All the small things

People are always saying you have to enjoy the little things in life. I don’t know about that in all things but as a Peace Corps volunteer that is definitely the case. When most volunteers get to their country of service they have huge dreams in mind. They’re going to change the world! Everyday will be a great adventure! Everything will be a smashing success! This is more true than it seems. It just takes a little change in perspective. You have to really enjoy those little things.

CHANGE THE WORLD!!!

The world can’t change over night. I’ve been, and continue to be, a big movie fan but those jerks lied to me. Turns out it takes a little more than 2 hours and a strong chin to change the world. Who knew? So I’ve had to change my expectations of what a changed world looks like since I’ve been here and I’m happy that I have.

It’d be really nice to have huge numbers that said our work here has reached thousands of people and generated tons of new food and wealth that has drastically changed this town and country as we know it. Maybe the seeds we’ve planted will grow quite big someday in the future, long after I’m gone, but for now they are quite small. That’s ok though. Everything starts small. The best stuff does really. Plus, with this kind of work starting small is the best way to get the deeps roots set in and have the most sustainable impact. There are about 700 people who live in my town. 9 awesome women have started and are maintaining home gardens for the purpose of feeding their families better year round. Working with these 9 women and their gardens is the best thing I’ve ever accomplished or been a part of in my life. Better than graduating college. Better than any game I’ve ever won. Because these women are doing a good thing the right way for the right reason. I believe that they will continue to do this after I am gone. I am hopeful that they will pass it on to their children and their children’s children. Now these 9 families will have better nutrition for a long time to come. The children will be healthier so they will learn and achieve more. They will be better able to provide for the next generation and the benefits will keep growing. In my dreams these home gardens now lead to doctors, teachers, and lawyers in a few generations. You know, world changers.

I can’t say what will happen with these women or any other people who hopefully have some good things to take away from my and Peace Corps’ presence here. Right now I know they are eating healthier and more diverse diets than they did before. They are saving some money that woud have been spent on food. They are just a little less hungry. Maybe that’s all it will be. Even if that’s the case, their world has changed slightly for the better.

ADVENTURE! HELL YEAH!

“Adventure, excitement, a Jedi craves not these things.”

Yoda is cool and all but he lost me on the Jedi thing with that line. Who the hell wouldn’t want adventure and excitement? And that’s what I came here to experience among many other things. If you read my last post you know this hasn’t turned out to be the case. At least not everyday. However, perspective will change those expectations. A closer examinations of those pesky little things reveals that a lot of those seemingly slow days are pretty damn adventure packed.

This realization also has a lot to do with remembering what it is you are actually doing and where you find yourself. Where I was 2 years ago and where I am today are light years apart. That in and of itself makes even the slowest, most boring day a grand adventure. It’s about appreciating the experience. I thought that I would be doing crazy stuff every single day. I don’t. Turns out it’s just most days. I’m in a Malagasy music video which I get recognized for all of the time in public. That counts for enough adventure for quite a few slow days I would think. Most importantly, I’m doing something that I’m pretty sure is making the world a little bit better. Doing that included moving literally half way around the world for 2 years, learning a new language and skill set, and living in and being accepted into a tiny community of brand new people from a different culture. That’s kind of adventurous. I’m no Indiana Jones (although my brother soon will be) but I think I have plenty of excitement in my life.

ALL SUCCESS ALL THE TIME

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha...What a silly person I was. This one I will say is probably more a me thing than a general Peace Corps things. I’d like to believe most people came in a bit more grounded than I did. I had big ideas and they were all going to work. Looking back at notes and timelines I made up from my first 6 months is pretty funny. I don’t know where we were going to find the time and resources to do all of those things. But, again, in perspective things have been a great success.

I already mentioned our 9 gardening all stars. There are also quite a few chicken raising all stars and one all around all star that deserves her own section. The mom of the family whose home I live in is what makes me think that everything here has truly been a success. She is incredible. Small backstory, like most women here she did not come close to finishing her education. She did make it farther than most, 8th grade, before having to drop out to help out around her family’s home. She maintained a good reading and writing level by attending every single training or workshop on literally anything that she could. She continued to educate herself. And she works her ass off. She has 4 children and a grandson who are much better off in the world for having her as a mother. As I am for having the chance to work with her. Ok, back to the now. She has been my co-trainer/interpreter for almost everything I have done here. She knows the techniques we have taught almost better than I do. She is incredibly prepared to continue this work for years to come and she will. She is an incredible motivator. I have needed that as much as anyone. Our main goal is to create sustainable change. Leaving and knowing someone like her has learned everything she could and will continue to educate the community makes me feel good that what we have done can be sustainable. If only through the sheer will power of this woman.

