Showing posts with label World Hunger Farm. Show all posts
Showing posts with label World Hunger Farm. Show all posts
I have been eating a lot healthier since I've been in college. My veggie-loving roommates have been a good influence on me. Before, I didn't even like lettuce, let alone things like tomatoes and mushrooms, but now I love most vegetables. And thanks to the World Hunger Farm I now know and love all sorts of veggies that I'd never heard of before--like swiss chard, liana beans, and kale.
All that to say that my stomach has gotten used to healthy foods. Today for lunch I went to Vitex with Rob and John and I got their famous "gut pack." My stomach is kind of mad it me for that now. It is not used such large quantities of barbecue sauce and fritos. I appreciated the Waco experience, but it's nothing something I will be eating everyday.
Vitex also has Dublin Dr. Pepper, which is amazing.
Performing at Common Grounds last night was really fun. Elise and I had good rapport on stage and charmed the audience with our banter and musical prowess. Be looking for our names on a marquee near you!
I have a headache :/ Maybe because too much Dublin DP and not enough water.
A couple weeks ago we had a poetry night at the farm. We sat outside on a Sunday evening, sharing bread, cheese, wine, and poems-original and not.
Samson, an intern from Ghana, shared a poem he had written. I really appreciated his poem, so I asked for a copy of it:
WHAT DO YOU STAND FOR
It is dangerous not to have what you stand for
Whether it is food or drink
Have what you stand for
Whether it is religious or intellectual belief
Have what you stand for
Whether it is singleness or marriage
Have what you stand for
Whether it is about life or death
Have what you stand for
Develop a conviction not just an opinion
Opinion is what you hold
But conviction is something that holds you
You will argue about your opinion
But you will be ready to suffer for your conviction & if necessary die for it.
Your conviction might not make you popular
Your conviction might even earn you undesirable names
So should that make you succumb?
No. Never
Develop a conviction
What do you stand for?
For if you do not stand for anything
You will fall for anything
Convictions are hard to come by nowadays. I'm in the process of developing my own. I'm reading Muhammah: A Prophet For Our Time to better understand others' convictions.
So that's that.
I'm sitting on the couch in my apartment. I moved out of the farm today. I feel really weird. It's feels weird to know that my stuff isn't there anymore, that I won't be going back there later tonight. It feels uncomfortable.
I have had such a great summer. I've learned so much and met so many great people that I hope to keep in touch with. It was nice to live a different life for a little while. To step outside of normal society. There is definitely a different culture with farm people. I was thinking that when I was hanging out at a pub last night with some farm peeps and we were discussing the different methods for castrating cows and goats (rubber band or knife?). I was a apart of a similar conversation over dinner last Friday night at the farm. Dinner! It was then I learned that some cultures use their teeth to castrate their goats. A human's mouth is cleaner than any knife they have.
Anywho, yes, farm culture. Like the fact that most of the girls have hairy legs. It's not big deal at all, in fact, it's kind of expected that we don't shave our legs. That was freeing. I would once every week, at the most. And I never saw any of the farm girls put on make up. I have worn mascara maybe twice this whole summer, and that's the only make up that has touched my face.
I'm glad I did it, and I'm sad it's over.
What's next life?
So I'm not sick anymore, if you're keeping track. I haven't been for awhile; it was just a couple day sickness.
Hey, at least it was my car so I could wear a seatbelt, right mom? That was fun. I like having that many people in my car, but it's probably not as comfortable for them. That was good bonding.
I used to think of myself as more on an introvert, in the Myers-Briggs since I mean. As in I would rather be by myself when I was tired or sad or sick, but I really don't think so anymore. I like having lots of people around me. Like when I was sick last week, and I was all by myself in the Waters' apartment, I got lonely. And when I was lying in my bed, feeling sick and gross and tired, I still liked having the girls in my room around me. I didn't want to participate in the conversation, but I wanted to be in the same room as it. But I enjoy a long afternoon by myself too, but usually in a coffee shop type setting where there are still lots of people around me.
Whatever. I'm me. Introvert, extrovert, normal, insane. Whatever. I think one can be too introspective. Sometimes I need to stop looking inside myself and trying to figure myself out and instead look outside at the people around me. They matter too.
The tickle in my throat has grown and now I have a fever. Grrr. A least that means my body is fighting it, right? So most of this afternoon and evening I have been lying on the couch of our upstairs neighbors, the Waters. They are good people, constantly offering me water and hot tea. Also--they have air conditioning. We have an air conditioning unit in our bedroom, but we only turn it on at night before we sleep. Otherwise we make do with fans, which isn't bad at all. We rely too heavily on our air conditioning I think.
