My idea of Latin America at the start of the course has been mainly focused on Ecuador and Costa Rica because I lived in both countries for a short period of time. When I hear the word Latin America, it reminds me of the happy memories I had when I was in Ecuador and Costa Rica. I also tend to heavily focus on countries that speak Spanish and often forget that Brazil speaks Portuguese and a few other countries speak Dutch, English and much more. However, Latin America does remind me of the Amazon Forest, the Andes Mountains, the long coastlines on the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean, and the Indigenous people. However, I also often associate Latin America with its economic capabilities and the many issues it brings along. For example, Latin America is blessed with natural resources including copper, oil, coca leaves and much more. However, this has also caused huge socio-political issues including corruption, gang-violence and deforestation. Previously, I also took some classes at Davidson related to Latin America, and I learned the history of the Aztecs, Mayans, Incas and much more. We also touched on US influence in Latin America, and the US government created many dictatorships in Latin America in order to stop them from creating relations with the USSR.
My learning goals associated with LAS101 include learning more about the root causes of today’s political and economic problems in Latin America. I am particularly interested in the reason why COVID-19 affected Latin America so badly and how its issues with poverty, education and corruption have led to the current state of Latin America. The news talked a lot about high death tolls in Latin America, and how many countries’ healthcare systems collapsed. It would be interesting to tie in different concepts and topics to unravel the core issues that caused COVID-19 to spread so quickly in Latin America. Moreover, I want to learn more about the future of Latin America, and how its important role in trade, culture, and conservation will impact our future world. The Amazon Forest, or the Lungs of the Earth are located across multiple Latin American countries, and it would be interesting to learn about sustainability, climate change, and balancing economic and conservation objectives in the Amazon.
It is really cool that you lived in Ecuador and Costa Rica! I spent a few weeks in Ecuador, exploring Quito and the Galápagos Islands and it was a really eye opening experience. You mentioned both socioeconomic issues caused by natural resources and that Latin America was hit hard by the pandemic. It might be interesting to look into how the issues you mentioned might have impacted Latin American countries’ responses to Covid-19.
Hey Jeremy!
It was interesting to learn about how you lived in Ecuador and Costa Rica for some time. I hope one day we can get together and discuss your favorite memories and experience in these Latin American countries. Also, I agree that although Latin America has intriguing aspects, it is sad to discover how much corruption and violence exist within these countries. Lastly, I enjoyed reading your reflection post, and I can’t wait to read the other ones that you have written.
I loved hearing about your experience and interest in Ecuador. I spent a week in Ecuador during my senior year of high and immediately fell in love with it. In my previous course with Dr. Crandall, I wrote my final paper on the economic effects of dollarization in Ecuador. I, too, hope this course will help me better understand a region that I have very fond memories of!
Hey Jeremy!
It’s super interesting that you’ve lived in Ecuador and Costa Rica! Those are some beautiful countries and you’ve listed some of the beauties of Latin America in your post. I think you bring forth some great questions in your final section because Latin America seems to have had a particularly difficult time dealing with COVID. My mother always mentioned to me that in the latin american shows and news broadcasts that she watched on tv, the use of masks was more widespread than in the US so it’s interesting that even with that, covid still caused so many deaths. Lastly, I think Latin America is such a rich area of that world that has been and continues to be exploited so it’s difficult for those countries to thrive. I hope that in the future Latin American countries can reach their full potential after many decades of corruption, foreign intervention among many other issues.