my job & contract renewal

This week has been crazy at work, but wonderful after work. My contract is finishing soon, in about 3 weeks, and I am thinking about renewing it. As this represent a new step of my life, I am valuating all the pros and the cons about it. Mainly, I am very passionate about the work I am doing here, I love the people I work with, and more importantly, I can see the results of our work. If you do not know me, or if you do anyway, you may still be wondering what kind of job is keeping me on the other side of the world respect home, in such a small and isolated island. And this comic (that my old boss posted in our office), in short, summarize why I am renewing…

("oh, eternal life is fine, but what I really like is getting to wear flip-flops all the time")

About my job, if you are American, you are probably familiar with EPA. I f you are not, please watch “the Simpson, the movie”: I work for the bad people that put that glass dome on top of Springfield. And as the movie, the big pollution problem here comes from pig waste disposal: Samoan do love their pigs! It is a big part of the traditional life-style. A proposed law 2 years ago to increase the setback of piggeries from human habitation from 50 feet away to 100 feet away did not pass because people in the government said things like “I told me pigs last night that I may have to move them away and they were sad” and “I love watching TV with my pigs and I do not want them to be that far away…”. But because of the high percentage of people sick with leptospirosis, we cannot really let piggery owner let their pigs poop into the streams and let them roaming, and so 2 years ago, AS EPA (American Samoa Environmental Protection Agency) lunched a Piggery Compliance Program. I came on board as the GIS Specialist, teaching people how to use the GPS to map ALL piggeries in American Samoa and creating a geodatabase (that is a database that also stores information of the exact location of the piggery –important in a place where physical addresses do not exist.). Recently, I published an article on Arc News that, with a readership of more than 600,000 around the world, is one of the main (or THE main?) GIS magazine. If you want to read it, you can find it at: http://www.esri.com/news/arcnews/fall07articles/regulating-illegal.html ).

Our Piggery Compliance Program also won an Award from EPA last Monday, and I consider this a big achievement and I am proud to be part of it. For more information about the award look at: http://www.epa.gov/region09/awards/08/index.html. I still use GIS to support managers/engineers/enforcement officers in their work.

I am also looking at the water quality of the streams in American Samoa. This consists in monthly sampling, and lots of analysis. My goal is to publish one or two articles before finishing here, and since this is not going to happen in the next 3 weeks, by renewing the contract I will have more time to do it. I feel like I am doing a difference here, and it feels great!

I know many people out there are not happy about my decision of renewing, and here are some cons and pros I though about, I am posting them here for you, hoping that will help you understand why I am staying here...

Cons:

• The dollars worth nothing! What was a good salary 2 years ago, it is now very discrete! And being part of my life in Italy, where the Euro rules, this exchange rate does affect me a bit. So, if I renew, I won’t do it for the money for sure.
• I am far away from home. But after all, I do not have immediate family there anymore. My parents passed away, my brother is married… It could be depressing returning now…
• I miss my friends there. But I do love them a lot and love does not have boundaries. They are always here with me anyway. Plus, even in Italy I would still be so far away from my other friends around the world.
• The island is small. But it is still Neverland after all, and I am honored I had the luck to end up here. It is fun for a while!
• No single guys. But after all, who needs them? I am happy with my far away butterflies that make me happy and do not hurt me.
• No food. But the garden is going great! And with Pietro and Mia here, I really have to say I NEVER eat so well for so long in all my life. All we need is flour, eggs, milk, water… all things you can find quite easily even here.
• No Italians. But anyway, until June we will be in 3! For the next world cup I will make I can see some games off-island, maybe in the States in some “little Italy” community… And Skype still helps a lot to be in contact. Who knows, maybe I will be able to have more family to come and stay with me for a while…
• Danger. I have been in a couple of dangerous situations here, but I feel safe in this house now and I live with people and our house is surrounded by families all the time, so I feel much safer. Plus now we also have a man living with us, so it is perfect! And, you can anyway find bad apples all over the world, not just here.

Pros:

• I love my job. Plus I am learning a lot and I feel I am improving professionally everyday. I am publishing, winning awards, meeting important people that could help me in the future to find a job somewhere else.
• Experience and Commitment. It seems like it looks good (on curriculum) having experience living abroad, especially in such remote community. Renewing shows commitment for the work you are doing (and I have to say, I am very committed here!).
• I am so spoiled. The Agency helped me out so much during difficult moments, and there is always a good excuse for lunches, dinners, parties… and weddings, babies… They let me take a class every term at the community college, they support us exercising and being healthy plus a free gym subscription, and through a fitness program, in which every Monday, Wednesday and Friday we have to go either walking, running or paddling for at least ½ hour. I love the way they care about your health. I guess, a happy employ = more production. It is true, it works, I am a happy employ and it never bothers me to work after hours.
• I got my time. After the big 2007 fall, this is the perfect place to rest, take care of myself, relax, get straight up on my feet and get strong to conquer the world maybe sometimes next year.
• No guys. I put it in the cons, but it is a pros too. I am afraid of falling in the arms of the first nice guy I met, and by not having them around, I do not ran any risk! (well, there are few traps out there to be sincere, let’s see how good I will do! :)!!)
• This comic that my old boss attached in our office, says it all!!
• This is where I have lunch everyday…
  
• This is our local bar…

Wow, this is the longest and most boring post I entered so far I guess! My friends, I hope you understand why I am staying here longer and won’t hold it against me… I have plans to come and visit you all in June! From Oregon to Italy and Spain, trying Egypt too… Muchachita Linda!!! Tu eres un poco fuera de mano pero… bueno, si, la India me enteressa! October 2008???