Gabby and Cinthia Blog 1

Gabriela Bravo, Senior, Houston East End Greenbelt GreenSchools! Green Ambassador and Cheerleader – Austin High School; (Serves Jackson Middle School) 

Cinthia Cantu, Sophomore, Houston East End Greenbelt GreenSchools! Green Ambassador and STEAM Lab Proctor - The Green Institute- Furr High School; Renewable Energy Pathway, Energy Efficient Pathway

Our journey started when we got on the plane. It was very nerve wrecking and it was also our first time flying on a plane. It was a pleasant experience, except for the landing! It was the scariest part of the flight! When we arrived to D.C. we were excited, happy, and nervous because we had worked really hard for this experienced! Many of us have also never been out of Texas before. One of the hardest part of being in D.C. is adapting to the new environment and by that we mean speed walking to catch the train and trying to find our way around the city. For example, the second night that we were at D.C., we got lost and were walking around trying to find the metro center to get back to the hotel. Not even Siri was able to help! During the first three days of being in Washington D.C. we attended 2015 National Environmental Justice Conference. We spoke about the program that we participate back in Houston, Texas. We got the chance to converse with very nice, inspiring, and professional people that could help us with our program, and creating a strong network for our future careers. During the weekend we camped at Bull Run National Park. Cinthia and I really enjoyed it because we got the chance to bond with each other, and to also talk to our peers about how we got involved with the Houston East End Greenbelt movement. It also gave us a chance to bond with one another by cooking, and sleeping in the same cabin with the, “girls,” creating a stronger sisterhood. We also enjoyed our time that we had at the forest. We had the opportunity to sit around a campfire and just talked to each other about our vision for the movement to help improve our lifestyle, community and how we want this program to expand. This is just a short reflection of some of our experiences for the first week, but stay tune to hear more about our second week here at Washington D.C.! :)