Here I am in New Windsor, Maryland! It is Day 3, but it feels like it's been weeks. My adventure started right away with delayed flights. There was fog in Chicago, so planes were stopping in South Bend to refuel, which blocked our take-off. By the time I got to Chicago, I'd missed my flight to Baltimore. The lady at the counter told me I'd be flying standby for the rest of the day. (I've never flown standby before.) The first flight let on 4 standbys out of 20. It was hectic and confusing. Some confirmed ticket holders lost their seats to standby-ers who were at the gate first. Then the lot of us moved to another waiting area for another standby, and I made it on that flight! I couldn't believe it. I got here late, with another BVSer, Mollie, who had also flown to Chicago. We recognized each other, but we hadn't made the connection before we arrived in Baltimore. It was a long day of traveling, but I wasn't actually in the air most of the time. Oh, in South Bend, I lost some papers with BVS cell phone numbers on them, so I don't know how they figured out what flight I was on.
Here, I was assigned a roommate. I had thought we would pick them, but I'm glad they were assigned to avoid a popularity contest and force people to mix. Also, I love my roommate!!! It's a great match, but I never would have made the connection on my own. Her name is Ine (EE-nuh), she's the oldest member of our group (62), and she's from Holland. She's Mennonite; her partner is a Mennonite pastor. On the first night we sat on our beds and talked and talked. Last night we shared photos. In our group we have 5 from Germany, 1 from Holland, 1 who is blind, 2 who are older, not all white... it's a nice mix.
On the second day, we got our food groups (also assigned) and made a food run. There's a schedule of meals, rotating groups to cook. We get 50 cents per person for breakfast, 75 cents for lunch, $1 for dinner. It's been a stretch, I'll admit, and I've been hungry a few times. There's definitely not enough to buy meat (which works well for us vegetarians). The idea is that we live simply and responsibly, and work together. Many people in the world live for under $1 a day.
Our goal this week has been to pick our top 3 choices for placement. There are files on every project, which give pictures, BVS-er feedback & description of the place. This makes a big difference in how I view projects that I previously had 1 paragraph about. I no longer want any of the 4 projects I was initially after! I was quite disappointed and down, but now I think I've found a few I'd be interested in. The process is supposed to be self-led, which is frustrating. When I talk to Dan McFadden (the director), he always mentions things I didn't know about the project, or factors that he hadn't told me before. I wish he would have more time with each of us, before we're supposed to decide. I am currently looking at interim projects in the States, since Latin America is so up in the air. At some point, I'm supposed to have a phone interview with the new LA coordinator. It's nervewracking because I don't know what sites will accept an interim volunteer. If it's a project I really want, I may be willing to commit to a full year, with the idea that I'll go to Latin America next year. My top choice at this point is a food bank in DC that pairs farms with places that give food to people of low-income. I could be working on a farm, visiting food banks, teaching classes on how to do fresh, local foods with a limited budget, developing curriculum for classes - or any combination thereof. I'm not sure what they'd need at the moment, but I like any of those possibilities (except maybe developing curriculum). If I teach classes, I will learn how to speak intelligently and informedly about something I care about. Living is in a BVS house in DC (not common for most positions). Not sure how I feel about that, but so far this is my best option I think.
It's a whirlwind. I've been really tired, but I woke up yesterday with finally enough energy for the day. Email me! I'm not sure how I'm feeling about this blog thing, it feels a lot less personal. It's hard to not get much feedback.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Packing
This week has been a buckle-down-and-finish-everything week. My major project has been to pack and reorganize everything in storage. When I moved into Grandpa's basement, I was in the middle of teaching, I had just gotten back from a funeral (and an all-night bus ride), and I had one day to pack. So everything was just kind of thrown in the storage room. For the last few days I've been hammering away at my giant to-do list. Everytime I get burnt out on one project, I move to a different project, rotating all day. Today, I finished the storage room and packing! It feels a lot like helping my parents move, except that instead of having a nice, clean house to look at, I have a mound of stuff in the middle of the storage room that looks not unlike the mound of stuff that was there when I started. At least I know that all of the desk things are in one spot, all of the books in one spot, and all of the clothes grouped and labeled (hot weather dressy, hot weather casual, cold weather dressy, medium weather casual, etc) for the lucky fellow who gets to send me more stuff when I am assigned to a project. I also have a giant trash bag filled with clothes and goodies for Goodwill. It feels so good to have this done!
I finally had my phone interview with BVS, which didn't ease my nervousness. The Latin American projects are still at a standstill, or moving very slowly. Five BVSers want to go to Latin America this year... I am, positively, going to do domestic service first. For how long, I don't know. Dan McFadden kept saying 5-6 months, but I'm guessing it could be longer. I'm not nervous about anything in particular, just kind of strung up. It'll be a relief to finally start orientation.
My contact info at orientation is:
c/o Brethren Service Center
BVS Orientation
PO Box 188
New Windsor, MD, 21776
For emergencies, you can call #410.635.8834 and leave a message. This info is only valid til October 10.
We all share one phone and one computer - ak! I'm banking on getting cell phone service there.
