Being chosen to attend Connect Live is probably the biggest dream of any active Local Guide and it might as well be one of the highest achievements to make. I applied to this year’s call and I first got the message saying that I was not chosen, I did not lose hope and kept on being active here on Connect and on Maps and a few days later I got the great news of having a space made for me.
Having the chance to be there was was AWESOME, but even that was not as amazing as what I felt when I noticed that I was the only one representing my country, that was something else… In that moment I knew that being there was much more special than I initially thought, because then I realised that I was there not just as an individual, in a way I was there to represent my country.
Thanks to the advice given by previous attendees and Googlers, I had my country flag with me most of the time, and took some souvenirs that represented both my nation and my culture (sadly not enough, and that is something I later came to regret).
Back to the achievements…
When I noticed I was the only Dominican I contacted Remolacha.net, the 3rd most most visited website in my country, whose popularity is preceded only by the two major local newspapers. I collaborate with this site every once in a while and I told “Remo” (the owner) that I understood that I had a story, and that I wanted to share this experience with my fellow citizens. He jumped into it directly and gave me a big yes. So I kept it in mind during the rest of the event. Almost directly after my arrival I wrote a recap of my experience and it was published today!!! (You can read it here, in Spanish: Google me llevó California y representé a República Dominicana)
So, the achievement I want to share with you today is triple:
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After having received a No, I was later chosen to attend Connect Live 2019, and it was beyond awesome.
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I was the only Local Guide representing my country, the Dominican Republic.
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I wrote my experience mixing the previous two points and the story got published in one of the most popular local websites!
The coolest part?
After this I got a lot of private messages asking questions about the Local Guides program and I even got invited to be interviewed in a radio show, to talk about this experience. So now I feel like a true Local Guides Ambassador and I will be able to spread the word, and help strengthen our community, letting more people know about this fantastic program and the beautiful individuals that you can meet when you are open to interact and “CONNECT” with other Local Guides.
It is not thanksgiving yet, but I am SO grateful for all this, that I can only throw a huge THANK YOU, the size of our planet to all of those who made this happen, who had something to do with me being there and those who took quality time to interact with me, one way or a another, and made this a truly unforgettable experience!
(A huge hug to: @mchomsky , @TraciC , @brittym , @DeniGu , @ErmesT , @Ameyali_Mx , @AurelGeorge , @CaroGuiniazu , @Jesi and so many more whose usernames I do not know and I can’t add because of the 10 users mentions per post!.. And a very special one to @FaridTDF , who has been cheering, encouraging and commenting my posts since day one!)
