of the hiking was fine. It was actually very encouraging to see that we could hike about 2.5 km in an hour. We stopped every 45 minutes or so to drink water or eat some chocolate or honey. At this pace, we would be at the top in six hours, around 5:15 am, just in time to see the sun go up. After the first 10 km we were all wet and cold. Breathing enough oxygen started to become an issue. I took off the 3 wet shirts that I was wearing and buried them under some leaves next to a sign hoping that I would be able to find them the next morning. From this point on I wore the only dry piece of cloth that was left, a very light wool sweater that proved to be the most valuable thing I have ever borrowed.  

    It was 3:30 am and we had three km left. In about two hours the sun would rise and we did not know if we were going to be there to see it. At that point the group split. Melissa was having problems keeping our pace and Marie-pier and I took the selfish decision of leaving her alone and walk separately. The last three kilometers were a mental and a physical challenge. Extreme pain, fear, and confusion filled our body and mind. As we got higher, the mountain got steeper, and our legs started to suffer all kinds of cramps, numbness and pains. Our hearts were beating three beats per second and tears wanted to come out from our eyes.  

    It was 4:30 and the last sign indicated that we had hiked 13.8 km. We only had to walk 1200 more meters. In theory, we should be at the top at 5:00 am. Half hour later, there was a scary, almost horrific sign that read “Recorrido 1km”. “Have we walked 200 meters in the last half hour?” we wondered. That seemed impossible. We were almost crying. I fell to the ground and grabbed my legs in pain; Marie-pier got even more scared when she realized that I was unable to walk.  

    Miraculously, we got to the top at 5:30 am. The feeling cannot be put into words; the physical and mental relief was amazing. The sensation was great until we found out that the highest point was not where we were. In order to get to the top we would have to cross a foot-wide trail, walking at the border of death. Marie-pier suffers from vertigo and those were not the best conditions to prove her fear wrong. She decided to do it and push herself to the limit, but her fear was unbearable at the middle of the trail. She sat down, completely untouchable, completely silent, and completely immobile. We were freezing, and numb. We saw Melissa arrive at the bottom of the trail; she came up and ten minutes after the sun came out and heated our skin for the first time in 6 hours. The pain had paid off. The view was amazing. The sky was clear, the sun was up, the Caribbean on one side and the Pacific in the other, the crater cast its shadow over the town of Volcán. We made it!  

    I wish the rest of the story was perfect. I wish I could say that after we saw the sun, we slept for a while, ate energetic food, drank water, and went down the mountain at a steady rate, getting to where we started in less than 4 hours. But that is not exactly what happened. We did rest for a while, but it was so cold that it made it impossible to sleep. Although Melissa and I got to the cross (the summit of Barú) at 3,474 meters (11,398 ft) high, Marie-pier could not come because of her fear of heights. I ate part of my parmesan cheese and drank all the water I had left, thinking that in the way down I would find a water stream and drink from it. We started walking down thinking that the painful part of the journey was gone. Contrary to all of expectations, the way down was harder than the way up!  

    We went down walking, jumping and sliding very fast. We just wanted to be in our beds, eat something else than sugar, drink enough water and take our wet and dirty clothes off. After walking/jogging only 6 km, our knees were very sore; we started walking slower, saving energy for the 9 km left. After 4 hours of walking we should had been pretty close to the bottom of the mountain, but there were still 3 km left. I got very anxious and started running. Big mistake! I twisted my ankle with a rock, falling to the ground. So many thoughts came to my mind, so many fears and wishes. I felt stupid, I was thinking about my ankle just a moment before I fell. I should have been more careful. After struggling with my lower body for about 45 minutes, I resigned. I laid in the ground and almost started crying. I was feeling so much pain that Marie-pier offered to carry my bag for the remaining distance. I agreed. I could not believe my 5 foot tall friend was carrying her bag plus mine, while I was awkwardly limping, and sitting to rest every five minutes.  

    After 2 more hours of pain, we got to the place where the taxi had left us 16 hours ago. It was a strange feeling. I wanted to smile, but the pain in my knees and ankle was so extreme that I was unable to relax. We were all exhausted. I realized that Marie-pier had hiked down drinking only a cup of water. She said that there were muscles that hurt, that she did not even know they existed. We laughed for the first time in the last 3 hours and finally reflected upon our achievement. We agreed that although we would not hike Barú again, we did not regret doing it. In spite of how much we suffered to get there, it was a priceless experience. We felt lucky that it did not rain while we went up and that we brought only the necessary weight. For me Barú represents more than simply pain, perseverance and glory. It is the story of our lives. In our life, we suffer; we go through many problems and obstacles. But no matter how big our problems are, we find a way to hike them and be glorious. I want to go up Barú again! Just kidding…

 

 

 
    FSU Panama student Ramsey Clark is an up and coming MMA (Mixed Marshal Art) fighter having competed in two events in Costa Rica. I had a few Q&A sessions with Ramsey via Facebook to get to know what's up with Panama and MMA, and see how he's gearing up for his next fight.

