When I was told I would be the Instructor for the Baja V group - leaving in mid July for Baja California Mexico, I was both excited and nervous. The major topics (community based conservation, Inquiry based education, natural history and field methods) were all right up my alley - but at the same time not, because they were in a very unfamiliar ecosystem. How was I supposed to teach graduate students about a system I had never worked in...it was a terrifying prospect.
As I started to "get to know" my students through their writing I became more and more excited about the upcoming field experience. They all had such different backgrounds and such different experiences - I just knew this trip would be an amazing experience. What I didn't know what the extent to which they would all change my life.
Arriving in San Diego that first day I was both excited and terrified...I was going to be responsible for all of these people, in this place that I knew nothing about...in an ecosystem I had never experienced. I met a few students that were early arrivals, and had some amazing conversations with them. I spoke with Meggan (the in country partner and master mind behind the schedule and organization of the trip)on the phone and she calmed my nerves, and gave me some great advice - "Don't incite a shoe panic". I met my co-leader Kevin - who thankfully had massive amounts of experience with Baja and we nailed down a "plan" for the first couple of days.
As we piled into the vans and drove across the border into mexico I had no was of knowing what lay ahead and I would never have predicted what I would learn about myself during this trip.
I often appear more confident than I really am...I rarely feel like I really "fit" anywhere. I worry about how I'm perceived more than I should and I often suffer from not feeling worthy or good enough. I carry a LOT of suppressed emotion around with me on a day to day basis. The number of times that I teared up, or outright cried on this trip was insane, and became a bit of a running theme - all the way up through the last night when Sarah decided we should all share what we were leaving behind and taking with us from our amazing journey. If I'm honest I have to admit that there are tears even now as I think about the people and the experience of Baja. 
The power of the place hit me regularly - and without warning. The emotion of seeing the pacific ocean for the first time, the silence and beauty of the Vizcaino Desert were powerful. I hiked in the Vizcano Desert, slept under the stars, ate the most
amazing food. I swam in the Sea of Cortez, snorkeled with sea lions,
watched a pod of pilot whales mere feet from the boat and swam along side whale sharks, but none of those
things were the highlight of my experience.
For me, the thing that I will always remember, and the part of this trip that will never be duplicated came from the people that I took this journey with. The constant support I got from Kevin in preparing and co-leading the activities that were so new to me was so amazing. Rafael and Esmeralda and their family welcomed us at the Rancho San Gregorio as though we were long lost members of their family.All of my students showed me that the world is full of bright, excited and willing educators, conservationists and biologists. Meggan both challenged me and supported me in ways I've never experienced, and could never possible thank her for properly. Those people...they made that experience what it was and they gave me a gift that can never be replace...they taught me that I'm not alone in my love of and passion for the world around me...that there is some place where I do "fit" and that no matter where we go or what we do - when we are with like minded people who are open to new experiences we can all grow - I said it that last day in Baja and I'll say it again now - I couldn't have asked for a better group of people to share this experience with and I took a little bit of each of them home with me!
