The current project consists of four tasks that will ensure that I achieve the goals of the proposed research. First, I will conduct interviews with management and drivers of the Transportes Internacionales Centraoamericanos (TICA) bus system. The interview process will provide me with preliminary information on experiences of and interactions with border crossing processes from individuals who are accustomed to traveling the Pan-American Highway. Second, I will travel with the TICA bus company on round trip travel along the Pan-American Highway from San Jose, Costa Rica to Tapachula, Mexico. This aspect will provide me with the time and setting for more robust interviews with TICA Bus drivers. Third, I will interview customs agents (aduanas) and affiliates of academic institutions within 5 capital cities along the TICA bus route. The interviews in the capital cities will be used to establish contacts and obtain preliminary data that will guide future field work. Fourth, I will engage in non-participant observation at 5 border locations that are encountered through travel with TICA Bus. The information gathered will be used to select 3 field sites that will be the focus of further research.

   Overall, this project is significant to broad issues of development because it analyzes the ways that globalizing policies and international development projects are maintained and perpetuated through the informal work of border residents. In this case, the critical question is: how does the informal work of border community residents help to ensure a more global flow of goods and people along international infrastructure; i.e. the Pan-American Highway? It is here that this research project finds its significance.