DelaWHERE?

Queridos Padres,

Papa me preguntó, ¿Qué hay en Delaware? I stopped to really think about it.  A foreign place away from anyone and anything familiar.  Do they even have Starbucks? Yes, they do, I checked. The truth is, I don’t know what’s in Delaware for me.  In fact, being questioned by you, Papa, makes me feel hesitant now.  Am I making the right move? Moving over 2,000 miles away from my family seems a little intense.  I don’t know what’s in Delaware for me but what I can say are the things I know.  

This summer I will take on a community outreach role.  Helping build bridges between Spanish speaking families and the parks.  I remember growing up, longing to go to national parks, pero no sabíamos de ellos.  It wasn’t anyone’s fault, migrating to a new country and state came with many challenges for you two.  Navigating the outdoors isn’t always the easiest task. I can imagine how intimidating it might feel throwing in 5 children, coming out of 40-hour work weeks, and the added stresses of school drop offs/ pickups, doctors’ appointments, and extracurriculars.  A goal of mine in this position is to help those families who finally made it out, despite everything, to feel welcomed and equipped with information they need to safely enjoy their visits.

 Another thing I know is, one division of First State National Historical Park is a unique part of the park system in Delaware.  Brandywine Valley has a 5-acre section that attracts hundreds of visitors during the summer.  Many of these visitors are Spanish speaking and many more of these visitors have been utilizing this recreational area for generations.  La unica problem es que this park hasn’t been a national park for generations. Another goal of mine for this position is to help those families who have been enjoying this area for years, protect and help keep it as beautiful as they found it so that their future families can continue the traditions of uniting at this park.

Asi que, no se que hay en Delaware para mi but what I do know is that there are many families out here having similar experiences with the park system as I once did, and it makes me excited to take on this new challenge to connect con la gente and connect them to the parques. I am excited to write back in a few days about my first week, until then saluda a mis hermanos los quiero mucho.  

Con mucho amor,

Jessie