"If you don't do politics, politics will do you."

...is what the French and Joan Mandle, executive director of Democracy Matters say. This past Tuesday I attended a dinner with the executive director of Democracy Matters, Joan Mandle and a few other student activists. We talked about student movements, St. Michael's and how we can make a difference in the political arena of the United States. Joan is an extremely intelligent person who teaches sociology at Colgate University in New York. She has experienced things that politically engaged students today only dream today. Joan has marched on Washington with Dr. King and participated with other students during the height of the Civil Rights Movement. Incredible stuff.

I just love when Joan said this quote about politics. In the United States, politics can be a dirty word. People don't want to talk about politics at risk of being too controversial. But as this quote suggests, it is such an important part of participating in society. At the most obvious level politics control taxes, the military and social security. But to dig deeper than that is to realize that everything from the food you we eat to the shoes on our feet is political. So, it is only natural that we care about these things.

After dinner we had a meeting with more students about how to organize and attract students to political events on campus. You have to be able to convince your friends to agree with you before you are able to reach out to more people. St. Michael's is an incredibly caring campus with organizations like the Student Labor Action Movement (SLAM), the Peace & Justice Club, the Food Justice Club, Common Ground (an LGBT alliance group), the Student Global AIDS Campaign (SLAM) and our giant volunteer organization, MOVE. I believe that these excellent groups could work together more to more effectively achieve or goals. The saying, "the more the merrier," holds some truth, especially in this circumstance.

This weekend we are planning an event that will hopefully utilize all of these excellent resources on campus (more to come!).
But for now know that the world is changing fast. Sometimes you can forget that there are people that have some very similar views that you do. In fact, these people may be all around just waiting to be a part of something bigger than yourselves. Peace!!

It's a wild world

After spending Saturday night in a tent, I can say with good authority that fall is on its way. This weekend I went on an overnight hike with the wonderful wilderness program here at SMC. The offer programs to go on day hikes, rock climbing, sea kayaking and other great activities. During our hike we followed two different trails making a loop that brought us to the summit of Belvidere Mountain. Look at this view:



I had hiked this mountain this summer with my friend and wilderness instructor, Susan, but I wanted the chance to do an overnight before the season is over. Here Susan and I are when we hiked Belvidere in May:



This time I had a much heavier pack on my back, muddier trails because of Irene, and a few great people that I hadn't met before the hike. Our group consisted of six people--two instructors and four participants. For just a few dollars we were provided with the gear we needed but may not have had (sleeping pad, down jacket etc.), three delicious meals (pita pizzas, pancakes and oreos galore) and a great way to take advantage of all that Vermont has to offer.

Part of my group surveying the scene when we reached the peak:



I can't think of a better way to spend a beautiful weekend. Can't you tell we were so excited?



After reading this get outside and enjoy the sun!

Come on Irene

I hope that everyone's school year is off to a wonderful start! Last year this time I was settling into my life in Peru and now I am getting accustomed to calling myself a senior. This means living in a townhouse, no longer eating three meals a day in Alliot, and enjoying everything St. Mike's has to offer. Four of my friends and I are living in a fantastic townhouse on campus and I must admit we are all enjoying ourselves very much.

I love the beginning of the school year. Brand new notebooks, brightly colored pens and the promise of fall make me so happy. This semester I am only taking 12 credits (my two senior seminars and a politics class) because I have started interning in Senator Bernie Sander's office in downtown Burlington. I take the CCTA bus there and back three days a week. With your St. Mike's ID the bus is free and the often chaotic parking situation is not an issue.

Anyways, I work 13 hours a week at the office where I read through Vermont newspapers, file papers and learn what government in action really looks like. I think people forget that government is more than just Washington politics and CNN coverage, it is about trying to help as many people as possible with the resources available.

As you all probably know, Tropical storm Irene has sent Vermont into a state of disaster. Besides heavy rain the Burlington area was largely spared. However, most of Vermont was hit hard and there are people all over the state in need of food, shelter and other necessities. The senator's office has been hectic since I've started working and I was even sent to volunteer answering phones for FEMA one day. FEMA is the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and they coordinate widespread disaster relief. I was surprised to learn that they run out of two Winnebagos near the Burlington waterfront. Just another example of government functioning outside of the capitol.