On Tuesday I volunteered to man a spot in downtown Waco where CSA members could pick up their vegetables (CSA=Community Supported Agriculture. People pay every month to receive fresh, organic produce from our farm once a week). It was on the porch of a childcare center (random I know), under an awning. So it was outside, but in the shade and I wasn't uncomfortably hot, even though I was wearing long pants and a hat. I would eavesdrop on people walking by though and hear them complain of the heat. I thought to myself "Really? I feel pretty good." Their body was just conditioned to air conditioning (ha. punny.) It was an interesting observation of my part. I'm glad to have rid myself of that need for a couple months, just to learn that I CAN survive in a Texas summer without constant air conditioning.
Neat.
So hopefully I get better pretty quick. Like I said in my last post, I hate just sitting around while everyone else is working. We'll see how tomorrow goes
That tickle is feeling a little worse. Nothing really bad, I'm just feeling a little under the weather. Luckily, I didn't have to work today because I did a little extra yesterday. So I tried to sleep in, but was fully awake by 7:30. Grrr. That's ok, I like mornings. I ran errands and stuff. And I played guitar some, but didn't have much of a voice and so mainly played Bright Eyes songs. He doesn't have much of a voice either.
I took some stuff that has made me feel weak and tired, but I can't sleep. I tried napping. That rarely works for me. Whatever. Life is hard.
I felt uneasy all today--being in town and not doing anything whilst I knew my fellow farmers were working. I didn't like it. I came back and everyone was gathering for lunch, and I felt right again. I like these people. I like how as soon as people are finished eating, there is this unspoken coalition that forms as people start washing dishes, sweeping, wiping counters. Everyone helps cleans. It's beautiful.
We're also really blessed here with having awesome cooks. There's not a day that goes by (except for on weekends) when I don't hear someone exclaim after/during lunch something like, "Man! This is/was a great lunch! Thanks [whoever was cooking]!" And it's always true. Even when I cooked! I think there is magic in this food. But organic, sustainable magic, not processed, chemical-ly magic.
And that's that.
I have a tickle in my throat and that concerns me. I hope I'm not getting sick.
Did I mention that on Friday I was involved in fecal sampling? I will now. On Friday I participated in the collecting of fecal samples (aka poop, nanny berries, etc) from the dairy goats and then assisted in detecting parasite eggs in them via a microscope (not a telescope. if you confuse those two words, people will laugh at you). There are two collecting methods we utilized:
1. Chasing the goats around until they got riled up enough and their insides had jiggled around enough to poop. This was kind of fun, but also a little frustrating. I felt like a goat bully. I was running after them, yanking on their tails and pushing them around. When you see them start to excrete the nanny berries, you open your little ziplock baggie and catch. If that doesn't work . . .
2. You take a more direct method. You extract them directly from their . . the end of their digestive tract. We only had to do this with two goats. I held them still while another reached in.
Don't worry, I was wearing gloves for all of the above.
So that was exciting.
I feel like there was something else I wanted to share. Hm. I just got out of class. The farm has class every Monday and Thursday afternoon over topics about agriculture, missions, world hunger, or religion. Today was about Islam. It was intriguing. The fundamentals of Islam were discussed, as well as how a Christian should approach a Muslim person. The emphasis was on listening instead of arguing, love instead of hostility, repentance instead of attack, conversation instead of evangelism, looking at a person instead of a religion. That sort of thing. There was good discussion.
And now if you'll excuse me, I have some goats to milk. (I feel like I know them a lot better now that I've looked inside their excrement.)
I'm on my friend/former roommate, Melissa's, computer (not to be confused with my current roommate Melyssa). The second Fantastic Four movie is playing and we're munching on puppy chow (as in the wonderful combination of chex, peanut butter, chocolate, butter, and powdered sugar. It's a staple with us). It's so good, but bad, because it's one of those irresistible snacks that you can't stop eating. It's ridiculous.
This movie is also ridiculous.
So I only have a week and a half at the farm left. Weird! Sad. Unbelievable. I still don't know what I'm going to do with this, with all of this new farm knowledge and world of ideas. Do I want to continue to pursue work like this? Do I just take it and stuff it into my arsenal of experiences, learn from it, and move on? Somewhere in between? I don't know. I don't usually have a plan and that has worked so far, but the real world is fast approaching. I should probably start studying for the GRE or something. Or maybe dread my hair.
There are so many paths. I wonder which one is mine.
I'm going to be 22! Eeeee.
Wherever I go, I leave fans of the television of "Felicity" in my wake. I have the seasons on DVD and this summer I brought them out to Waco. First I got my roommates hooked, and now my farm friends. I walked into our dorm living room today to find three farm guys engrossed in an episode of Felicity. Yes. The only thing is I can't find the last two seasons, so I just get people hooked, and then I get them mad at me, because they can't know how it all ends.
Yesterday was the annual honey harvest. It was a lot of fun, mainly because most everyone was involve, and because honey is yummy--espcially raw, locally grown, world hunger relief honey. Here are some picture from the day that I stole from the Beckers blog.
