prelude to Robinson Crusoe
March 8, 2022
I’ve been in isolation in a hotel room in Viña del Mar, Chile for seven days. We joked at the beginning with the other French person who is part of my program, that even in prison they have more freedoms than us – at least they have a courtyard where to go out! I dare not leave the room, there are cameras in the hallway. None of us dare to do that. The only people we open the door to are the people in the hotel who bring us meals, bring us spare towels, or the police who come to take a picture of our passport every day.
How did I get here? Let’s take a step back.
December 2021
Scrolling through my phone’s Google News log, I see a suggestion that talks about a program whose title and subtitle catch my eye right away:
“Work For Humankind: Do your current job from one of the remotest places on earth.”
The acronym is inspired by “WFH” which is normally used in English to say “Work From Home”, or teleworking in French. I love the idea, instantly. I fall in love with the concept along with the people who did the marketing for this program, no matter what it might be. I’ve been working entirely remotely for a year and a half because of the pandemic so I know very well the notion of teleworking and how much it could be revisited and improved…
I open the site, I read everything, absolutely everything, even the Terms and Conditions of Use. I read that they ask “digital nomads” to come and settle on the island of Robinson Crusoe in Chile for a month, the whole thing is sponsored by Lenovo – which I know is a serious company. I read “island”, I read “digital nomad”, I see the photos of the landscapes on the site, the incredible nature: I know that I will apply. It doesn’t matter what they ask for in exchange. It’s made for me.
But how come Google News suggested this article to you?
Many people have asked me this question. I thank Google for tracking my internet searches for years to suggest things I like!
I had already consulted similar programs in the past:
- “Shakers and Shaka” in Hawai’i, to which I had applied and then withdrawn my application as I had decided to go earlier than the dates they proposed. During the pandemic, this program paid for plane tickets and discounted housing for telecommuting workers to move to Honolulu and help revive the economy that had been heavily impacted, in exchange for twenty hours of volunteering a week with local nonprofits. The concept was great, and although I had removed my app, when I arrived in Hawai’i I tried to keep the same spirit by finding a nonprofit to help on a regular basis.
- AirBnB programs that offered to pay someone to test AirBnBs around the world, or in Sicily, in exchange for content on social networks. I didn’t apply for it, as I was still working in a company at the time, but I really liked the idea.
- The “Dream Jobs” in general that circulate on the Internet, for example where they take one person out of 10,000 to settle on an island and monitor it… the success rate being low, I did not dare to apply.
This time, I was going to apply and I was going to do everything to get selected.
I read on the site that they will take one person from each country out of 9 countries.
It sparks in my head – it reminds me of a novel I read where 12 young people are selected from 12 different countries to go and create the first colony on Mars, while doing reality TV. (“Phobos”, Victor Dixen)
I then pray that not too many French people will find the advertisement of this job – the fewer candidates there are, the more I will have a chance, I tell myself. I reassure myself by telling myself that most of the French people I know are no longer teleworking for a long time, thanks to the lifting of health restrictions. Fingers crossed…
I look at what they are looking for in terms of volunteering and skills. The list presented is… very extensive. They are open to English-Spanish translators, chefs, fitness trainers, photographers, IT support specialists, influencers…
I need to choose a skill to specialize in, and write a 200-word cover letter (it’s short!) and give my resume.
In the weeks that followed, I completely rewrote my CV, previously adapted to an American audience working in high tech and looking for engineers. I tell myself that if I give them this to explain to them that I can do English-Spanish translation, they will not understand anything. I need to get their attention right away!
I was pretty proud of the result:)
I know the cover letter cannot be standard or too polite. So I try to tell a story from the beginning, to captivate their attention, and explain everything I could do in addition to simple translation, while justifying any promise with corresponding past actions. I have my brothers and friends reread everything several times.
Eventually, I send it all in.
And I wait.
January 21, 2022
Hi Cynthia,
I hope you are well.
Thank you for applying for Work for Humankind. We are thrilled to let you know that you are one of three people in France who has been shortlisted as a finalist to participate in the project. We would like to invite you for an interview with NGO, Island Conservation. Interviews will take place via a video call from
next week
(w/c 24th Jan until w/c 31st Jan).
Yes!!!!
I am ultra stressed for the interview. It’s been ages since I spoke Spanish. On D-Day, I find friends to practice a little in anticipation. I re-scan the site, I inquire as much as possible about the people who will interview me, what they do, where they are.
Finally, it is useless, the whole interview will be in English. I mainly repeat what I wrote in my cover letter, with all the conviction I can show. I am asked about what I know about the mission of Island Conservation, the nonprofit in partnership with Lenovo for this project. We discuss. They want to know if I have a problem with the fact that they have to kill animals – the invasive species of Robinson Crusoe Island. I say no, that I don’t know enough about invasive species to allow me to judge them.
You should know that Robinson Crusoe Island was only populated from the late 1800s – before that it was completely isolated from the mainland. The first humans brought back their animals which began to take precedence over native species. The goal of Island Conservation is therefore to take care of these native species.
I also fill out psychometric tests, and I have an interview with a psychologist who is known in the showbiz world apparently, who has dealt with reality shows in the past. It still reminds me of my novel where young people go to Mars… It’s funny. It’s going well. She tells me it feels good to have an engineer in front of me – that most of the people who have applied are “just” hippie travelers, with too many skills behind it. She says that with me, she is sure that I would not be afraid to do real work. It makes me laugh – I who had always dreamed of being “just” a traveler a little hippie and getting out of the system of society, and who did engineer a little “by default” because I was a good student, this is the first time I am told that I did well to have my diplomas… Well, so much the better! That it serves me to go to this mysterious island, it suits me completely.
I’m asked again if I’m sure I don’t mind what they do to the animals – and it starts to stress me out a bit. I don’t see myself going around the world to go kill rats x)
Finally I do research here and there to understand the subject of invasive species, I ask my sister-in-law who is a veterinarian and animal lover what she thinks, and I am reassured, I understand that I will not sell my soul to the devil by going to this island, far from it.
Whew.
I really want to go.
February 17, 2022
Good morning Cynthia,
I Hope you are well today.
Thank you again for your patience!
I am delighted to confirm both Island Conservation and Robinson Crusoe were incredibly impressed with your application and we would love to invite you to travel to Robinson Crusoe to participate in the project, whilst working remotely.
Yes!!!!!
A hundred times yes!!!!
February 25, 2022
This is my last day at work.
Then I fly with my own wings.
I have enough personal projects to keep me busy, while still having the flexibility I want when I’m on the island to enjoy them.
I spend the next few weeks preparing my things for the trip.
March 11, 2022
While I am waiting at the Paris Orly airport, with a record of one piece of checked baggage of only 11.5 kg, I write on Facebook:
“I’m flying today for a month to Robinson Crusoe Island in Chile ✈️
I was accepted by the “Work for Humankind” program organized by Lenovo (the brand of computers) and Island Conservation (an association). Lenovo has just installed the Internet there for the first time thanks to Starlink satellites. They selected 9 digital nomads (people who work remotely), from 9 different countries, and 3 influencers, to test the Internet and volunteer 20 hours a week to help conservation efforts for endemic species of the island and meet the locals.
Very happy to have been taken to represent France 😁 I will do my best to keep a diary and tell a little about the daily life, which will begin with six days of quarantine ” 💪
And here we go 🚀