Through my readings of VT newspapers I have become aware of people helping each other out all over the state. Women making solidarity T-shirts, Shaw's made a grocery store out of a tent, Phish is hosting a benefit concert and high schools all over are raising money to help those in need. The generosity of the human spirit can be truly impressive.

I have to get ready to go to class, but I just wanted to relay some of what has been happening here in Colchester, VT at the beginning of a new year. Be well and finish up those summer peaches, it's almost apple time!!

You are what you eat

The elementary school saying is true. For me, this summer has been very educational on the food front. I finally watched Food Inc, I read The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan, bought great vegetarian cookbooks and I am going to be the proud owner of a farmshare in the fall. Many people that I have interacted with lately could probably tell you two things about me:

One: I LOVE food blogs. Seriously. Since I don't discriminate, cooking and baking have been equally enchanting for me this summer. But foodgawker.com is the fuel to my obsession's fire.

Two: I have recently (a few months ago) stopped eating meat. I will not call myself a vegetarian because it is a very political term and many omnivores have alarmingly picky views about what can be considered a truly meat free person. Not that this annoys me at all (does sarcasm translate on blogs).

With all this being said, I decided to share one of my sans meat meals with you all in an attempt to emulate my idols:

Zucchini Patty Sandwiches (adapted from Whole Living magazine)
1 15.5 oz can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
2 small summer squashes, grated
1 small red onion, diced
1 egg, lightly whisked
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 whole wheat pitas
1 cup low-fat Greak yogurt
8 leaves of lettuce



1. Mash garbanzo beans in a bowl until smooth. Stir in breadcrumbs, summer squash, onion, egg and salt. Form into eight patties.


2. Sauté patties in oil until golden, 3 minutes per side.


3. Halve pitas and stuff with patties, yogurt and lettuce. 4. Enjoy!!

I'll be fine once I get it

Before I write about our grand conclusions or where to go with my research, I thought that I would take a brief digression into happiness. When I was in Ecuador I wrote about the things I that made me happy there. The Pursuit of Happiness, Ecuadorian style included: banana milkshakes, bus rides that are long but actually feel short, speaking Spanish, bathrooms with toilet paper, being so dirty that you forget clean, conversations with strangers about politics, dangling my feet off a canoe, well maintained parks, only using the internet once a day, the rainforest, fried eggs and the list goes for two pages.

A few weeks ago I finished reading a great book lent to me by a a great friend, The Geography of Bliss, by Eric Weiner. Weiner, a former foreign correspondent, visits ten countries in order to observe what does and does not make people happy. His travels take him from Switzerland, where orderliness is happiness, to Bhutan where happiness is a domestic policy, to Moldova where unhappiness is rampant. Weiner's observations tend to be a bit general because of the brevity of his visits, but he raises important points about the real impact of culture on all of our lives. He very aptly states that "Culture is the sea we swim in- so pervasive, so all-consuming that we fail to notice its existence until we step out of it."

Thinking about culture and happiness, I am trying to decide what it is that makes people in this country happy. Do the things we want make us as happy as we think? According to mainstream American culture, food, shopping, professional sports, resort vacations and good reality television make us happy. Is this true? Do these things really make us happy? The list I made on a park bench in Ecuador does not look anything like this, and I have a feeling that there are many others out there whose lists would correlate. So here is a challenge, start taking note of the things that make you happy, however silly and insignificant they sound. Coffee in the morning, running at night, or calling a friend. Anything.

Thank you for indulging me in this detour. I am going to make blueberry pie, which I want and will coincidentally make me happy (I think).

The perfect space

It is so hot outside right now that I can't help but be reminded of a month ago, when I was in the Amazon. To continue from where I left off, we were in Nuevo Rocafuerte, ready to embark on our three day camping trip in Yasuni National Park. Following the beautiful sunset and a dinner of rice and beans, our bags were packed and spirits were high. Jerry, Drisk and I loaded up Juan Carlos' motorized canoe and set off for a two and a half hour ride even further into the Amazon. Here were are on the boat:



Along the way we spotted a rare species of pink freshwater dolphins and saw the border of Peru at an even closer range. After studying there during the fall semester it was strange to see Peru from the other side.