Will and Ryan
Melyssa and Kris
Honey
I was involved in the next step--putting the honey into jars. And I got stung on the ankle at the very end, when the bees were the angriest. We stole their livelihood. I would be too.
Isn't Amanda a good photographer?
So yesterday I finally finished making a skirt that I started working on before I left for California, under the guidance of the master seamstress--Melyssa. It's a reversable wrap skirt. Che-che-che-che-check it out.
I didn't actually think it would happen, I kept messing up, but there it is. I'm excited about it.
So the farm has been getting a lot of attention. The paparazzi are out of control! You heard about that news article, well today there was a film crew here from Texas Country Reporter, which I have never heard of, but they are going to do a show about us. They kept telling us to do things over again, like walk out of doors and carry baskets. So if you're watching Texas Country Reporter and see a girl's hands carrying a basket of peppers, it was may be me.
And here is a picture of me from the aforementioned Mystery Spot, being mysterious.
If you would like closer inspection, you can click on it.
The Dallas Morning News wrote a story about us! (click here.) A couple weeks ago a young reporter stayed a night at the farm and took pictures and video and notes and now it has all come together as an article. I'm not speifically mentioned, but I am inadvertently when she says
The young farmers of World Hunger Relief don't see themselves as farmers in the traditional sense.
Yes, they have farmer's tans and sometimes wear overalls, but some also have trendy square-rimmed glasses and pierced noses. They update the egg inventory as well as a farm blog. And they have wireless Internet but no flush toilets. . . ."Originally, I was like 'Whoa, Waco? Is this going to be some kind of cult?' " said 27-year-old Will Summers, who grew up in El Paso and majored in film at the University of Texas at Austin.
But there's no Kool-Aid here, only raw goat's milk.
I'm the only one there with a nose ring, so it had to be about me. I'm famous! I'll try not let it go to my head.
And I'm still in California. Apparently its fashionable now for guys to wear high socks. They surfer guys around here all wear white, high, pulled up socks. I don't dig it.
I'd like to thank Elizabeth for letting me know that the article had printed.
Wow, I had not idea people had such strong feelings about quiche! Thanks for all the support and comments.
I am celebrating my country's independence today be being independent. Hanging out with me, you know. I'm sitting in my apartment, vacated of all roommates. I've read a lot. I'm currently working my way through Achebe's Things Fall Apart and understand why it's such a classic. Later there will be fireworks and friends.
I was fooling with my Photobooth with some of my farm peeps and what we thought was going to be a picture turned into this.
So there you've met some new people in my life.
Earlier that day, we went swimming.
I cooked lunch again today. It was kind of a last minute thing-decided yesterday- and so I didn't have much time to mentally prepare. It turned out really well though. I made four quiches, all by myself! The crust and everything. They turned out really good, if I do say so myself. And I do. I just did. Here it what was in them, aside from the eggs:
1. swiss chard, onions, garlic, cheddar cheese
2. tomato, basil, dill, swiss cheese with cheddar cheese baked in the crust
3. corn, kidney beans, with pecans baked in the crust
4. tomatos, potatoes, swiss and cheddar cheese
Phew. It was fun. Quiche is easy. And there is much room for creativity.
So cooking isn't so bad. It just takes confidence and literacy.
While I was cooking, there was a group of high school kids cleaning in the building and at one point I notice two girls standing in the doorway watching me. So I say hi and they say hi back and awkwardly stand there a few moments more.
"We were wondering what you're making?"
"I'm making some quiches."
"Oh . ."
Awkward silence
"We rotate who cooks, and today is my day. I don't cook a lot though so I'm kind of nervous, but it's fun."
Awkward silence.
"Um . . what's a quiche?"
"It's kind of like a pie but with eggs and usually vegetables or something in it. I think it orginated in France. They're pretty common. I'm sure you'll run into them again."
"Oh" (They didn't seem too excited about an egg pie)
The two girls exit
Did I know what a quiche was in high school? I'd like to think I did, but maybe I didn't. Did you?
We are living in the future!
That just makes blogging one step creepier. Now complete strangers can know what I talk like. I don't really even know how I talk. It's funny how much we don't know about ourselves. I mainly talking about physically--like what my voice sounds like, how my mouth moves when I talk, mannerisms, nervous habits.
I bought the new Alanis Morissette cd and it really disappoints me. Bummer. Bummer in the summer.
Another weekend is already upon me!
I received a package yesterday. It was my first and probably only parcel of mail to receive here at the farm. It was from a special lady in my life* and contained the contacts I left at home, as well as some unexpected goodies. This included a bunch of candy. I opened the package while sitting at the lunch table with all my farm peeps and so passed the gummy worms and tootsie rolls around the table. Candy is not a usual part of our diet here at the farm, where the norm is organic produce, goat milk, black beans, and homemade ice cream, but it was welcome. So thank you, special lady.
