Blog
The Secret Manual
I felt like everyone else had a secret manual. At least the cool kids definitely had access to the manual. I know I didn't. But I looked and listened and picked up clues as to what was in the manual. There were lots of rules regarding what to wear, what not to...
Allowing to be cracked open
If you throw a peanut in the shell to a chicken, it will eat the shell whole, because it knows that it may get stolen if it doesn't hurry. If you throw a peanut in a shell to a guinea hen, it will try to crack it open, and but probably get the peanut stolen by a...
Listening and Trusting in my Body
It probably all started in elementary school. I imagine I was sitting there, an innocent, naive, sweet 3rd grader, when someone laughed at my clothes and said they were from K-Mart. "Yes, they are! How did you know?" I proudly acknowledged. I had no idea of...
Just grow some tomatoes!
"I'm just so tired of constantly thinking, questioning, analyzing, doubting. I just want to go live on the farm and grow some tomatoes and just be!" I loved my job at CGE. It was really an amazing job and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to do it for 9...
What Happened in May???
Its been a month since I published a blog post. During this time, I did a lot of reflecting, questioning, doubting my reasons for keeping a blog. The doubts surrounded such things as: there is already so much noise out there, why should I add more noise? The whole...
Some days are difficult, but there are always signs to keep going
Since I made the decision to move to Angola, I have encountered a variety of reactions. Some people have looked at me like I'm completely crazy. Usually those people respond with an, "Angola??? Have you been there before?" Or admiration, "Wow! That's so amazing!...
Gift Economy in Angola
Sometimes in Angola, additional payments are helpful for facilitating certain bureaucratic procedures. The other day, as we entered the province where the farm is, an immigration official needed to register my presence. It was no big deal, took less than 5 minutes,...
Questioning “Productivity”
Moving to Angola and especially getting out of full-time employment were long time dreams for me. However, I've noticed myself missing the structure of a job. The first few times that emotion arose, I was surprised. I watched it and decided to see what I could learn...
Surviving in the System
We recently had some German friends visiting us. One grew up in the former East Germany. Please excuse my ignorance if this is common knowledge, but I hadn't consciously realized this before. They were telling me that during that time, it was common for volunteers or...
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