Community Resourced

Here’s the part with the cover letter highlights, the background information, the curated content of my personal story. The education, work history, projects and passions that have been gathered into my Mary Poppins’ magical handbag – a wealth of resources that are close at hand, and available for sharing.

I graduated from Portland State University with a BA in International Studies. My focus was on Latin America. If you had asked me at the time why I chose that field I would have replied, “To connect with migrant worker communities, and be an advocate for policy change for a healthier, more sustainable world.” I had no job in mind. I didn’t know what was even possible. I knew I loved people, that I was curious about the capacity of community, and that I wanted to be fluent in Spanish so that I could be a better communicator, and thereby be able to provide better support, however that showed up. I also knew that if given the opportunity, I would love to travel to Cuba, which at the time, was still under heavy travel restrictions. When I learned that a summer study abroad program would be opening up two semesters after my anticipated graduation, I altered my schedule. I applied for and was accepted into the 2002 summer program offered through Universidad de la Habana. I completed my studies in Cuba, despite the dialect far out-pacing my school-taught Spanish.

To this day I am not fluent in Spanish, but I am almost fluent in Spanish. In 2019 I took a road trip through Patagonia with a dear friend, and we learned quite quickly that my almost-fluentness was better than remembered, and served us beautifully when seeking out unlikely gasolina in remote pueblos, or finding a fantastic fishing spot from a fly shop proprietor, or explaining to airport security why I had a sheep skull in my luggage. The knowledge we gather never fully goes away, but when called upon it can be tapped into, and strengthened through practice.

Now I move through life with a pervasive sense of gratitude, in awe of the unlikely phenomenon that I’m experiencing with you right now – sole reader – as we share space in some way on this blip in the human era. I draw resource from all of the teachers I have had, some intentional, some accidental. I draw resource from the relationships I’ve formed, in all their nuances and circumstances. I draw resource from community the way a lamp draws electricity from a power source, and when I practice in all those resources, I shine.

A pause along the long, dusty, and iconic Ruta 40 in Patagonia. Photo by John Waller / Uncage the Soul Productions.