Not every single project I have tried to get off the ground has been a success. Most haven’t. And the “successes” have been relatively minor. However, what has been done is pretty sustainable and can be built on. People lives are slowly improving in ways that can be maintained. This is the greatest success we could every really ask for. Anything else would be icing on the cake.

This experience has been incredible so far. So many ups and downs personally and professionally. Often in the same day. I have learned so much that I couldn’t bring things to balance if I was here 100 years. The best thing I have learned is to maintain perspective on everything you do and experience. Things will not be perfect and amazing all the time. They shouldn’t be. You have got to keep your eyes out for those little things. They’re easy to miss. Also, I’m definitely not a Jedi.

Why hello there blog, long time no see.

It's been a while since I've written anything. To the like 7 people that read this I say I'm sorry. We Volunteers here in Madagascar have a saying “Madagascar, the place technology goes to die.” There is an inordinate amount of computer, tablet, camera, and phone failure here. That happened to me. My computer woke up one day and decided it was done working. I took it to our IT guy in the capital. It took a while but he got it fixed for me. It now works but doesn't seem to want to connect to the internet. Luckily Steph, who visited recently, brought me a new one I had ordered off the internet. That one had no problem connecting to the internet but is a Chromebook (which I didn't realize when I bought it) so is pretty useless without internet access. So I have 2 computers that, between the 2 of them, can almost do the job of one computer. The definition of first world problems. Anywho, I'm back to being able to write now. Yay!

Since I last wrote a lot has happened. My projects are moving forward. I have almost completed a grant for my chicken raising project that will require me to beg you for donations. Thank you in advance for anything you can spare. Any little bit helps and dollars go a long way here. For example a regular beer here, which is 65 cL or almost 40 oz, costs around 75 cents. There will be no beers bought with grant money but that shows just how far a dollar stretches in these parts.

The people I work with now have 5 gardens up and running in my town. That is very exciting to me. It is a relatively small victory but hopefully one that will have long term benefits. The longer I'm here the more I realize that small victories are all you can expect. I take pride in just opening people up to new possibilities however small they may be. In the past, the idea of a home garden was not even a possibility for the people of my town. Now there are 7 people (in the 5 garden spaces) growing food for their families close to their houses for easy access. They are improving the nutrition of their families ever so slightly. This is without a doubt the best thing I've done here. When I leave here I'll have an advanced degree in tempering expectations. And I say that with as little bitterness as possible. Change is hard. Any small change is worth celebrating. Showing someone one new thing, or one new vegetable they can grow, opens their mind to the idea that they can make other changes as well. That's the hope anyway.

I continue to do nutritional cooking trainings as well. These are my favorite thing to do here. It's just a big cooking demo where we disguise a nutrition training as a free food giveaway. Everybody learns something and goes away less hungry than they were when they came. I have also had the women who best grasp the subject lead the last few trainings to get them used to training a group and leading others. This way, again with hope in my heart, when myself and Peace Corps are no longer here they can continue the work of improving their community.

Stephanie just visited me which was awesome. She got to see my site and we explored some amazing beaches and parks in the Northern part of the island. A good time was had by all.

So, what's new? I think the biggest thing is that I am incredibly bored for long stretches of time. Before joining Peace Corps, and during all of the trainings, they sort of brush over the fact that a lot of your time you will have nothing to do. Rightfully so I think. No one with adventure in their heart and positive world change practically bursting from the depths of their soul wants to here that their 2 years as a Volunteer will largely be spent passing the time between meals. The preparation and planning of which quickly become the highlight of most days. I eat all my meals with the family I live with. This is amazing for many reasons but robs me of that small

daily high point.

The first few months at your site, even up to one year really, your head is spinning. You are learning a new language. Living in a new culture with a strange way of life unfamiliar to you as a first world dweller. A lot of time is spent learning new language and finding your way around. It's spent planning projects that largely will not come to pass for many reasons. Most of those reasons are unavoidable, out of your control, and no ones fault. The acceptance of this will also take up a lot of time and mental energy. Every training or meeting must be meticulously planned for. Notes planned out in adavance. Relevant vocabulary learned and noted beforehand. Time flies because everything is new and simple tasks take a ton of time. So that first let's say 9 months is a blur.

