My name is Abby, and I am a 20 year old Wellesley College student who is interning at the Vieques Conservation and Historical Trust for 10 weeks over this summer! I absolutely cannot believe how quickly my first week and a half here have absolutely flown by.
This spring, when I first discovered that I would have the opportunity to intern at the Trust for the summer, I was... well let's just say that "being beyond excited" didn't quite sum up my enthusiasm. In the midst of my semester, I began imagining what my summer would look like. I soon realized that I really had no idea and no way of knowing how I would like and adjust to such a new environment, but I set two goals for myself: I knew that wanted to do something that pushed me outside of my comfort zone, and I wanted to learn as much as possible.
Before I knew it, I had finished my sophomore year as a chemistry major, had spent several weeks at home in Wisconsin relaxing and was on a teensy little puddle jumper plane from San Juan to Vieques; as we flew over the Caribbean Sea, I had to keep pinching myself in order to remember that this, indeed, was real life, and I was actually about to spend 10 weeks in this amazingly beautiful place where both dogs, chickens and horses calmly and casually roam the streets.
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| It's always sunny and always gorgeous-- I love all of the sailboats! |
Needless to say, I literally hit the ground running, both literally and metaphorically (nearly passing out from the heat on my first few runs here-- my internal "Wisconsin heater" is still transitioning to an AC unit).
Within my first week, I met all of the fabulous staff at the Trust who have been extremely patient and kind as I 1) practice my spanish and 2) learn the ropes of my job, went to see the fantastic bioluminescent bay and learned how to monitor the water quality for a USGS and EPA scientific study, got to be a part of the Mini-Manta Summer Program, working with the kids as we explored the bay and a local river, and have explored all the nooks and crannies of Esperanza, both above and below the gorgeous sea! I have experienced the glory that is Belly-Buttons Thursday night Mexican night (there was so much food there it made my starving-college-student-stomach sing), and have found that mangos and papayas here are most likely the two most delicious fruits I have ever eaten in my entire 20 years of being.
Between snorkeling to catch fish for our aquarium at the Trust and swimming, sailing, kayaking and snorkeling with the Mini-Manta kids on "Eco-nautical day", I've been busy and loving my new niche in Vieques; I am learning endlessly about everything ranging from how to clean and maintain an aquarium to remembering my elementary high school spanish (¡Yo hablo un poquito de español, pero no mucho!)
So far, my adventure has started off in the best way I could have ever hoped for, and I am so genuinely excited for the weeks that are ahead of me!
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| One of the first pictures I took, looking down the Malecon (the main street). |
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