 
Robert: Where are you from, and what are you studying at FSU?
 
Ramsey:From Orlando, FL and International Affairs.
 
Robert: What's your classification at FSU (Sophomore, Junior)?

Ramsey: I'm a Junior.
 
Robert: How long have you been into MMA and how many fights have you participated in?
 
Ramsey:Well it's difficult to say being that the sport of MMA has not really evolved here in Panama. I began wrestling here at the Gimnasio de Ancon at the age of 14 and it's helped me a lot, it's a great base to have. Teaches you a lot of dedication and hard-work. However I've been in two pro fights so far and I guess you cold say I've been in it for a year.
 
Robert: Where do you train?
 
Ramsey:I train at the Gracie Barra on calle 50.
 
Robert: Who's your trainer?
 
Ramsey:My Jiu-Jitsu trainer Hector Vasquez is from Panama, but lived almost his whole life in Miami, and my Muay Thai trainer is Gianni Carriello, who is from Italy.
 
Robert: When's your next fight?
 
Ramsey:My next fight is undecided being that we have no circuit here in Panama I have to leave the country and  fight on foreign turf.
 
Robert: Is anyone trying to start a circuit in Panama?
 
Ramsey:Yes, there are a few people trying to get the sport started including us.
 
Robert: What's your training schedule like?
 
Ramsey:Well I go to school first, and then I go to train and start with Jiu-Jistu class then I commence Muay Thai after. Each class is 1 hour long.
 
Robert: What kind of training are you doing?
 
Ramsey:I am doing just Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai, however I need to begin a strengthening program. Possibly weights but not too much because as a fighter I do not want to bulk up and loose flexibility. I want core strength and also when you have more muscles, it sucks out more oxygen from your body.
 
Robert: What weight class are you fighting?
 
Ramsey:I fight at 170 lbs.
 
Robert: Where have you fought?

Ramsey:I have fought in Costa Rica twice.
 
Robert: What is your fighting style?
 
Ramsey: My style is mainly striking (Muay Thai) but I also have my Jiu-Jitsu (ground fighting) and I have an amateur wrestling background.
 
Robert: When/Where's your next fight?
 
Ramsey:I could be fighting in an event that is trying to be put together here in Panama around October or November. However if I'm offered a fight out of Panama I will take it.
 
Robert: Lastly, where should everyone go for the updates on your fights? Does your team have a website? Are there videos or photos of fights?
 
Ramsey:Well I have my fights on youtube.com/raybee and as of now the website has not been updated but people can follow us on the facebook group (gracie barra panama) For updates on my fights they can also find me on facebook.
 
Robert: I know I've already asked, but what's going on with MMA in Panama?
 
Ramsey: The sport in Panama just hasn't really picked up for some reason I don't know why... Hopefully within the next year we will see a dramatic change!

By Sully Moreno  
850.878.5433
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FSU Panama student Competes in “The PR Apprentice”  
Moreno works for international client while vying for public relations job

 
    Panama City, Panama – FSU Panama student Sully Moreno is competing for a chance to be the ultimate “Apprentice,” sans Donald Trump. Kidd Public Relations, a division of Kidd & Company, Inc.’s nationally recognized firm headquartered in Tallahassee, Fla., launched its second season of “The PR Apprentice,” and Moreno is one of four mighty interns up for the challenge. Unlike other internships, students are not just in it for the experience or school credit. They are competing for prizes from boardroom sponsors, along with the title of “The PR Apprentice” and…a job. The winner will be declared Aug. 7, 2009.

 
    Moreno and the other three interns were selected after a rigorous application process consisting of writing assignments and interviews. Alyssa Canales, Kaitlyn Hastings, and Lynsey Sherman compete with Moreno in weekly public relations challenges before facing the boardroom for judging each Friday.  

 
    “What we’re creating here is as close as it gets to a real-world environment for these aspiring professionals,” said Tom Derzypolski, Vice President of Client Communications, Kidd & Company, Inc. “The PR Apprentice allows students to fine tune their skills. There is no question  
they will come out stronger and more prepared for a career in the public relations field.”

 
    The main “client” for Season Two, GovLoop, was created for government employees to facilitate communication between federal, state and local “government-thought” leaders. It has already crossed oceans, with 500 of its more than 10,000 members stemming from international governments in New Zealand, Britain, Canada, Germany and Hong Kong. Apprentices will be  
tasked with creating an entire public relations campaign for GovLoop, including social media initiatives, targeted audience outreach and a one-year anniversary event in Washington, D.C.  

