Wrapping It Up

It has almost been two months since I left Namibia and ended my internship at CCF. I meant to add a conclusion to this blog directly after I arrived home in Oregon, but didn't know exactly what to say. I have now had time to process my experience and I know how I want to summarize it. A good way to determine which aspects of an experience benefited you most is to think about what parts of that experience make you the most nostalgic. For me, the most nostalgia inducing thoughts of Namibia come from remembering the people I worked with and the habitat in which my internship was set. I like to think I made friends at CCF that I will be able to keep in contact with for a very long time, and maybe I will even have the opportunity to visit them someday in their home countries. Seeing the world is a very important life goal of mine, and I hope that visiting my coworkers at CCF could work as a good excuse to help me achieve that goal. Other than the people, I miss the wilderness that I was surrounded by in Namibia. I could wake up and see five different species of animals on my ten minute walk to the offices. The closest thing I have to that in Oregon is the family of squirrels that live in the tree just outside of where I live. It definitely doesn't have the same impact from a conservation standpoint. In Namibia, I could see first hand what my career goals and aspirations were looking to protect, and that feeling has dwindled since returning to a classroom style of learning. I can't thank CCF enough for showing me what kind of career I could be a part of after college. I look forward to what opportunities I will encounter after having experience with a well known conservation organization. Lastly, I want to thank each and every person at CCF for being my friends, my teachers, my card playing buddies, my protectors while in the wilderness, and my support group through the rough times. I will never forget the time I spent in Namibia, or the people I spent it with.