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Sunday, July 8, 2012

One year is not that long…


     When I first got to ECHO a year and 4 days ago, everyone kept telling me that the year would go by really fast. True to what they all said, the year went by faster than I could have ever imagined. Looking back on it and remembering all the things that happened, and what I have learned, it is surprising how much was crammed into that time, and yet it doesn’t seem like I was in an intensive learning program. We were constantly busy doing something, but the learning that took place did not seem like we were being overwhelmed with information.
Me holding Ivory the biggest doe I was responsible for.
     Being put in charge of so much that needed to happen on the farm, like keeping my demonstration area maintained, and being responsible for keeping plants and animals alive really forced me to learn on my own and from staff. I not only learned, but put to practice these lessons, reinforcing them in my mind. I don’t just know what you should do if slugs start eating your seedlings, for example, but have actually dealt what the problem. I have lots of experiences I can go back to and draw off of, either because of a mistake I made, or because of something that worked really well.
All the interns working together in close quarters 
     Living with 10 interns was also a tremendous time of learning. Working together all day long, and living in such close quarters, there could have been and were to an extent conflicts. However, our faith, focus on community and development really helped us to overcome our differences and learn from each other’s strengths and weaknesses.
     Daily interactions with Staff who have lived and traveled internationally, and who are knowledgeable about so many topics made it difficult not to pick up helpful or random pieces of information about international agriculture, or just life.
     It was a great experience that shaped me in so many ways. I have found out both some of my strengths and weaknesses, grown in my knowledge of ag and development, my faith, and met a whole lot of friends in the process. 
     A year ago, I spent two weeks in Santa Cruz CA processing being done with college, before going to Florida for the internship. Almost exactly a year later, I have two weeks back in Santa Cruz to try and process this incredibly great busy time I spent at ECHO.