 
    Throughout the 13 weeks, interns will be “out of the loop” one by one, leaving one final PR Apprentice. Those interns no longer in the running will remain on-board as team members, working with Kidd PR account managers to support other clients for the remainder of the semester.  

 
    “I am extremely pleased to be part of such a unique internship program because it encourages me to challenge myself to be better each week,” said Moreno. “Starting my university career in FSU Panama opened up many opportunities for me; without it, I would have never been able to come to Tallahassee. I hope to represent FSU Panama the best I can.”

 
    Moreno has previously worked as a reporter for the Pananole. The writing experience she gained through the Pananole has been invaluable throughout the internship program. She graduated from Colegio Episcopal de Panama in 2006.

 
For more information, visit ThePRapprentice.com.

 
About Kidd & Company, Inc.
Now in its 30th year of business, Kidd & Company, Inc. offers in-house, integrated communication services, including branding, advertising, design, public relations and interactive solutions. Serving clients internationally, the team is committed to providing creative marketing insight. To learn more about Kidd & Company and its award-winning divisions, call (850) 878-5433, or visit Kidd.com.

 

 

By Luis Barrera
 
    We are halfway through the summer semester and the new FSU building is not ready. Nevertheless we have managed to continue with our regular classes in building 105 momentarily, which is not bad until the other building is ready. From afar, it looks like building 227 will be unoccupied for another month or more, but looks are deceiving. Sometimes the inside is a lot worse than the outside, but fortunately this is not the case. Sure the building is missing an elevator and has a huge opening there but the rest of the building is already done. Due to technical difficulties that opening is going to remain like that for a long time but that’s not the reason why we still aren’t moving. The main reason is because there are many adjustments that have to be done (its Panamanian workers so you can understand) plus there are legal issues. Before we go into that whole mess let’s first go have a walkthrough inside the building.
 

The Basement – Main Entrance

    Most of you have seen the building from the outside but very few have dared to enter. The building has four floors, the basement where the main entrance is. Walking inside the building the first thing you’ll notice is a red tube in the roof. It looks nasty but that has to be there and in that color because it’s the water that goes to the firefighter hose. That hose you’ll also see right beside your left hand before the shiny deadly stairs. Straight in front of you after you notice the red water tube you’ll see some windows that are covered so you can’t see through. That place is where all the experiments with humans and animals will be done or maybe with everything but humans; no that’s the biology lab! but the door is closed so you can’t go inside. Right off the lab is the chemistry lab. Inside the elevator, or the parts that make up the elevator. I believe that’s the main reason why chemistry laboratories can’t be ready for the moment besides the occupancy permit. Walking through it you’ll ask yourself: where are the sink and all the tables? Well, ask Prof. Vasquez.
    At the end of the room is the deposit room and you’ll notice the sink or actually bathroom sink. That deposit has two doors, where to go now? To the left the bio lab, let’s go there first. We open the door and it is all dark but there’s something in the room. We keep walking and see all these specimens of creepy animals but what’s that over there. It’s a human skeleton and it moves, with the wind. Besides that there’s also a bunch of other stuff. The bio lab also has a deposit, even more stuff. Heading back from where we came, on the way to the main entrance we notice the elevator shaft. Right in front of it are some offices, the English Language Program offices. You’ll also notice the room with the main building water pipe and bookshelves. That’s our future bookstore, until the water pipe breaks. After that there’s something really weird in the floor. It’s a wavelike floor with ups and downs, walking through it while grabbing the rail so we don’t fall.

    Then turning to the left we’ll see three rooms. The first one on the right is tech support, bunch of cables there so IT guys most likely will be there. In front of that room is an old computer deposit I guess. There’s nothing there so it’s hard to tell. Walking straight through the hallway is the computer lab with all the imaginary computers. Well I just pictured the new computers. The very noticeable detail of this room is that it has a lot of windows with no bars, let’s hope burglars don’t notice this because the City of Knowledge has, and prefers aesthetics to security.
Walking to the back side of this floor you’ll see the second backdoor entrance (exclusively for administration staff and professors), and the second set of stairs that match with the red water tube in the entrance. Now, time to go back to the main entrance.
 