I finally had my phone interview with BVS, which didn't ease my nervousness. The Latin American projects are still at a standstill, or moving very slowly. Five BVSers want to go to Latin America this year... I am, positively, going to do domestic service first. For how long, I don't know. Dan McFadden kept saying 5-6 months, but I'm guessing it could be longer. I'm not nervous about anything in particular, just kind of strung up. It'll be a relief to finally start orientation.
My contact info at orientation is:
c/o Brethren Service Center
BVS Orientation
PO Box 188
New Windsor, MD, 21776
For emergencies, you can call #410.635.8834 and leave a message. This info is only valid til October 10.
We all share one phone and one computer - ak! I'm banking on getting cell phone service there.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Detour
So last week I decided to travel to Carlisle, Kentucky to visit a friend, Tim, on the organic farm on which he's interning. I left on Sunday and came back on Saturday, so I got a full 5 days of farming in. We lived in a trailer and walked to the farm in the mornings. First we did barn chores - milking the goats, feeding the chickens, collecting eggs. I learned that chickens are dirty, dirty animals!
On Monday, we spent all day weeding the strawberry patch. I think that was the hardest day. It was the hottest, and we weren't protected from the sun. Plus, I was getting used to the schedule and the working. We worked from 8-12 and 2-6 on most days. (I usually took a nap during lunch time.) One weed we saw a lot of was purslain, which is considered a delicacy at restaurants!
On Tuesday, we weeded the currant and gooseberry patches. This was pricklier than the strawberries, and we had to cut out big weeds including blackberry brambles (very prickly!). In the afternoon, I assisted with the "pear crisis." The farmers, David and Arwen, had gathered pears this year for the first time. They were hoping the pears would keep in their root cellar, but when they checked on the pears, they realized that they were mistaken. So Arwen and I made pear butter, pear & ginger jam, and pear chutney. She is a very good cook, and it smelled soooo good!
We went to bed early on Tuesday (8:30) in anticipation of Wednesday, harvest day. David and Arwen run a CSA - Community Supported Agriculture - which means that people commit to buying a full season of fresh produce, and the farmers commit to supplying it. So on Wednesday, we got up at 5 AM to begin harvesting at 6:30. This is the one day we used any kind of gas operated vehicular assistance - we drove the truck out into the veggie patches. We harvested swiss chard, red peppers, apple peppers, eggplant, spagetti squash, summer squash, lettuce, cherry tomatoes, roma tomatoes, italian heirloom tomatoes, parsley, fennel. It was beautiful to see it all together. We ate a quick lunch, then prepared the goods by washing and divvying out. By 2:30 it was time to drive to Lexington. We set up in a parking lot and greeted the shareholders as they picked up goods from 4:30-6:30. Afterwards, Tim and I went to the co-op where we got supper and supplies for the week. We finally got home at 8:30. That was a long day!
Thursday morning was our morning off for all the hard work of the day before. In the afternoon, we cultivated cole crops (mustards, kale, etc) until it started raining. We kept working until the soil was too clay-like. If you mess with the soil when it's raining, you end up packing it down and blocking air to the plants. I forget what we did the rest of the afternoon, but I made home-made pizza that night with chard and italian heirlooms and summer squash and goat cheese. Mmm.
Thursday night it rained, so there wasn't much to do in the fields on Friday. We spent the morning stringing onions. After onions have dried, you can wrap their tails around a piece of string, so that they're all hanging in a clump. We sat or stood in the shed, sorting and stringing onions, looking out the open door at the rain falling gently on the herb patch. In the afternoon we trekked up a hill to dig fence post holes. For this you use clam-shells, a long handled tool for picking up dirt, and an iron digger, a big iron stick with a sharp end for jamming in the dirt to loosen it. This was hard work. We dug 3 holes (2 feet deep), and we got started on 2 more. We were at about 18" on each of the last 2 when we hit rock that we couldn't break through. We'd already broken through much rock, but we were too tired at this point, so we called it a day. From up on the hill, we could see a lot of David and Arwen's land. They have either 100 or 1000 acres and they farm 1 acre. The rest is for the goats to graze or for returning to woodland. All of the land is hilly, with streams in the gullies. It reminded me of my service location in the DR, without the dust and dogs. It was gorgeous.
All in all, I learned a lot and I enjoyed some beautiful weather and AMAZING food. We ate fresh veggies, goat cheese, and eggs every day. I'm so glad I went!
On Monday, we spent all day weeding the strawberry patch. I think that was the hardest day. It was the hottest, and we weren't protected from the sun. Plus, I was getting used to the schedule and the working. We worked from 8-12 and 2-6 on most days. (I usually took a nap during lunch time.) One weed we saw a lot of was purslain, which is considered a delicacy at restaurants!
On Tuesday, we weeded the currant and gooseberry patches. This was pricklier than the strawberries, and we had to cut out big weeds including blackberry brambles (very prickly!). In the afternoon, I assisted with the "pear crisis." The farmers, David and Arwen, had gathered pears this year for the first time. They were hoping the pears would keep in their root cellar, but when they checked on the pears, they realized that they were mistaken. So Arwen and I made pear butter, pear & ginger jam, and pear chutney. She is a very good cook, and it smelled soooo good!
