I've been here at Earth University a little over a week now and I´m starting to feel settled, although I still sometimes wake up with that panicked feeling of "Where am I??" I also wake up a few times a night with the feeling that something is crawling on me, but that's another story.
The campus is so beautiful..I can say it's much easier to wake up every morning with sun streaming in my window and birds chirping outside. I've missed the sun and the heat! I get up at about 6:15, rinse the ants off of my contact case (which they seem to believe is some kind of special jacuzzi), get ready and head to breakfast at the cafeteria. There are about 400 students here, but breakfast is always quiet because they usually start class much earlier than I start work.
The students are so kind! My first couple of times in the cafeteria took me back to those awkward middle school days, tray in hand, where to sit...but everyone here is very welcoming. Probably has something to do with the fact that every time I head to the cafeteria, I meet someone from a new country. EARTH is the ultimate melting pot, and I think all the students know what it feels like to be new-not just at a school, but new to a country.
My first week of work went well I would say. Starting a new job is difficult anywhere. Add a different country and different language to the mix...and sometimes it seems impossible. It makes it easier that I´m excited about what I'm working on. For those of you who don't know yet, I'm helping with a tree planting project for World Environment Day 2010-June 5. With the help of EARTH alumni and sponsors, we hope to plant at least 200,000 trees in 26 different countries as a concrete action to address climate change. My job involves translating Spanish text to English, contacting media in the US and generating content for our EARTH Plants the Future website.
I've already sat in on two business meetings-in Spanish of course! While others take notes on what they need to do, the points being brought up..I secretly jot down all the words I need to look up later. I can't wait until I can understand more than 50% of what is being said!
Back to work for now...
my favorite thing to do...explore :)
about a 15 minute walk from my house...perfect for swimming!
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