After a gloriously breezy ride we arrived at our first encampment. We set our tents up beneath a canopy of leaves and readied ourselves for some adventure. And let me say that adventure, it came and took us by force. We hiked, canoed, and swam our way through the some of the most exciting few days that I can recall.

Recreational activities aside, we came to Yasuni with a research objective. In 2008, Ecuador was the first country to declare the unalienable rights of nature. Therefore, maintaining the preservation of Yasuni National Park is a crucial part of meeting the Millennium Development Goals. The ecological diversity within the park is unparalleled and because of it Yasuni was declared a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1989. Inside this area live many indigenous groups, some whom have never contacted the outside world.

However, this sacred place is threatened by the natural resources that lie beneath its surfaces, namely oil. In 2007 the Ecuadorian government created the ITT Initiative, which claims to leave Ishpingo-Tiputini-Tambococha oil fields untapped in exchange for compensation from the international community for lost revenue. If exploited, the indigenous rights and the unalienable rights of nature will be seriously jeopardized.

With this knowledge, the ever-fearless team Ecuador wanted to see what the effects of the oil exploration process were on this piece of jungle. So after our two canoe rides we hiked an hour and trekked through waist-deep water to find the oil reservoirs. Look at us go:



And after our exploring, this is what we found on the other side (its the Ishpingo of ITT):



I am still not completely sure what to call this structure, but I think oil valve is the most accurate. I am still in awe of how it came out of nowhere, distracting us from the incredible greenery around it. Poking at its base with a stick released the oil fumes. So it was easy to imagine how building a pipeline from it would be extremely dangerous for the surrounding communities. If used, Ecuador would benefit economically, but not for long. Definitely not long enough to make up for the damage it would cause to the environment. Many people we met, even our guide, believe the current administration of Ecuador WILL break the ITT initiative and drill for oil. Only time will tell, but for the sake of Ecuador and the importance of biodiversity everywhere I sincerely hope that they do not.

The end where I begin

I'm back in the United States, back in New York, in my house (and to be even more exact, my bedroom). A lot has happened since I left here four weeks ago. I have traveled to Ecuador, met with UN agencies, explored Yasuni National Park in the Amazon and swam in the Pacific Ocean. With all this being said, I am a bit overwhelmed by the recapping process but I will try to make some sense of it for you all.

I arrived in Quito, the capital of Ecuador one month ago today. It looks alarmingly like Cusco, an Andean city in Peru that I studied abroad in, so I felt immediately at ease. Our first meetings was with the HIV/AIDS division of UNESCO, which corresponds with Goal 6 of the MDGs. I learned that HIV, although extremely rare with a prevalence rate of 0.08, is highly stigmatized and most common in the mobile workers in the coastal zone. The women that Drisk, Jerry and I met with were extremely intelligent and dedicated to educating Ecuador's youth about HIV transmission and how to prevent the virus.

After 3 days in Quito we moved on to Tena, a charming jungle city. We ate grilled corn and plantains every night of our stay and purchased a knife to enjoy the fresh pineapple that was everywhere. Here is the merging of two rivers in Tena:



There wasn't a whole lot of research to do in Tena (the rafting, caving and kayaking that tempted us is another story) so we moved on to Coca. Coca is known for its petroleros, oil workers that move in and out of the city. From here we met with Irma, my absolute favorite person at the Información Turistica, who led us to Juan Carlos and into the Amazon.

A few phone calls and a 10 hour motorized canoe ride later, we arrived in Nuevo Rocafuerte, which rests on the border of Ecuador and Peru. Nuevo Rocafuerte has ZERO cars and only two motorcycles. Men sitting with monkeys are a common sight and there were more stars there than I have ever seen before. Upon our arrival, our trusty jungle guide, Juan Carlos, wanted us to climb this tower:



To see this sunset:



And here is team Ecuador, happy to be off a canoe and watching the sky:



That is all for now, part 2 through a million to come!