Spring is in full bloom. The air is humid, but the evening gave a small chill to it. My smell noticed the absence of salt, which felt uncommon. Overall, it was a great day to be outside. Like usual, families gathered to play with their children and their dogs. Couples also sat by the edge of the beach to drink mate and talk. This park is definitely a spot of reunion. It is also a spot where the black birds scavenge food on the grass, quickly diferentiating between organic matter and inorganic litter. The palm trees are in communion with smaller shrubs too, providing shade. These past couple of months, I have created my own community too. I recently realized that I would like to come back and visit. It is kind of insane to think how, once again, I have people in a compeltely different country that I can truly call friends.

However, these connections, this experience, this trip comes at a price. My flight alone generated 1.65 tonnes of CO2. Since I was 16, I have been very aware of my privilege (or hipocrisy). I take long flights to visit new countries to study how to solve the climate crisis. In high shcool, when we were discussing a proposal for stronger environmental policies in our campus, our principal mentioned that the Board of Trustees had discussed decreasing the number of students coming from other continents, to reduce the carbon footprint of flying. It made sense, logically. But every single one of the students in that meeting reacted with a categorical “No”. I have seen first hand the impact of studying abroad and intercultural education has on people. But it is true that it comes at a great price for the planet.

This semester, I chose to volunteer with Redalco to give back to my community and the planet, even if just a little bit. Redalco is a non-profit focused on food security and reducing waste. They collect leftover produce from the Unidad Agroalimentaria Metropolitana, which is a huge complex where all vegetables and fruits are transported from the rural ranches in the interior of the country to the consumers at the capital. My first time volunteering at Redalco we packed dozens of 4 kilo bags of tangerines. Those bags were donated to different schools around the district. I know this work pales in comparison to the impact I have on the planet, but it is a start.