My return to downtown Oaxaca after three weeks at Tierra del Sol was a welcome change of pace. After three weeks of sharing a bunk bed, taking cold outdoor showers alongside friendly lizards, and using (very sustainable) composting toilets, my rented studio apartment in the center of the city felt like luxury. Much like at Tierra del Sol, I found a new routine, attending Spanish classes in the mornings at a local language cooperative and working on data analysis out of local cafes in the evenings.
While I was living more comfortably for this second half of my project, we faced new challenges nonetheless. Much of the data we collected didn’t quite align with what we were expecting based on the previous models we had researched, and it was difficult to pinpoint exactly what was causing variance in our data due to the new variables we had adapted to account for. This week involved number crunching, long meetings to discuss possible questions and answers, and seemingly aimless online research to align our findings with existing literature on Oaxacan agriculture.
While I thought returning to the city would feel like a break, I found myself having to take more risks than I expected this week. My background is not in quantitative data analysis or biology or environmental science, and at first this held me back from offering up my own opinion on what I was seeing. I didn’t feel qualified to answer the questions we had. But soon, I realized I knew more than I gave myself credit for after my three weeks at Tierra del Sol. I learned that I could use my own background in international relations and apply it to this new field: I learned how to recognize patterns from policy analysis classes and how to think critically after analyzing historical sources.
I explored the city more with my classmates, found new favorite places to grab a coffee and get some work done, and was even able to chat in broken Spanish with teachers and neighbors. This week, Oaxaca started to feel more like home.