Standing in the jetway felt like standing on a gangplank. My stomach kept lurching and I had the fleeting thought to bolt backward out the door. “What am I doing?…I’ve done this before and was a complete failure at acquiring a language or adjusting to a new culture.”
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But there I was. Getting on the same plane, heading to the same place where undoubtedly, I’d face the same struggles as before.
I planted my feet, looked ahead, and moved forward with the other passengers onto the plane.
Only a month ago did I find the GIS/GPS Internship announcement. Within 2 days of applying, I had interviewed and secured a job with Yanapuma Foundation in Ecuador to map the territory boundaries of an indigenous tribe living in the forests of Ecuador. Without any hesitation I accepted the position and notified my current boss of my near departure in 2 weeks. -- It was time. Hawaii had had its amazing moments, but I felt constrained by the space and opportunities there. After spending a year working on a grad certificate in GIS, in the hopes of breaking into the conservation or land management field, I was struggling to make the right network connections to get entry-level experience. My working background is teaching. For the last 6 years I have taught English as a Second Language and although teaching international students has been rewarding and been a challenge, I have known for awhile that my passion was elsewhere.
An opportunity to help an underrepresented ethnic group with a sustainable development project was irresistible and I bit the line. Where it will take me I don’t know, but I will definitely learn how to be resourceful and to collaborate on a project where language and culture may be the biggest obstacles to overcome. I confided in my sister of my doubts and fear of failure on the project. She asked me “What’s the worst that could happen?” Hrmm. Well, I could plot all of the data points incorrectly and create bogus maps. Lose my non-paying job and travel around South America for awhile. Ah, not so bad. Keep it in perspective!
So 2 weeks of Spanish classes to refresh the rusty bits and patch up the gaping holes. Then a bus will plummet out of Quito, through the treacherous mountain pass and down to Santo Domingo. There I will be introduced to the Tsa’chila community, whom I will live with for the next 3 months, and will begin the data collection for my first ever mapping project (outside of an academic setting).
Still on the plane. One more hour to Quito. One more hour to suspend reality.
---
But there I was. Getting on the same plane, heading to the same place where undoubtedly, I’d face the same struggles as before.
I planted my feet, looked ahead, and moved forward with the other passengers onto the plane.
Only a month ago did I find the GIS/GPS Internship announcement. Within 2 days of applying, I had interviewed and secured a job with Yanapuma Foundation in Ecuador to map the territory boundaries of an indigenous tribe living in the forests of Ecuador. Without any hesitation I accepted the position and notified my current boss of my near departure in 2 weeks. -- It was time. Hawaii had had its amazing moments, but I felt constrained by the space and opportunities there. After spending a year working on a grad certificate in GIS, in the hopes of breaking into the conservation or land management field, I was struggling to make the right network connections to get entry-level experience. My working background is teaching. For the last 6 years I have taught English as a Second Language and although teaching international students has been rewarding and been a challenge, I have known for awhile that my passion was elsewhere.
An opportunity to help an underrepresented ethnic group with a sustainable development project was irresistible and I bit the line. Where it will take me I don’t know, but I will definitely learn how to be resourceful and to collaborate on a project where language and culture may be the biggest obstacles to overcome. I confided in my sister of my doubts and fear of failure on the project. She asked me “What’s the worst that could happen?” Hrmm. Well, I could plot all of the data points incorrectly and create bogus maps. Lose my non-paying job and travel around South America for awhile. Ah, not so bad. Keep it in perspective!
So 2 weeks of Spanish classes to refresh the rusty bits and patch up the gaping holes. Then a bus will plummet out of Quito, through the treacherous mountain pass and down to Santo Domingo. There I will be introduced to the Tsa’chila community, whom I will live with for the next 3 months, and will begin the data collection for my first ever mapping project (outside of an academic setting).
Still on the plane. One more hour to Quito. One more hour to suspend reality.