Weather: Cloudy, a bit of rain in the afternoon, and humid

This morning started out with a rejection letter from the Alaska Conservation Foundation. I was obviously upset and distraught by this as I had really gotten my hopes up. I talked with mom before leaving for school, shed some tears, and kept talking to her on my way to school feeling a bit better. I went through class and lunch still upset, but I was getting to like the idea of staying home and spending time with my friends this Summer. Sure enough a bit past lunch I sent a thank you email to Willow (who interviewed me and works for ALFA) and Anna (who works for Alaska Conservation Foundation).

Fast forward to around 3pm, I was working on homework when I get an email from Willow and she says: "I have been thinking of your diverse skill set and I am considering a separate internship option that I think you would be uniquely qualified for. If you are interested, the internship that I propose would focus on our Alaskan's Own and Sitka Seafood Festival programs-I see a potential for other connections with other programs such as SeaBank and Fishery Conservation Network as well as our policy work (all depending on your interests). Here is a little more information: I would hope to make the internship a win/win experience for you. I could offer a free round-trip plane ticket, the opportunity to get out on commercial fishing vessels to experience fishing here in Alaska (if you would want this) as well as the opportunity to get out on the ocean for sport/subsistence fishing/kayaking/etc." I was beside myself and once again going through the fear of going home for a short amount of time and leaving again. Minutes later the next phase of how cool it would be to be in Alaska hits me, and sure enough I decide I want to take the opportunity. I am waiting on a response if it's paid or not but if it isn't, I'm seeing if it's possible to do 2 months instead. I also plan on working part time while Im there which would cover grocery costs and hopefully give me wiggle room. My day went 360 and ended on a good note and it hasn't hit me that I will be spending some of the Summer in Alaska! I may lose some money with the cost of rent but I have the rest of my life to work. This will be a huge opportunity and a great way to get some contacts for the future. I am seriously considering a career in sustainable fisheries and this would be a huge foot in the door that I am pretty excited about!

On another high note, yesterday I helped Dianna get boat tickets to Santa Cruz for this weekend. I even got her reduced prices because we are students on the island. I managed to do this all in Spanish and it was a conversation that I needed because it gave me confidence back. I have been experiencing language exhaustion lately and not comprehending as much as I normally do which is discouraging. I then went home and had a conversation with Tania about life insurance policies in the states as well as retirement ages. Apparently, Ecuador wants to raise the age to 80!! Tania was saying how crazy it is because the government wouldn't have to give out a lot of money because people will die before their 80 or they won't be able to work that long because they may be incapable. She talked about how she has been contributing to her retirement all these years and she hopes they leave the age where it is which is 66 currently.

Back to today, Tania took me, Anahi, Mateo, and Helena out to dinner to Calypso for pizza. It was an awesome way to end the day and the language exhaustion subsided so I was able to tell them all about Alaska in Spanish. I was feeling pretty good after that. I head to Santa Cruz tomorrow and Paco will come back from being gone for two weeks on Saturday.