1st Floor - Administration

    As you go up the stairs you’ll see to the left a lot of see-through windows. Inside is the student affairs office with all the nice cute desks. It looks like that there is a huge closet; looking closely we can see that it’s the IP student’s affairs office. To the right of the student affairs office is a hallway and the Rector’s secretary office. The Rector’s office can’t be seen from the hallway. To get into we have to pass through the secretary’s office but that’s off limits. Walking through the small hallway we notice a kitchen/lounge to the left and a conference room or some like that on the right. Walking to the end of the hallway; the backstairs. Going further we start to notice a bunch of offices and another kitchen/lounge. This must be the professor’s offices. They also have a waiting room and an additional desk for students. That’s very considerate.
    There’s another hallway between the offices which leads back to the main stairs so let’s take a look. The first room we notice in that hallway is a mini conference room. Then we see more administration offices. I’m not sure where the Vice Rector’s office is but I’m guessing somewhere in there. The offices are separated by cubicles but there’s another room inside. After those offices right before the elevator shaft/outside is the cashier’s office. Further the first floor is over, time to go up the stairs unless you can avoid them and fly through the elevator shaft.
 

2nd Floor – Classrooms

    Walking around we start to notice that this is the place where all the classrooms are. There’s something really peculiar about them. They are ready for classes, all the rooms with chairs and whiteboards set up. On direction to the elevator and turning right we notice the auditorium. After that a really tiny classroom at the end of the hallway. Of all the classrooms in this floor that one’s the one that got my eye. It’s like the size of a bathroom. I don’t know who is going to give classes in there, but there’s only space for a few people. Beside there’s the auditorium -which is pretty big- let’s just hope they put nice chairs. Walking on to the main stairs we go to the last floor.
 

3rd Floor – More Classrooms

    Up the stairs the first thing noticeable is the Physics Lab, or actually Physics Studio. That sounds different; I wonder what’s inside. The door is closed but four round tables can be seen and a bunch of blue ugly chairs with wheels. I believe small office chairs would have been better. Moving on we see more classrooms and something fuzzy in the ceiling, as if it was ripped off and soaked with water. Apparently there’s been some leak, could be from the building roof or something else. That will have to be fixed.
    Going by the hallway in front of the elevator there’s a second auditorium or a room identical to the auditorium in the 2nd floor. Still on to the stairways, in the back, we can notice another of those small classrooms. Keeping on we wonder something, where is the student’s lounge and game room? We are in the last floor and wait! even more stairs going up. It looks kind of creepy but anyways we have to find the lounge and ping pong table.
 

Attic – Mysterious Room

    On the right is a huge room with a lot of chairs, tables, and desks with a nice wooden ceiling. In the back of the room, an office and conference room all in one with a midget? door inside. I’m guessing that is the Student Government office. The huge room must be the student’s lounge and where all the computers will be since the ones in the library are not enough. We can also notice the nice view from the balcony. Actually there are two balconies, one in the student’s lounge and another in front of the stairways. Back to the stairs we walk straight ahead and notice the TV. Could that be another lounge? going on, the pool table. So this must be the Game room, but I don’t notice any ping pong table around. There are a couple of bathrooms and a small door in the back. Towards the door I open it and see Eddy Murphy! No, wait, that’s Floy one of the maintenance guys. Inside the room it looks like a hide and seek place. That’s actually the attic.
 
    And that’s it, the whole building and it looks like it is “ready” except for a couple of glitches, so why haven’t we moved in. One thing I’ve noticed on each door is that there’s a note saying that some things need adjustment. The AC isn’t turned on so I’m guessing that needs adjustments too. The building doesn’t have main entrance doors so that is also missing. The grand elevator, also missing but some glass doors are being put to close that area. Although those doors open to outside and they do not seal the floor. Don’t know what they’re going to do about the rain so it doesn’t come inside. That’s probably the reason why there are bunches of mops.  Overall the building seems pretty good even with the glitches. The legal issues so that we can actually move in are the occupancy permits which are granted after an inspection of the Firefighter department.
    Since the building has the elevator opening, the building won’t pass the inspection so first thing, that must be sealed. Then they’ll have to fix the problem on the third floor with the water leak. I heard that the AC has some leaks too and probably that is the reason for the soaked ceiling. The internet is not set up and there aren’t even computers or systems in the IT room. Electricity isn’t available on all plugs. The projectors still have to be mounted on the ceilings. The auditorium is basically a huge empty space. The main problems to deal with are the systems and adjustments.
    Adding up to the reasons why the building isn’t ready yet is that the construction company has a problem with the government. A few weeks ago, some parents were protesting in Arraijan blocking the Pan-American Highway because their children’s school was missing a roof and the remodeling was not finished. The company dealing with the remodeling is the same one hired by FSU. Their assets are currently withheld by the government until that entire problem is solved. First the contract between the Ministry of Education and the company was done illegally, and second some cost increments were done without justification. That’s the reason why there are few workers at the FSU building and why they aren’t working efficiently as they should so the building is ready for the Fall. The issue with the constructing company might delay the process even more time.

I hope you have liked my description of the building and that once you have seen in, it be everything you expected and more. Pictures and maybe a video of the “walkthrough” will be posted soon so keep in touch.

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