Then you get comfortable. You learn the language, at least reasonably well. There are still many struggles of course. There will always be that one person or those people who you just cannot understand. Most conversations still contain at least one word you don't know that you'll have to infer from context or grind things to a halt for the clarification of. But, preparation takes less time. Especially because the types of things you are meeting about and training on are the same. You've already prepared for this ten times over. The word for “wrinkled” still escapes you but for the rest of your life you will know how to say, “Has that chicken already been neutered? And vaccinated?” So time slowwwwwwsssss down. Without all that prep work and lack of understanding a lot of things are mundane and over quickly. There are only so many people to visit, garden beds to plant, trainings to conduct. Once you've done your days work it's 9 am and the day is still ahead of you. “Well I've worked out, done my yoga, checked in on MamanyJustin's garden, fed the chickens, scheduled a follow-up with Miandryzandry about the progress of his chicken coop, and watered my garden. It's 8:30am. I guess this book isn't gonna read itself.”

So, that all being said, I am having a good time here. I've had some really good success with some more still hopefully coming. My time here is rapidly coming to a close. I have about 9 months left. Plenty of time to get more things done and not nearly enough also. I am dealing with some boredom issues. Whoa is me. I'll have a lot more to say on a wide range of topics I've read up on when I get

back. And I've been know to talk a little bit so be ready for that I guess.

I'll be much more regularly updating this now that I have access to a computer regularly. Next time I'll have a more uplifting topic. Until we meet again...

Tamana

One of my favorite parts of learning a new language is finding those words that are untranslatable between your new language and your first one. Those wonderful words that express a concept that would take sentences to explain in English. There are quite a few of those in Malagasy but I have a favorite. It is the word “tamana”.

“Tamana”, as the intro should have hinted at, is difficult to express in English. There is no one word just like it. The closest I can come is “content” but it isn't just that. It means comfortable, happy, content with the place you live and your living situation. Specifically a new place. Like the new town a volunteer moves to that is far from family, friends, and the comforts of home. People are constantly asking “Efa tamana mo ana?” which basically means “Are you comfortable and happy living here?” They always want to know if you like it here. That you enjoy living in their town and country. If I am away from my town for too long (like a weekend) I am asked if I am not happy here on my return. They think that I may be staying away because I am not settled here. More than anything, people here want you to be happy with your place and living situation.

I love the concept of “tamana”. I think we could all use it in America. Our society is very much obsessed with moving on and up. Whether in our jobs, our houses, or our possessions. Even in our friendships to a certain extent. People are constantly trying to upgrade. Of course, it can certainly be argued that this drive is what made America the world's superpower. The continual need for “better” certainly can have positive side effects. I know that I have been, although not necessarily in the possessions department, consistently not content with my station in life. Wherever I have gone, whatever I have done, I always thought that something else could be better. I like to think this experience is helping me learn to be content and happy with what the present brings me. It has helped me slow things down and enjoy what is happening now because there really is no other choice. It's either that or be miserable all the time. My life right now is pretty great despite one gaping hole that exists in it. But that will be filled in about a year so that's all good. I am definitely “tamana” here. One of the goals of Peace Corps is to introduce the culture of our host country to people back in the US to increase global understanding and fellowship. I want to introduce “tamana”. Try to achieve it. If anything, it'll lower your blood pressure.   

Rain, rain, more rain, and a vacation note

I've been back from my awesome European vacation with Steph for about a week and a half. It has rained every single day. Hard.

I never paid much attention to rain before got here. It was a nuisance but one not felt too much. Rain meant driving with the windows up and having to turn the TV up a little if it was really coming down. Sometimes even getting wet on the walk from the car to the front door. You know, real pains. Here it's so powerful. The steady pounding on my metal roof. The deafening roar water and aluminum make in concert when a cyclone is coming through. Roads that are absolutely decimated. Once recognizable as routes for people and vehicles they are now mud pits to be traversed slowly if at all. That's when they are visible at all. Quite often roads are transformed into muddy rivers or impromptu ponds. The deforestation amplifies the power of the rain. Water runs breakneck down hills grabbing all soil and small plants in it's path. Don't transplant your rice at the wrong time. The little seedlings might not survive a 3 day deluge whether from drowning, being swept away, or death by bludgeoning from above. The most amazing thing of all about the rain is you can see it. Not just drops here and there but great walls of it. You can look down the road and see the curtain of water rushing towards your up to then dry self (okay, honestly, your slightly sweaty but heretofore not drenched self). When it's really going you can't see 100 yards down the road. Not from fog but sheer precipitation. Trees that fill my sight line as I stare absently out my window disappear. People materialize from gray nothingness. I'm certain this effect happens in the US as well. It's just a lot harder to see through all of the buildings and endless houses that populate the US that I know. All of this only happens for 3 months or so every year.

