felling.

tyring, trying to wash away the destruction,
the pollution
I hear you, I feel you
keep falling, falling
one day you will unveil our barest bones.

"Ah, J'aime le vent!"

I realized I never posted pictures from my trip to France! Ah... what a trip.. totally and completely not what I expected... ended up being very lonely by the third week. But what came out of that loneliness- me becoming a warrior in a sense, to fight for my path to be uncovered again. I actually left the house I was staying at on a Sunday morning (left on peaceful grounds with the woman I was staying with though she becoming extremely gruff towards me) and went to Orleans where I knew there was a big trainstation because I had been there a week or so before exploring around. Of course the country practically closes on Sundays.. so I didn't know where to go to get to all the hotels.

I ended up asking an elderly woman for directions and she smiled and helped a lot.. then she came back and offered to help me find a hotel- well turns out she was so thoughtful and kind that after helping me look around for a hotel, she offered her house to me for the night. It intuitively felt right, so I went with my gut and just did it. It was amazing... her house was in the suburbs of Orleans. Such a cute house! There were items from all around the world everywhere; masks, books, shells, everything! Her husband passed away seven years ago, so she's been alone from that point on.

We just ate awesome meals, like meals I thought I was going to have in France but never had- like cheeses and bread, a cucumber salad, pink wine, melon, many different jams... all in different little waves. It was so cute!

I also got to hear many cool stories- like how her husband went to Africa for 25 years (left when he was 20) to collect and examine insects and shells. There were drawers and drawers full of butterflies and huge beetles- she even had an entire cabinet full of thousands of types of rocks.

How thrilling it was to experience this, this flurry of intuition and trust. I think the entire three weeks I was sitting in the countryside not really knowing why I was there, eventually becoming lonely and defensive, were worth me being able to find this lovely woman in her 70s... and to wrap up my trip like this.

This trip is so special to look back on- all the people I met, from my first restaurant waitress to the man running the book flea market (who thought I was Russian), the man who runs a little decor boutique who let his puppy run around the store, the woman who helped me find where I was going... the man who took me to the bus stop when I was lost another time... the man who followed me for a while (this was unintentional, haha), the Brittish couple who cracked me up when they called their camera a "wee little thing" and refused to open its case while going through security, my first and only taxi cab driver who made fun of me for making him drive me to La Gare de Lyon a mile away, the guy who told me how to say 'frog' in French while we were hauling 180 bales of hay onto a tractor (didn't have a choice...), the guy who helped me haul my suitcase onto the train..
to the French: thank you! Yes, the French will watch as you have a meltdown, a gaunt and numb look on your face as your crumbled map is once again torn open, but they will also help you as much as possible when you ask for help. To Eliane, thank you for being as embracing as family when I literally had no where else to go!

connecticut folk festival

I just came back from two intense days of volunteering at the CT Folk Festival!! Well... intense because it was very very hot and because I volunteered for 12 hours altogether, albeit most was very relaxed and fun (free sustainable sushi for the volunteers!) I think it has been going on for 17 years...! The focus is to come together as a huge group as people who are into the environment, into music, or into both, and it was something I had never experienced before!



They had around 73 vendors I believe- tables and tents set up where everyone from hip and cool, and eco vendors could sell awesome things (one tent had New England made Goat's milk soap, handmade quilts and comforters, and an array of Earthy household materials. They are called the Common Good Market!)
They also had information on where to buy local in CT.... buying local is key to keeping small farmers thriving and to keep environmental costs (such as heavy transportation and factory production situations) to a minimum. Most local products, from what I've seen, come from artisans and local, family run farmers (often Organic).





Some other vendors I loved: Barefoot Books, which is a bookstore that sells books with eco-friendly messages; and Pure Play Kids, which is a store that sells creative and sustainable toys (seriously such beautiful toys... I even bought some soy-crayons!).They even had families come out and let people use their two-seater bikes!




Some mucisians that I really enjoyed listening to were Rachael Sage and Nerissa and Katryna Nields (they have a very Brandi Carlile-esq sound, its very strong and beautiful)

This woman at Barefoot Books also gave me a book for a book reading at my library (something Im planning to do with my environmental club) called The Barefoot Book of Earth Tales by Dawn Casey and Anne Wilson. Great artwork and stories!

"Let the water lead us home"

Yesterday (Saturday) was an awesome day!! I started my new job at Miya's Sushi (a sustainable sushi place) and volunteered at Massaro Community Farm, an organic farm that is volunteer run (and headed by Farmer Steve). They grow everything from Turnips to ARUGULA!! + cabbage, broccoli, broccoli rob, tomatoes, and much much more!!! Next week they are getting solar panels to make the farm truly sustainable. They utilize very efficient ways of safeguarding their crops and land such as drip irrigation and strips of wild grasses/flowers (this makes the land more pest-resilient and keeps it au-naturel). Its a really great place...!

So, Saturday was the farm's first annual Fundraising Dinner... food was prepared by a restaurant using food from the farm! First there was cocktail hour and during this time you could take a tour of the farm with the farmer (many did), then came dinner in the fields.. the table was extremely long, as it had to accompany around 80 people. It was covered in jars filled with wildflowers and a long burlap tablecloth. The comfort of the dinner was that it was family style, which is an awesome thing because sustainability and organic farming are all apart of a big picture of caring for the land and for each other as we come to recognize this blossoming yet archaic relationship between all living creatures...

I snapped some shots with my phone, hope they show how beautiful it was! What with the earthy theme and the dessert greenhouse filled with lights when it was dark outside and all the crickets were still chirping...