This summer’s Earth Expeditions experience in Guyana was in many ways a culminating experience for me. It was my final EE before finally graduating, and I am at the precipice of starting my own nonprofit but also taking on a greater leadership role in my current (paid) work. I was also amidst the move into my own home and living alone for the first time, and navigating complex personal relationships. It was a lot to carry into an EE journey for ten days with a bunch of complete strangers, but once again the experience was inspiring and transformative in all the ways that I love about Project Dragonfly.
One of the most fulfilling components of the Guyana experience was the personal connections made with classmates as well as the locals in Surama. Every connection gives new insight and sparks interest in another person’s corner of the world, and I am grateful for the ongoing connections made during this particular EE. Since our time in Guyana, I have kept in touch via almost-daily text with a few classmates. It has been really neat to catch up about school as well as life, family, friends, and even professional goals. It is affirming to know that there are like-minded people in my corner, and the experiences we shared in the field are invaluable.
I also was fortunate enough to visit Robin at the Milwaukee County Zoo over the summer. It all worked out easily to coordinate with friends visiting family, and then drag them to the zoo as well. They were just as jazzed as I was about meeting Robin, seeing the elephant barn, and learning about the zoo’s conservation work. It was especially fun because my friend had grown up going to the Milwaukee County Zoo, and already knew the names of the elephants and had kind of grown up alongside them. She was arguably more excited than I was about the experience! It was also validating to have friends who live and work in an entirely different sphere (psychology) show so much enthusiasm for conservation and learn so much from our brief time at the zoo with Robin. It was clear from that short interaction how great of a difference a little environmental education can make – I have since seen my friend share the good word about elephants, particularly Brittany and Ruth, of the Milwaukee County Zoo, with a variety of different people in her and our lives.
Unrelated to Guyana, but I did another Midwest weekend trip to visit a friend and business collaborator more recently, and could not help but feel gratitude the entire time. I have made some priceless connections through this program and I am both overjoyed and grateful that they have extended well beyond the bounds of an EE or even a semester. I firmly believe these are lifelong friendships and professional working relationships and I can’t wait to see where they take us and our nonprofit.
Finally, and back to Guyana, I recently mailed the newspaper articles I submitted to my regional newspaper (doubling as my ALC) to Uncle Dan. Just sayin’, friends, it was only $3.25. It was worth every penny of the postage to affirm and share with our Guyanese hosts that their teachings extend far beyond our time in country. My title for this blog post comes from the many people I’ve simply educated about the geography of South America (and Africa). In fact, at the post office, noting the “S.A.” at the bottom of the envelope, she asked if it was in South Africa. Going a step farther, I was on a botany hike recently and shared about my recent travel to Guyana, and I have come to learn when people ask how it was, that my response is about the vast swaths of undisturbed forest, the generosity and hospitality of the people, and my love of the rain forest. Once I get past the venomous or parasitic things, I really love the heat, the lush vegetation, and living with the land in a rustic way. I had a hard time adjusting back to my work cubicle, staring at a screen, caring about social media, and especially traffic! I feel pretty fortunate to live in a place that I find beautiful and rural (which I prefer), but just the general American experience was unsettling for a time after living more closely with the cycles of the sun and closer to the land. I am grateful for the experience and a little sad to know that my EE times have come to an end. I have looked forward to this trip since first researching the Global Field Program and it is bittersweet to know that it has already come and gone. Thankfully, the memories live on forever.
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