Also in the package was a book of useless information, which I thought would be useful in the girls' composting toilet. Haha, not in the toilet, but in the room where the toilet is contained. I crack myself up. And I always enjoy some reading material when . . . during that part of my day.
Today I helped with the Village Store, which is the fair trade store at the farm. There was a bunch of stuff that just came in. It felt like Christmas, opening all the boxes and seeing all the cool stuff fairly traded from around the world. You should come visit me at the farm, if nothing else, to buy something at the store.
(the below picture has nothing to do with the Village Store, aside from the fact that it was taken down the road from it)
While the above picture was loading, I went to the bathroom and this is something I learned:
Polar bear fur is not white, it's clear. Polar bear skin is actually black. Their hair is hollow and acts like fiber optics, directing sunlight to warm their skin.
Fascinating!
*The "special lady in my life" refers to my mother, not my female life partner, which is what I realized that sounded like when reading over this post after its publication. I don't have one of those, as I find myself to be romantically attracted to boys. Just fyi, in case there was any confusion.
I do enjoy this life. Sometimes it's physically grueling, and sometimes I get sunburned, and sometimes I get headbutted by a baby goat, but it's all good. It's enriching. Not always at the time (like with the headbutting), but afterwards, when I'm showered and resting and thinking about it, I appreciate it.
And when I'm playing. Like today, when we had a farewell tie-dye party for Scott.
I appreciated those moments while they were happening. And some of my plain garments of clothing, are now funkdefied. See, I appreciate that.
One of the summer live-in volunteers--Scott--is leaving next Wednesday. Sad. I remember going to the airport to pick him up. It was on memorial day. I wrote about it, maybe you remember it too. He wrote a post on the farm's blog that made my heart happy. Click here if you want to read it.
That rain today was wonderful, but the way.
So weekend duty is done. And I had yesterday off because of it. I find days off to be a lot of pressure, because I feel like I should to do something that I wouldn't normally do, but I have a lot of free time anyway so there's not a lot I can't normally do. So I just did things I normally do. Like read and play guitar. I also bought some fabric, because my new friend and roommate Melyssa is going to teach me how to make a wrap skirt. It's going to be reversible. I'm stoked.
Today I spend a lot of time moving hay around and ended up looking like a person of a different ethic identity because I got so dirty by all the hay-dusties.
When it's windy, the doors in the dorm slam themselves shut a lot. It's doing it right now. It sounds like everyone is angry.
These people challenge me. Like, they really care about things. Like the state of the starving world or the evils of high-fructose corn syrup or the conservation of resources or the importance of local agriculture or fair trade or helping each other. Stuff like that.
Who can name the song that is my post title first?
I have weekend duty at the farm this weekend. Each weekend two of us farmers are to stay at the farm all weekend and attend to animals and such that need attending to. Basically, keeping things alive--milking the goats (a lot), feeding the goats, rabbits, and chickens, collecting eggs, watering some plants--things like that. So that's me this weekend.
This morning was kind of frustrating. One of the chores was to let the dry goats (as in the goats we don't milk) out to pasture and feed them, but as soon as I walked in the gate carrying my bucket of feed, all fifteen of them (including one donkey--Lollita) swarmed at me and about six got out. So I had to chase them down. It was no bueno. They ran away from me, and only by coaxing them, one-by-one, with a bucket of feed could I lure them back in. It was an ordeal.
But I'm ok. I think I'm free until this afternoon for the second round of milking. Should be good times.
And apparently an unwritten duty of the weekend people is to write in the farm's blog. That's a lot of pressure. I'll be thinking about what I want to write, that is if my fellow weekender doesn't do it himself.
That reminds me of that Saturday morning cartoon The Weekenders. Do you remember them? I liked that show. I liked Saturday mornings. Cereal and cartoons. What else does a kid need?
One of the things I was most anxious about moving onto the farm wass that I knew at some point, I would have to cook lunch for everybody--everybody being 20-30 people. Well, my turn came up today. And I'm still alive! I owe much to my new friend Molly, who helped me every step of the way. Ok, I pretty much just did what she told me to do. We made fried rice loaded with goodness and somosas and a tomato salad. So from 9 to 12:30 we cooked. I then rang the bell to signify lunch wass ready, which is a fun thing to do. So much power. Everyone stops what they are doing and walks down to eat.
I finally got my food and sat down and looked around at the people sitting and eating around me and thought, "Wow. It worked. Everyone is eating. No one is going to make a PBJ Sandwich. They're eating was we made and are satisfied."
Did I mention I never cook?
I probably will have to again sometime. I'll worry about it when it happens.
And I can sleep in tomorrow! Even though I wasn't working outside today because of the cooking, I am really tired. I did have to wake up at 6:30 to milk goats, so maybe that contributes something.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
