Last Day at my placement...
Thursday 08/01:
Today was my last day in my placement and boy was I sad. I spent the past 10 weeks here and now I'm leaving. After being here for so long I was able to learn more about what the United Farm Workers Union does and how they help through legislative research. This summer, I was a part of the political and legislative department. Through it, I was able to learn more about legislation that will help many farm worker families across the nation. In week one, I was tasked with attending congressional meetings and securing co-sponsorships. At the time, we only had 97 and now in week 10 we have 121 co-sponsors. Although this was a bittersweet moment, I'm happy to say that I've been a part of this important legislation process and now have experience working on important issues that will help many individuals like my own family and community.
The White House...
Friday 08/02:
Today I had the opportunity to visit The White House!!! I had been waiting for this day the entire summer and was super excited to visit the one and only White House. After going through security, we finally made it through and were able to see all the amazing rooms within the house. They have a variety of rooms including a green, blue, and red room that has a lot of beautiful furniture and paintings. I was really hoping to see President Biden but unfortunately I wasn't able to see him. But I will soon return and hope to meet him someday.
Pt. 2 Kayaking
After visiting the White House and attending my last day with CHCI, I decided I still needed to do one last thing. Kayaking was something that I knew I wanted to do since I got here but due to a series of events I wasn't able to go; however today I took the time and went. This experience was wonderful!! I can't swim very well but I knew the feeling of being on the water, paddling, and enjoying the view would be worth it. I kayaked for about an hour but in that hour I was able to learn more about a fellow CHCI intern whom I had spent 10 weeks with. This moment like many others this summer are what I will remember and although I found myself being busy a lot I realized that when I left this is all I would remember...
Flying back home...
Saturday 08/03:
Today was by far the hardest day I've had. I left the GW dorm rooms at 1:30pm and arrived at the airport with enough time to check in and get all my luggage situated. However I was met with a number of obstacles along the way... First, I was directed to check in my luggage and if things couldn't start off stressful I had to pay 200 dollars for them being overweight. Second, I've been struggling with obtaining my ID even after two months of waiting so as a result I was met with being interrogated at the airport, searched, and questioned on my status and reason for being a 19 year old without any form of ID. Third, my most meaningful item (a snow globe) was taken away because it "couldn't be tested". Fourth, I was almost late to my boarding as I was being interrogated.
Fifth, I ran to my gate because my flight was at 3:30pm, but after finding my seat, it was followed by a long, unexpected wait time. After an hour of sitting, we were told we needed to get off the plane. Sixth, after waiting 7 hours in the airport my plane finally was boarding again. It's important to note that my original flight from DC to Dallas, TX was supposed to depart at 3:30pm and I was going to land in Texas at 8:05pm and then board my second plane from Texas to California at 9:41pm. However, due to the major delay I arrived at the Dallas airport at 11:30pm. I was rebooked a flight for tomorrow at 10:30am!!!!! Seventh, after being told that I needed to wait till tomorrow to board my second flight I was so stressed. I had never been in an airport that big, by myself, and without direction. When I landed in Texas I knew I needed to find customer service to see where my luggage would be as I wasn't going to board till tomorrow. When I arrived to customer service, there was over 400 individuals waiting to be helped and so I had to wait. When the time hit 2:30am I tried getting in line and three hours later, I finally received my new boarding pass.
Make it home...
Sunday 08/04:
After waiting a whole night in the airport it finally hit 10:30am and I headed to board the plane. At this point I was on 2 hours of sleep and all I wanted was to get home. Once I landed, I felt so relieved the first thing I said was "I missed this beautiful gray grass". After being gone for 10 weeks away from local taco trucks, Hot Cheetos with cheese, and other amazing food items not seen in DC I was excited to just be back.
This is my last journal assignment and all I can say is... when you are given the opportunity of flying across the country to engage in an experience that seems far greater than what you think you are capable of, you do it. You pack your bags, say your "see you soon's", and you make it the best experience. Now I will continue advocating for my community, farm workers across the country, and myself. I will take space and make space and I will share my knowledge with other Latino individuals so one day we can stop being the minority and become the MAJORITY :)
Bye for now...,
Esmeralda Palafox
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