The community engagement component of this class was one of the reasons why I wanted to take this class. I’ve worked with communities in various countries in Latin America through my work prior to starting a PhD this year, and I hope to continue to do so throughout my PhD. However, in much of my work I needed to get by with my less than fluent Spanish in a work setting, and I’m sure there were many blunders made along the way that I’m not even aware of. This class was a really nice way to reflect on the context of each community and how communication should take this into consideration. I think that I’ve gained some tools to think through the necessary steps to take in situations where translation is needed and in communicating with communities in general. I think these will be really useful going forward in my research, and I’m really grateful for the experience.
The picture I attached is during a conference in Mexico on forestry and gender with two employees of the Mexican Forest Service (CONAFOR).