back in february, i applied for the knauss fellowship in marine policy, run through an office at NOAA call seagrant. i applied through my state office (in california), interviewed there back in march, and found out i was accepted as an executive fellow (as opposed to legislative. means i will work in an agency, rather than for a congressman on the hill) in may.
so i knew that i was a fellow, but not what agency i would be working for. and then last week, all the fellows converged on DC for what is called placement week - basically a very intense, exhausting, but amazing week in which we determine what agency/office we will be working for the next year. this entails presentations from all host offices (43 this year - there are 32 exec fellows), followed by between 11-15 interviews throughout the week, happy hours to "schmooze" (i.e. network) with potential hosts, and then on friday the actual placement process (which is a whole other story in itself).
the dynamic of this week is very different - us fellows are all guaranteed a spot (hooray a job!) and because there are more host offices than there are fellows, so of them won't get a fellow. in interviews, they are interviewing you as much as you are interviewing them. interviews are 30 minutes, which is barely enough time to understand what the office does while simultaneously trying to convince them that you are perfect for that job. for placement, fellows are allowed to call their top 3 on thursday afternoon and by 6:30 on friday, hosts have to rank (as in 1,2,3...) all the fellows they interviewed. it's a bit of a game. and ego-blows are basically guaranteed.
it's a whirlwind of a week and after 15 interviews all over DC, wearing a suit and heels everyday, lots of talking and chatting and in general being "on" from 6am-10pm everyday, i have been "placed" in the NOAA Fisheries (a.k.a. NMFS) Office of International Affairs. i am absolutely psyched and excited about this - it was one of my top choices and sounds like a great office to be in. i will be working on a lot of issues - international agreements, trying to manage international fisheries, illegal fishing on the high seas, working to reduce bycatch (unwanted catch) in fisheries, all sorts of fun things! if you are curious, here's their website for more information: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/ia/index.htm
basically, it's going to be awesome.
thanks to all my family, friends, cohorts, etc. etc. that have been so supportive throughout all of this. it is amazing to reflect on the last year and how i got to be here. if you had asked me one year ago if i thought i would be moving to DC to work on ocean policy, i would have thought you were insane ... and now here i am.
for now i am recovering from the craziness on my parents' couch in boston and will head back down to baja after thanksgiving until mid-december, when i head back up to the states (tucson) for christmas. and then out to DC in mid-january for my start date 1 february :)
22 November 2011
09 November 2011
intercultural exchange
halloween is an important holiday in my family. i am not sure when/how this came about, but i have distinct memories of halloweens from my childhood (including annual halloween parties at our house complete with a crazy scientist (dad) and craft sessions (mom)) and it has continued to be a favorite holiday as i have grown up. for example, in college, i used to get halloween gift boxes from my parents - complete with halloween decorations of various types, things to share with my roommates, etc. etc. i am the only person i know who gets regular halloween gifts from my parents (including this year, sent with my father).
[this year's was a bat mobile!]
the past three years have seen no carved pumpkins, no costume, not much of anything. but i bring halloween decorations with me wherever i go, including this year, with my halloween confetti (ghosts, spiders, pumpkins), some monster glasses, etc. and this year, in my own house, if i could manage to track down a pumpkin, i definitely wanted to at LEAST carve pumpkins with iván (who has never carved a pumpkin before. thankfully, being in la paz, we are close enough to the US border to have some spillover of US culture, and they import some "halloween pumpkins". i came home from work one day to find the house decorated with bats, balloons, and two pumpkins ready for carving ... hooray!
