Back in the bay

Now that I’m back in the Bay Area and gearing up for a new semester at Berkeley, I’m working to reflect upon and contextualize all that I saw and learned this summer working in Guatemala, and to determine how I can stay involved both with Nest and with Oxlajuj B’atz’. This past Tuesday, I was invited to attend a Meet & Greet for Nest’s Bay Area Chapter, and to make a short presentation about my Fellowship. It was a great opportunity to learn a bit more about Nest as well as to share my experiences and thoughts from the summer.

Leaving the Nest

I’m writing this while airborne, somewhere over Central America, en route back to the states. It’s hard to believe my Fellowship is over, but I’m excited to finally be heading home and to have some time to reflect on everything I’ve learned and thought about this summer. The past week has been a blur of showing my parents around Pana, wrapping up all of our projects, transferring files, preparing for OB’s Celebration of the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People, and of course, last minute shopping and saying goodbye to all of my colleagues and friends.

Cooperative Xuaan Chi Ya

Last Friday, I returned to San Juan for a meeting with Elmy Hernandez, director of the Xuaan Chi Ya cooperative to continue on some Nest outreach that Kate, another Nest Fellow, began earlier in the summer. You can read about Kate’s visit to Xuaan Chi Ya here, on her blog: http://theweschnest.blogspot.com/2011/05/san-pedro.html