I grew up in New York City where there's a lot of noise and people. For fun, I went to museums

and Times Square. I never went hiking in the woods. So, when I arrived in Yellowstone

and I saw wild animals and huge mountains covered in snow, I thought, oh, no, why did I do this?

Welcome! Welcome to Relatos en Inglés, a podcast of Duolingo. I'm Diana Gameros.

In every episode you can practice English to your own rhythm, listening to stories

and fascinating stories by the people who lived them. The protagonists speak in English

in a simple and easy way to understand who they are learning from. In every episode, I will accompany you

to make sure you understand everything. In this episode, two stories of people who explore

some of the most beautiful and iconic natural spaces in the United States.

During that summer of 2013, Emily had the opportunity to live and work in Yellowstone,

the first national park that was created in the United States. She is located in the northwest of the

country and is extended by the state of Montana, Wyoming and Idaho. It is famous for its

thermal and geysers. Just a few years before my trip to Yellowstone, I couldn't even name one

of the 400 national parks in the US. My family never went to national parks while I was growing up,

so I didn't ever think about them. We lived in the city far from mountains and camping

destinations. We didn't have the skills or knowledge to feel comfortable in those spaces.

But in her second year in the university, Emily sat in front of a passant in the

service of national parks, the federal agency who gestured the parks. The government

hired university students to work in Verano as guarda bosques or park rangers.

At that time, I didn't really know what I wanted to do for a job, but I loved new adventures.

So, when I had the opportunity to go to Yellowstone to work as a park ranger, I quickly accepted the

offer. I thought that living in the forest couldn't be harder than living in New York City,

...