[iván]
[me]
halloween coincides with día de los muertos here in mexico (31 oct and 2 nov). it is traditional for día de los muertos for each family to create an ofrenda (offering) to their ancestors. usually this involves a photo of the loved one(s), pan de muertos, candles, fruit, flowers, and candy calaveras (skulls) to represent each person living in the house (it can be quite elaborate). the idea/belief/tradition, is that on the night of the first, you leave out the food and the candles burning all night and your ancestors visit and dine with you.
i really appreciate how other cultures celebrate their dead and recognize them in this way. i remember back a few years ago to all saints day in the philippines where i went with my host family to the cemetery and we spent the day there, eating, talking, laughing, and spending time with their ancestors. families in mexico do this as well, but they have this additional tradition of the ofrenda.
it is hard for me to describe my emotions, while setting up our ofrenda ... i am not sure if i actually believe that the souls of our ancestors come to visit and share food with us, but i ... like the tradition. the action of remembering. and i like that it is something that i can share with iván, that is part of his culture.
and what i really enjoyed was this mix of ourselves - my halloween and his día de los muertos. and our ofrenda complete with carved pumpkins.
in la paz, there is an annual festival de muertos at the theatre of the city. they have shows, skits, dances, and contests for the best catrina (skeleton) and ofrendas. the evening we went was the procession of the catrinas and they walk around and you can take pictures with them, see the different styles of ofrendas, and eat tamales de mole (yum!).
the skits are fabulous - very funny and clever.
here's a video (with translation provided below):
el obrero gana el pan con el sudor de su frente
para que sus hijos comen aun que no lo suficiente
mientras muchos abusivos viven violando las leyes
ganando lo que ellos quieren por andar haciendo bueyes
the worker earns bread from the sweat off his back
so that his children can eat although it is not sufficient
while many abusers lives violating the laws
earning what they want even being asses
must love fall holidays. on to thanksgiving :)
[this year's was a bat mobile!]
the past three years have seen no carved pumpkins, no costume, not much of anything. but i bring halloween decorations with me wherever i go, including this year, with my halloween confetti (ghosts, spiders, pumpkins), some monster glasses, etc. and this year, in my own house, if i could manage to track down a pumpkin, i definitely wanted to at LEAST carve pumpkins with iván (who has never carved a pumpkin before. thankfully, being in la paz, we are close enough to the US border to have some spillover of US culture, and they import some "halloween pumpkins". i came home from work one day to find the house decorated with bats, balloons, and two pumpkins ready for carving ... hooray!
[iván]
[me]
halloween coincides with día de los muertos here in mexico (31 oct and 2 nov). it is traditional for día de los muertos for each family to create an ofrenda (offering) to their ancestors. usually this involves a photo of the loved one(s), pan de muertos, candles, fruit, flowers, and candy calaveras (skulls) to represent each person living in the house (it can be quite elaborate). the idea/belief/tradition, is that on the night of the first, you leave out the food and the candles burning all night and your ancestors visit and dine with you.
i really appreciate how other cultures celebrate their dead and recognize them in this way. i remember back a few years ago to all saints day in the philippines where i went with my host family to the cemetery and we spent the day there, eating, talking, laughing, and spending time with their ancestors. families in mexico do this as well, but they have this additional tradition of the ofrenda.
it is hard for me to describe my emotions, while setting up our ofrenda ... i am not sure if i actually believe that the souls of our ancestors come to visit and share food with us, but i ... like the tradition. the action of remembering. and i like that it is something that i can share with iván, that is part of his culture.
and what i really enjoyed was this mix of ourselves - my halloween and his día de los muertos. and our ofrenda complete with carved pumpkins.
in la paz, there is an annual festival de muertos at the theatre of the city. they have shows, skits, dances, and contests for the best catrina (skeleton) and ofrendas. the evening we went was the procession of the catrinas and they walk around and you can take pictures with them, see the different styles of ofrendas, and eat tamales de mole (yum!).
the skits are fabulous - very funny and clever.
here's a video (with translation provided below):
el obrero gana el pan con el sudor de su frente
para que sus hijos comen aun que no lo suficiente
mientras muchos abusivos viven violando las leyes
ganando lo que ellos quieren por andar haciendo bueyes
the worker earns bread from the sweat off his back
so that his children can eat although it is not sufficient
while many abusers lives violating the laws
earning what they want even being asses
must love fall holidays. on to thanksgiving :)
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