About Me

About Me:


Hello friends! Welcome to my Blog. My name is Emily Green and I am a senior at Washington & Jefferson College. I study Spanish and Latin American Studies. I am also the captain of the Women's Tennis Team here at W&J. I can be found giving tours for prospective students, sitting at baseball games, or off on an adventure somewhere around the world. After studying abroad in Costa Rica, I also traveled to Nicaragua and Panama. Afterwards, I helped to coordinate and translate a medical missions trip in the Dominican Republic. From there I went to Easter Island, Chile for my Magellan Project.

I want to see as much of the world as I can and meet every person I come across. My plan is to just go: Go across the street and share a smile and go across the world and share a lifetime of experiences. After completing an intersession trip to Spain, and a semester-long study abroad program in San Ramón, Costa Rica, I realize how much I want to visit places that are not fairly represented or understood. Easter Island, Chile, is well known for the giant stone heads greeting everyone who crosses the Pacific Ocean. Aside from that, most of the culture and people are underappreciated. I loved the chance to change that. I learned about their culture and history that spans the entire age of the island. I came back to educate the people around me about the polynesian culture that is far south of us. I now also have the chance to represent the United States as a respectful, curious, and cautious traveler. I did not want to be merely just a tourist, I left the island as a friend.

Around the world, culture and religion are compacted into one-minute segments shot from GoPros and plastered onto Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. People, as a whole, long for the feeling of adventure and knowledge about a life different than their own. However, sociology, political science, and religion classes fall silent when professors and students ask certain questions. Once the adventure is taken out of the equation, no one wants to be offensive or wrong about other cultures and religions. I do not want to be that person. I never want to add my opinion on something that I have no perspective in. I want to be able to confidently talk about culture and religions. I believe no one should blindly accept beliefs or information; we should be able to see it for ourselves. Knowledge is the greatest power we have. Most of my adventures and perspectives come from a modern world. By experiencing the modern culture mixing with the ancient culture of the Rapa Nui people, I gained entirely new definitions for religions and cultures. I had the chance to talk with the people of the island about religion and culture, as they are not always separate distinctions. Also, the people of the island were very, very cool.

As a senior at W&J, my “adult” life is quickly approaching. This trip will be added to my resume as nothing but a positive addition. With this solo trip, I will be able to understand language, archaeology, engineering, and people more than I could on any other trip. I was pushed out of my comfort zone, but in an area that was safe and reliable. This trip was truly be once-in-a-lifetime. The island does not get too many visitors each year, and those that do go are not usually so young with ambitions as big as my research proposal. I came back to the United States with a book of experiences and a blog of historical and archaeological finds. I hope to share my findings and ideas with anyone who is willing to listen.

About My Magellan

About Magellan:


The Magellan Project is a student-led project only found at Washington & Jefferson College. It allows students to plan, organize, and pursue their own independent research study. Students can choose just about anywhere in the world to go!!


Through a Magellan Project, students can develop their educational, language, and independent research skills, all while staying within a budget and itinerary. It looks amazing on resumes and really teaches more than you could ever think. If you have any questions about the Magellan Project, feel free to contact me or to visit washjeff.edu/the-magellan-project for more information!


Friday, August 31, 2018

Day 15: June 18

Today I am off to finish my hike of the western and central part of the island.  There were many wild horses out to play today.  More than I have seen yet on the island. They are so beautiful.  I took some time to watch them play and get some pictures of them.  They were eating in front of a moai, with a rainbow and the crashing waves behind them.  It was like a picture out of a calendar. I wish my sister was here to see them all!! They’re so beautiful.  


Soon the park dog woke up and got the horses out of the sacred places.  He had to take a snooze for a bit first, though. Keeping the place horse-free takes a lot of effort!

After admiring all the animals around me, I found myself at Ahu Akivi.  According to legend, the seven moai here represent the seven explorers who came to explore the island before the rest of the people came with Chief Hotu Matu’a.  This ahu is also oriented astronomically. The moai here look straight at the sunset during equinoxes.

Ahu Akivi is especially cool to me because each face is clearly different for each moai.  The carvers accentuated the facial features of each of the seven explorers. It amazes me that it took about a year for each moai to be carved and transported, and yet, they can remember the way each man looked.  So much time and thought was put into each of the moai and each ahu.
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)