The development of the style of managing resources has just begun in Honduras and is quickly evolving and learning from other countries' mistakes.   This is what I am interested in.  I want to be a part of this change.  In two years I hope to join the Peace Corps and travel to Central or South America to contribute to the developing field of agroforestry.   As agriculture advances and population rises, this old practice has become a new and evolving field in forestry.    I did not realize exactly what agroforestry was nor how it could impact a farming community until this trip.  In visiting World Neighbors and Global Village I saw the differences.  Families were able to support each other through more productive crops by using erosion control and a diverse range of species.  A farm family no longer had to slash-and-burn but could remain and be self-sufficient.  Most importantly, I saw the difference properly implemented agriculture has brought to the pride of a family.  Parents no longer have to be ashamed because they cannot feed their own children.  They earn the appreciation of hard work paying off when a good yield, that will be sufficient, comes in.  \

      In general, I think that there is more to this life than the shallow and fast-pace life we see here in the United States.  I feel that I have seen a people who know the meaning of taking time for someone.  They have their values straight and put God and their family at the top of the list.  These are not lessons that can be taught in a class, but can be observed in a lifestyle.   Because of this trip, I was reminded of this way of life and thinking and how much I would like to be a "tranquila" and caring Latina myself. 

      As I reflect on the past of classroom discussions and look to broad scope of open doors standing in front of me I think of where I am now.  I am not ashamed of my culture nor my background.  But all the more I feel a connection with the people of Central America that continues to call me back to this land where so much is foreign.  Maybe that is what it is…an unknown familiarity.  I think I can speak for many people who have seen beyond the tattered clothing of a poor Honduran family and seen into their likeness of us.  We all laugh, cry, hope, believe, grow and die.  This is where I have seen myself in them, but even more so in their willingness to share themselves with me.  As a people who are so warm and down to earth, I feel we, as North Americans, need to look a little deeper and see that we are not better nor that much different.  We are in fact only an inverse mirror of their living situations.  And so I think to myself that when it all comes down to what truly is relevant to this life we will all see each other as nothing more than what we are, human beings.