The rest of the year is bone dry. From the end of April, when I got to my town, until December it rained twice. Just 2 times. And I am being generous in calling that mist rain. It's like an A for effort. How the hell do you grow things in a place like this? 3 months of Biblical rain followed by 9 months of Saharan drought. It's hard. That's a major issue I have to work around here. We're getting there. With the permagarden techniques we are implementing the extra water from now can be captured and stored in the land for later use when we really need it. That's the idea. My job is to convince everyone to do it. So far I have 2 converts. That is a big victory. Hopefully there are more to come.

Vacation Note:

I posted pictures on Facebook that will do a better job of describing it than my words ever could. Steph also posted some. I fell like most people reading this are also my friend on the book and can check them out. However, here is a quick summary: First of all, seeing Steph was amazing. Plus, the work she is doing is really cool and she is awesome at Romanian already. Anyways...we went to Paris, Budapest, Bucharest, And Chisinau and Biesti Moldova. Biesti is Steph's site. It is really cool and the people are amazing. Lucky for them they got a pretty good volunteer. It was cold pretty much everywhere. By the time we got to Paris 13 degrees Celsius felt tropical. One recommendation, go to Budapest. It's a great city with lots of cool historic sites, a beautiful river, good beer, and good food. Plus tons of people speak English which makes it a lot easier. It's also much, much cheaper than places like Paris or London. Go before everyone figures out how cool it is and costs go up!

The Year is Rapidly Ending

2014 is rapidly coming to a close. It has been an interesting year for me. At the start of the year I was living in California and readying myself for a big change. As it ends I am in Ankazambo Atsimo, Befandriana Avaratra, Madagascar. And a few things happened in between.

In February I left the US for my service here in Madagascar. Which means I am rapidly approaching one year off US soil which is a whole other mind blowing topic. Unless you count the embassy here as US soil. Technically it is, but I don't count it despite their warm hospitality. Leaving the US was hard. To leave behind family and friends for 2+ years was rough to say the least. To know I wouldn't see loved ones for so long was heart-wrenching. Even thinking back on it now brings emotions up. However, Peace Corps does a pretty good job of adjusting you quickly. Following a disorienting full day of travel and the changing of, I believe, 11 time zones, we arrived. And you are thrown right in. Within 48 hours of landing we were living with host families. You don't have much time or energy to think. You're mostly trying to keep up your head above water. It's a lot like when I left home to go to Los Angeles for school. I left in August for football training camp and was immediately busy 24/7. You are so busy you have little time to think about missing people and before you know it you've been in this new environment for weeks. Except here I'm a foot taller than everyone, speak a different language, and poop in a hole. Other than that though the experiences are very much alike.

Towards the end of the initial training period you become antsy. You feel ready to go and do what you joined Peace Corps to do. I know that I spent those last few trainings on policy and paperwork contemplating running through the wall and leaving an outline like the Kool-Aid man. I'm sure anyone who has ever served in Peace Corps experienced similar feelings. It's no knock on the trainers or the program here. They are fantastic and I would have lasted about 30 seconds at my site if it wasn't for them. It's just that by the end of training camp you just want to play a damn game. So then it is off to site.

I got to my site around the end of April. I was wrong. I was not ready. You just can't be. The training staff gets you as close as possible but until you actually get there you have no idea. The first few days at site are the hardest in my opinion. New place, new language. I don't know what the experience is in other Peace Corps countries but here in Madagascar the volunteers draw a lot of attention too. There is absolutely no way to blend in as a 6'5” white guy here. That is a blessing and a curse. You can't walk down the street without stares and shouts but when you speak many people listen. It is a weird mix of feeling like a zoo animal, celebrity, source of amusement, and all knowing wonder. Most of the attention is positive or harmless but it is especially difficult to deal with in the first few days. It is difficult to talk to anyone because you realize that you aren't as good as you thought at the language and it would be hard to explain all of the emotions to your closest confidant let alone a stranger. You are both never alone and always alone. It gets better.

I was spinning a bit for the first few months as does everyone. The idea is to integrate in your community, improve your language, and just get comfortable. Time during this period, and as a matter of fact the whole time so far, goes very strangely. Individual days can drag on. Sometimes it feels like the sun will never go down. Or that you've been extremely productive and worked forever, and it's still only 8am. But man do the weeks and months fly by. Days go slow but if you blink a month goes by. It's a strange feeling. So you get started on projects and try to start actually making a difference for people. I'm there now. There are a lot of balls in the air and I just hope I can catch a few of them. As strange as it sounds, I am beginning to feel a time crunch. I am about to embark on a highly anticipated holiday vacation then, after the holidays, it is only a few months until I am under a year left in the country. I need to hit the ground running. So then it goes from feeling like forever to feeling like too little time. It's enough to make anyone's heart race a bit.

