Once a dragonfly, always a dragonfly. Just when I thought I finished my Project Dragonfly journey, a pandemic hit the world, and I managed to become a dragonfly again. In 2021, after a year of uncertainty, I joined the Miami University Project Dragonfly team as a Community Learning Leader (CLL). I graduated from the Global Field Program in 2018. Now, I had the opportunity to experience Baja again as an assistant instructor. 54 Earth Expedition groups have experienced this adventure. In 2016, I was a student in the Baja 37 cohort, and now I ended the summer as a CLL in Baja 54. It is important to keep in mind though many of us have been on this adventure, we are not experiencing Baja in the same way every time. There is always opportunity to learn and grow.
For me, traveling to Baja is easy. I live in Southern California; all I have to do is drive down to San Diego and off we go to Mexico. I have been there before, I know the tacos are good, I know it’s going to be hot. I am packed and prepared for myself, as well as for my students. I am here to help facilitate experiences as well as gain some professional growth of my own. Half of our trip is spent at the beautiful Rancho San Gregorio and the other half is spent admiring the Vermillion Sea.
Field Methods is the title of the course, and this is a topic that I am extremely familiar with…underwater. Applying the research that I have done as a marine biologist to the complete opposite habitat was a learning opportunity for me. I really enjoy being on the instructor side of things. As an instructor, you have the benefit of knowing the schedule ahead of time. How the students unfold during the activities is where the excitement lies. Students want a minute-by-minute itinerary, and that just wasn’t something we were going to provide to them. This gave them a great lesson in patience and flexibility.
Sometimes things make more sense the second time around. In 2016, I visited the Pinturas Rupestres, Misión San Francisco Borja, and Rancho San Gregorio. This time I was able to connect those three locations and grow my sense of place in Bahía de los Ángeles, Mexico. Lalo, one of our in-country facilitators, made sure to remind all of us to leave our baggage outside of the ranch because the ranch is a place of healing. I put this here for when I need a reminder in life to leave my baggage elsewhere. When we arrived to Rancho San Gregorio, it was almost exactly as I remembered it. This time though, I knew where things were, and Rafael and I had conversations as if we were old friends. This place that I haven’t stopped talking about for years, still felt like magic. I do not know if I will ever pin exactly why I am so comfortable at the ranch, even if it gets to 120 degrees in the summer, but there is something there that makes me feel at peace, and at ease.
One of my favorite moments of the entire expedition is having the opportunity to empower a student to share their knowledge and expertise for all of us. The night sky at the ranch is one of my most favorite star gazing locations. We were so spoiled with gorgeous desert sunsets followed by being able to see the milky way scattered across the night sky. With that in mind, my background is in marine biology, not astronomy. Due to some unseen circumstances, we were going to cancel our stargazing night, then I remembered one of our students had this background and gave astronomy talks to kids at camp. This was one of his moments to shine, and thankfully he was willing to lead us on a stargazing hike. He was to lead the group on the hike and I was to be the caboose to help make sure the pace was good for everyone, make sure the group stays together, and no one gets lost. He totally got us lost, and that was part of our adventure. We still made it to a beautiful stargazing spot, and his storytelling abilities are unforgettable. On Earth Expeditions, we encourage our students to choose their own adventures. He may have thought we were lost, but I only saw it as a new adventure for our group. Of course we made it back safely, I didn’t tell them all we had to do was follow the dogs, and they would lead us back to the ranch.
"One who was born by the ocean or has associated with it cannon ever be quite content away from it for very long"
- John Steinbeck, The Log from the Sea of Cortez
This past year I left my dream job of 16 years for another dream job. In addition, I had another dream job on the side, teaching and traveling as a CLL. This year was about me finding my identity outside of an octopus aquarist, however during every night snorkel, the octopuses still managed to find me. I loved jumping into the sea to snorkel with sea lions while my students were still trying to figure out if we were “allowed” to go into the water. Remember choose your own adventure. The Vermillion Sea is where I feel like home. Here you want to wake up for the sunrise, it is unlike any other. This year I taught the Island Biogeography lesson weeks before I moved to an island, this certainly will be my favorite lesson to teach next year.
For the first time, this year, Earth Expeditions got to work with the Aventureros. This opportunity was a highlight of mine as well as most of the students. Having the opportunity to learn from the local youth was inspirational. These kids are going to change the world, and I cannot wait to see what amazing things they do in the future!
https://vermilionseainstitute.org/impact/aventureros/
As always, it was wonderful to disconnect from technology for a whole 9 days! Bahía ages like fine wine, and hopefully I get to continue to experience it as a Community Learning Leader (CLL). On our last day, the group shared powerful moments from our trip together. We picked out a few of those key words from our journey together.
Baja 54
Wonder
Healing
Peace
Free
Empowering
Spiritual
Connection
Reflective
Breathing
Curiosity
Sunrise
Clarity
Goodbye
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