At the beginning of the end of my six weeks journey, we had our final pitch. We worked hard last week to polish our presentation, making sure there is quantitative data, and the slides are clear and easy to read. During the presentation, I found out there is some miscommunication in our group. I thought I should present the “challenge” section, but my teammate Lillian instead presented that section, and I had to present the overview section, which I had not written a script for. I was very nervous at first, but when I started talking, I realised that I was able to clearly articulate the process of our project, as I am very familiar with my own project. Although I think we should practice more and avoid miscommunications like this in the future, I have gained more confidence in public speaking through this incident, and realised I can talk more naturally without looking at a script.

On the third day, we have our internal closing. It was lovely to reflect upon everything that we have done over the six weeks. We all shared what we will be bringing home, and as I look back, this is what I wrote: “ I will be bringing home memories of spending time with everyone here, a suitcase full of souvenirs, a fondness for Mexico City, design thinking, community building and project management skills I learned in workshops, and leadership skills that I will use my whole life. I am grateful that I have the chance to come here.

The fourth day is also the last day of our programme. We had our farewell party at Huerto Roma Verde, and we saw our lovely volunteers again. We give them each one of the booklets we made, and everyone was so happy that we successfully completed our project. After our presentation, we have a heartful farewell with the Huerto Roma Verde team. Despite some of the challenges that we encountered on the way, I am very happy with our results and glad that I had the opportunity to work with the HRV team. I will forever cherish the time I spent here.