I think I would like to focus my reporting this semester around Panama. Personally, I don’t have much of a connection to the country nor to its culture; but, I admire it greatly, and don’t see the country represented too much in our news cycles. I also was given a rare opportunity at the end of September to go on a short 4-day trip to Panama, in company with my best friend who is a photographer. I haven’t been able to travel as much as I used to because of what our world has lived through the last few years; so, I figured with this trip planned in the middle of our semester it could be a perfect opportunity to get direct Panamanian sources for cultural pieces and possibly create photo-stories in alignment with my friend.
There is a lot going on in Panama right now despite its little coverage in American news cycles (at least what I have been witness to). Just this past July, a 3 week long protest (involving road blockages) against high fuel and food costs has caused shortages for food, fuel and medicine. These have been the biggest protests Panamanians have ever contributed to.