FINDING MY PASSION: A Sunday mopping my floors listening to Shakira

I am afraid that the high of being here has gone. I really hope not. Perhaps I am overcoming my first true sickness since being down here, thus, this is a normal feeling after almost a week of exhaustion.

I am easing into a life of normality before the chaos of my thesis work begins. To tell you the truth I am scared of the stress ahead. I have three months in the field, living with three other thesis members, day in and day out. This starts in Sept and is going to be a huge challenge. I will learn a lot from it.

I am excited as well to be working in a beautiful Biosphere Reserve: El Triunfo, about my work and what I have been reading about coffee and soil conservation. Also at the end of it feeling a great sense of accomplishment. I know this project reflects my dream job of working in the field in Latin America on agricultural issues, and social resource development. El Triunfo is a cloud forest that is suppose to be one of the most beautiful spots in Mexico. I feel very lucky.

One of our partners is Walter who works for the National Government on agriculture and trees. (http://www.inifap.gob.mx/SitePages/default.aspx). He is wonderful. I really enjoy listening to his work in La Suiza watershed, with the different communities. His goal is to have them create a functional watershed committee. This way they not only can help out the environment but also are in a better position to ask for money. It brings the communities together on a watershed scale; thus, in my idea it gives a sense of empowerment to these communities. They were hit hard by hurrican Mitch and Stan, and with the coffee market crash. Global warming is causing them to grow their coffee at higher elevations, they are losing land. Also they lose land frequently (!) to landslides.

I love feeling apart of something meaningful. I love reading in Spanish, it makes me feel like I am getting double the knowledge each time I read an article for my thesis. I like being around Walter because he is dedicating his life for a greater cause. I like that. I want to do that.