This summer has been interesting to say the least. One of the best and worst parts about it is that I am able to be at home all the time. There is no need to learn a new language or find housing, but I also have to deal with my parents and their schedule all the time. It’s nice to be working in an office that is air conditioned, fortified, and secured, but it also ends up being really boring half the time when there’s transitions going on or no work to be done. Like every other experience it has had its good days and its bad days.
But this is definitely something that I appreciate. From this experience I’ve gotten to know a lot of people in my area in the field that I am hoping to study in and also make new work friends (friendly co-workers?). It has also been nice to gain some independence and, as the summer goes on, be left to my own devices to do my own thing. I have found something that I love and something that I am fairly passionate about. The experience has changed the way I view disasters and the cultural understanding of disasters we carry here in the United States.
Working on my capstone has been a little tricky. Because of the sensitive nature of emergency management, I have to be selective on what I share with others and where and when I can take pictures. In a way, that has been a blessing because I have a reason not to talk too in depth when I don’t want to. But it also bears the issue that I occasionally cannot share as much as I want to. I have plenty to talk about but must be considerate when I share.
HSF House Blogs 