We went to bed early on Tuesday (8:30) in anticipation of Wednesday, harvest day. David and Arwen run a CSA - Community Supported Agriculture - which means that people commit to buying a full season of fresh produce, and the farmers commit to supplying it. So on Wednesday, we got up at 5 AM to begin harvesting at 6:30. This is the one day we used any kind of gas operated vehicular assistance - we drove the truck out into the veggie patches. We harvested swiss chard, red peppers, apple peppers, eggplant, spagetti squash, summer squash, lettuce, cherry tomatoes, roma tomatoes, italian heirloom tomatoes, parsley, fennel. It was beautiful to see it all together. We ate a quick lunch, then prepared the goods by washing and divvying out. By 2:30 it was time to drive to Lexington. We set up in a parking lot and greeted the shareholders as they picked up goods from 4:30-6:30. Afterwards, Tim and I went to the co-op where we got supper and supplies for the week. We finally got home at 8:30. That was a long day!
Thursday morning was our morning off for all the hard work of the day before. In the afternoon, we cultivated cole crops (mustards, kale, etc) until it started raining. We kept working until the soil was too clay-like. If you mess with the soil when it's raining, you end up packing it down and blocking air to the plants. I forget what we did the rest of the afternoon, but I made home-made pizza that night with chard and italian heirlooms and summer squash and goat cheese. Mmm.
Thursday night it rained, so there wasn't much to do in the fields on Friday. We spent the morning stringing onions. After onions have dried, you can wrap their tails around a piece of string, so that they're all hanging in a clump. We sat or stood in the shed, sorting and stringing onions, looking out the open door at the rain falling gently on the herb patch. In the afternoon we trekked up a hill to dig fence post holes. For this you use clam-shells, a long handled tool for picking up dirt, and an iron digger, a big iron stick with a sharp end for jamming in the dirt to loosen it. This was hard work. We dug 3 holes (2 feet deep), and we got started on 2 more. We were at about 18" on each of the last 2 when we hit rock that we couldn't break through. We'd already broken through much rock, but we were too tired at this point, so we called it a day. From up on the hill, we could see a lot of David and Arwen's land. They have either 100 or 1000 acres and they farm 1 acre. The rest is for the goats to graze or for returning to woodland. All of the land is hilly, with streams in the gullies. It reminded me of my service location in the DR, without the dust and dogs. It was gorgeous.
All in all, I learned a lot and I enjoyed some beautiful weather and AMAZING food. We ate fresh veggies, goat cheese, and eggs every day. I'm so glad I went!
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Let's see if this works!
This is my first blogging enterprise, so it might not be pretty. I set up this blog in order to update everyone of my BVS adventures (and beyond?). If you prefer an email update, let me know, and I can have blogger send you updates every time I post.
Here's what I know so far about my adventures: I'm in the Fall unit of Brethren Volunteer Service (BVS). Orientation starts Sept 21 in New Windsor, Maryland, and runs for 3 weeks. During that time, we will make food together, play together, listen to speakers and contribute ideas, do service projects, and discern with BVS staff our volunteer placement. I have requested to go to Latin America, but expect to have a domestic placement for up to 1 year first. BVS is in transition to a new Latin America director, and the process means a delay in placements. Once (fingers crossed) I go to Latin America, I will be there for two years. So I'm planning for up to 3 years.
After orientation, I will go to my volunteer site, which could be anywhere and anything in the USA. That means I have to pack for cold, hot, business, casual, manual labor. I'm interested in lots of projects - working with an organic pesticide agency in San Francisco; lobbying for a peace tax in DC; reconciliation in Rochester, NY; working with people who are terminally ill in Texas. The volunteer site is responsible for finding me housing (I think). I could be living with roommates, a host family, on my own, etc. There are many unknowns right now! I'll post as soon as I know more and have access to the internet.
(Here's a favorite picture of my family that I'm bringing along on service. I thought I'd post it for practice.)
Here's what I know so far about my adventures: I'm in the Fall unit of Brethren Volunteer Service (BVS). Orientation starts Sept 21 in New Windsor, Maryland, and runs for 3 weeks. During that time, we will make food together, play together, listen to speakers and contribute ideas, do service projects, and discern with BVS staff our volunteer placement. I have requested to go to Latin America, but expect to have a domestic placement for up to 1 year first. BVS is in transition to a new Latin America director, and the process means a delay in placements. Once (fingers crossed) I go to Latin America, I will be there for two years. So I'm planning for up to 3 years.
After orientation, I will go to my volunteer site, which could be anywhere and anything in the USA. That means I have to pack for cold, hot, business, casual, manual labor. I'm interested in lots of projects - working with an organic pesticide agency in San Francisco; lobbying for a peace tax in DC; reconciliation in Rochester, NY; working with people who are terminally ill in Texas. The volunteer site is responsible for finding me housing (I think). I could be living with roommates, a host family, on my own, etc. There are many unknowns right now! I'll post as soon as I know more and have access to the internet.
(Here's a favorite picture of my family that I'm bringing along on service. I thought I'd post it for practice.)
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