Written by Mijin Park

ⓒ Hyeseon / EAAFP Secretariat

It was my pleasure to work in EAAFP Secretariat. I would like to mention three impressive things that I have experienced here.

I enjoyed birdwatching a lot. Together with other staffs, we went to several places for birdwatching like Namdong, Sorae, and Gojan. I could see real life outdoors. Photographer Eugene and previous officer Tomoko taught me how to identify migratory birds and count them as monitoring. Not only in Songdo but also in Cheorwon, I was filled with joy to see graceful red-crowned cranes and white-naped cranes. Deep emotion I felt while watching those living creatures in naked eyes will last long in my entire life. These experiences influenced me a lot, so I decided to keep concerning conservation issues during my master course.

Secondly, when I collided with some difficulties, my colleagues kindly helped me to find the way to overcome it. I feel highly thankful to all of colleagues and would like to continuously keep in touch with together. In particular, I was a bit worried about communicating in English, because I had never worked internationally before. However, all staffs were thoughtful and gave me some time to adjust myself to new working environment. As a result, I was able to have a conversation with participants during the World Migratory Bird Day events. I exchanged some of name cards and had close relationship later on. Recently, I feel I am improved in communication skills because I was relieved when I shared a lecture on ecology in front of our staff members. This cannot be realized without kind colleagues.

Finally, I could get a chance to learn various programs such as ArcGIS and Adobe Illustrator. In addition, it was my first time to experience Google Calendar, Outlook, Doodle, Flickr and Twitter. Through managing these channels, I realized that proper documentation is important to deliver any messages. In scattered state, nobody can grasp the meaning. Therefore, wherever I go or work, I am willing to produce clearer images and eye-catching phrases.

In conclusion, I got a great opportunity in EAAFP Secretariat. I would like to support the Secretariat further even though I leave my position. Thank you all for your kind consideration!