Fellow Blog

At Osa Conservation in Costa Rica, the human world is deeply intertwined with the natural. One has to adjust their expectations to accommodate the rhythm of the surrounding ecosystem, from waking up at 3:00 a.m. to the guttural, bellowing calls of howler monkeys to rescheduling fieldwork in light of torrential downpours. Because of this intimate proximity, I started to recognize large, iconic mammal species quickly after arriving for my PiLA fellowship, such as the four species of monkeys, peccaries, and tamanduas.

5:30 a.m. 

I climb the canopy tower with four other friends, and the forest greets us from thirty meters up. The trees breathe around us, mist glitters on leaves, and a few shy drops of rain tap our heads. As the sun peeks over the horizon, distant howler monkeys answer it, and a chorus of birds announces the day. We spend an hour birding from the top of the tower, logging what we see into eBird: scarlet macaws, white-shouldered tanagers, chestnut-backed antbirds, mealy amazons, and more.

It’s 10:15 in the morning. I’m struggling to squeeze a swim cap over a reluctant ponytail. Although my students are dry, I’m soaked from the previous class, which makes the task more difficult. One student, already capped and ready to go, stands by the pool watching.

As a linguistics enthusiast, I love thinking about how we construct our realities through language and how language, in turn, reflects and transmits elements of our cultures. My first year as a PiLA fellow with the DREAM Project felt like a constant climb — I'd push through one challenge only to meet another, and then I'd learn and discover that I was wrong about so many things. Three months into my second year in the Dominican Republic, I feel like I've settled in enough to share a glimpse into my experience.

The last time I took a plane, I landed on a frozen tarmac in Connecticut without a coat for the winter holidays. This time was very different. I arrived in Asunción past midnight, heavy-eyed from the flight, but instantly grounded by the thick humid air that met me outside the plane door. It smelled warm and familiar—not quite the Dominican breeze that now greets me daily where I live by the beach, but something just as comforting and friendly.

From surfing to hiking the tallest peak in the Caribbean—here are my top 10 most memorable moments from my first six months abroad.

It’s hard to believe I’m already halfway through my year in the Dominican Republic. When I first arrived last August, I was full of both excitement and fear. The heat and humidity was immediately overwhelming, and for a long while, all I could think about was how dehydrated and sweaty I felt. On top of that, I had just uprooted my life—leaving behind a stable job and the loving community I had built over three years in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Weaving across the road, a steady line of leafcutter ants carry plant fragments back to a tree where, deep under the roots, lies a den in which the ants are cultivating the pieces into a fungal garden for their own feeding. Far above, within the canopy of the same trees, jump around howler monkeys (though they’re usually heard before they’re seen). 

Hello PiLA Community! My name is Nina Paneque, and I am this year´s PiLA fellow stationed in Ciudad de México. Since July, I have had the privilege of collaborating with a dynamic crew of go-getters in the Endeavor Mexico office, all on a mission to supercharge the nation´s innovation culture and build thriving entrepreneurial ecosystems. 

When I accepted an offer to work as a Princeton in Latin America Fellow at EARTH University in Costa Rica, I never thought that I would be on a farm in rural Uganda 25 minutes from the DRC or meet a Ugandan King during the course of my fellowship. As a PiLA Fellow at EARTH University in Costa Rica, I was able to live through these experiences and more on a recent work trip to Uganda with my team.

Moving to Costa Rica right after graduating from Colorado College has been one of the biggest changes I’ve made in my life. With a minor in Spanish, I’ve always dreamt of living abroad, and didn't get the chance to study outside of the country in college due to COVID. Coupled with my B.A. in Organismal Biology & Ecology, the opportunity to work as an aspiring ornithologist (a.k.a. bird nerd) at Osa Conservation through Princeton in Latin America (PiLA) seemed like a perfect fit for my passions and career goals. 

When people ask what it’s like to live in the Costa Rican rainforest for a year, I usually start with one word: wild . And I don’t just mean the monkeys, pumas, and snakes (though they’re definitely part of it). I’m talking about a complete shift in how you live and think, surrounded by the most incredible biodiversity, working on projects that feel like they’re making a real impact, and constantly being challenged to step out of your comfort zone. That’s been my life as a Princeton in Latin America (PiLA) Fellow at Osa Conservation.

It's hard to believe our remote 2020-2021 Fellows have all finished their placements and that we're moving on to a brand new cycle of remote PiLA experiences! We're excited to be working again with partner organizations Endeavor Mexico, EARTH University, and Partners for Andean Community Health (PACH); all of whom hosted remote PiLA Fellows last year.