Thankfulness (By Alberto Franco)

Hi everybody! We're glad you're interested to know more about how the Scientific Expedition Atitlán 2012 experience has been for each participant. I'm sure each person will be able to enrich the details of this wonderful time, full science, laughter, hugs, hard work and friends. Keep close to this blog because I'm sure that as this experience is being digested by each individual at it's own time, you may read comments that bring to surface the greatest emotions and that show the final impressions for the last two weeks at the Lake.

The great presentations from yesterday are a great proof that this project has a multidisciplinary approach for our overwhelmingly beautiful Lake Atitlán and the problematic it is currently facing. I believe that at one point on this expedition, every participant was able to feel within how the Lake is quietly sobbing and trying to help us work towards making it healthy again. This is a feeling that glued all of us into an experimental, analyzing, questioning and creative state that shall last very much longer than the two weeks spent at Panajachel. 

It is like if seeds were planted to save Lake Atitlan. Seeds for plants that will produce concise actions and that will help us take better decisions when it comes to define how the environmental management at the Atitlán  Watershed should and will be. These seeds have been gently planted by all of the investigators and assistants, which I'm honored to have met. You have all been wonderful and have shown such a commitment and energy level for this project, that all students wanted was to do our very best every time, everywhere.

I'm sure I talk in behalf of every participant when I say that we're grateful to every person and institution that made this unique experience possible. It is definitely life changing and fills our hearts with hope balanced with scientific facts that lead to clarity and effectiveness. Not to mention the new friends we've made. 

And its amazing how every time I start identifying all of my feelings on this experience, and as I go deeper and deeper, every time I realize that thankfulness is what resonates in my heart.