26 Jul Firsts in Monterey Bay, CA

I can’t believe it’s been a week since the Environment for the Americans (EFTA) intern trip! I had so much fun meeting other EFTA interns, as well as getting to know my fellow Latino Heritage Internship Program (LHIP) interns. Since my position has been remote this summer, I don’t get to interact with other interns as much as I’d like to. For this reason, bonding with other interns was definitely the highlight of this trip for me.

The original plan was to go to Yosemite, check out some sites, do some hiking, and so on. However, a wildfire broke out the week before we were scheduled to visit, so our entire itinerary was changed a few days before our trip.

Not gonna lie… I was pretty bummed about this news. It was going to be my first time in Yosemite. Nevertheless, there were other first experiences that I did not expect during this trip that I will never forget.

I arrived in San Francisco, CA around 7am, got myself a black tea and banana, and waited for the LHIP team to pick me up. The LHIP team promptly arrived around 8:30am and picked myself and fellow intern, Diego, up and we made our way to Monterey Bay, CA, about a two hour drive from San Francisco.

As we made our way down the central coast, fellow interns and LHIP staff were surprised by the overcast. Having been born and raised in Oxnard, CA (one of the last cities in California’s central coast), I know this overcast all too well. We usually don’t see the sun until 12pm and it only stays out until about 4:30pm. Most of the interns and staff assumed the weather would be sunny and warm, with it being California, but the central coast is different like that.

When I think about this trip, my favorite moments weren’t the places we experienced, but experiencing them through the interns’ perspectives. A lot of firsts were experienced during this trip – from interns’ first time in California to their first time seeing the Pacific Ocean. These are things that have always been a part of my life, so it was so moving to them experience for the first time through someone else.

Breakfast at SFODiego and Andres at Point Lobos

Here are too many firsts during the summer portion of my internship. I’m excited to be in Washington, DC for the first time next week to present what I’ve been up to this summer.