We're in the thick of the holidays. Trees have been up in Costco for about 2 months. Calling birds are warming up their vocal cords. Lords are a'stretching to avoid injury. I'm sure ABC Family has an original Christmas movie on the schedule tonight starring John Stamos and Heather Locklear called “The Christmas Miracle” about a childless couple who finds a baby on their doorstep Christmas morning who ends up being Santa and Mrs.Claus' baby that they couldn't raise because of advanced age so they decided to give it to a struggling, though happy and loving, couple on the good list. And it will soon be the new year. This has brought on my reflective mood I think. It's been a crazy year. To think, next year I will spend the entire year, save a few days of vacation, in Madagascar. It's been a year of ups and downs. Big ups and big downs. I've made some dumb mistakes. Really dumb. And I've had some great triumphs as well. I plan to learn from the mistakes and try to make the triumphs more frequent. I still miss everyone. I don't think that will go away. But I'll blink and it'll be Christmas next year. Then I'll be planning my victorious return to the States. But not yet. I have a bit more to do here. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

End note (since I want to write about something else that is only slightly related to the blog topic and would have been hard to squeeze in to the main body): I turn 30 next year. It has snuck up on me. It's just a number but I've been thinking a lot about it lately in light of my continuing to be a big, dumb child at times.

When I was younger I thought adults were all super wise. That, when you became an “adult”, you just knew everything. I don't know that I every worked out how that happens exactly. I just thought it did. Like maybe when you turned 21 a light switch flipped in your head and you were a “grown-up”. I'm still waiting for that switch to flip. Here I am, almost 30 years on Earth, and still swimming. I'm a terrible swimmer too. I guess the idea is to always move forward. Try to improve a little each day. I keep hoping I'll wake up one day and just get it. I'm still hopeful that I will. Lebron has raced forward and taken a commanding lead in the life race that began in 1985 but it's early. He can't be a super freak forever I think. Plus, maybe I'm the Lebron of curling or something and just haven't figured it out yet.    

Wazzurp

Hello World!

It's been a while and I know the 6 people who read this probably really missed this. I've been a busy boy with a lot to talk about.

I recently had a training with the Food Security Committee, of which I am a member, at the Peace Corps Training Center in lovely Mantasoa, Madagascar. An expert was brought in to teach the members of the committee and their Malagasy counterparts about permagardening. Specifically the construction and maintenance of a year round garden even in semi-arid conditions like those in my town. We also touched on composting, charcoal making (as a soil amendment), and the scientific reasoning behind the technique and how to help plants grow well in general among other things. It's a really wonderful technique and I am happily implementing it in my site already. I won't bore you with all of the details but there was an amazing take away from the training.

One thing that is a constant worry for a Peace Corps volunteer is the sustainability of your work. It weighs heavily on my mind here. The idea is to create change on a local level that can contiue once the volunteer is gone. Both with the people that you worked directly with and also those who they come in contact with and train in the future. It sounds great and not too difficult but it is very hard. Behavior change is a hard nut to crack in general but adding to it language and cultural barriers it becomes even more difficult. Think about how hard it is to change behavior. Millions of people in America know they should eat better. Know they should workout more. Know they are obese. But they do nothing about it. They are informed and educated on the topic but they do nothing about it. I've been in that boat myself for a time. Trying to get people to change habits and behaviors they and their ancestors have been practicing for generations, while learning their language and culture and being an outsider, is something that keeps me up at nights. However, it is possible. And at the training we talked about good strategies for affecting behavior change.

I've done a lot of trainings here with a good number of people. Sometimes 30 or 35 people. It feels good to know that that many people are interested in what you are teaching and motivated to learn. It also feels like you are reaching a lot of people at once. But really most of the people there will not get the training and almost none of them will do what they were taught. Whenever a large number of people are brought together, inevitably, about 5 of the biggest personalities take over the room. They answer the trainers questions and ask questions of their own. Everyone else is a passive listener at that point. There is almost no way they will remember what was taught. Especially 6 months from now when they might actually want to or see the opportunity to use it. And if the whole training is in a classroom setting then even the big, active personalities will have a hard time remembering and implementing the information. So, while good intentioned, I was doing things wrong. People were getting a basic idea of the information but not enough experience and knowledge to actually use it. With behavior change a fear of change and new things is also an impediment to people and by talking about things only I was not showing people just how easy the new techniques are. Only telling them. And why should they trust me?

Which brings us to the training. One of the main tenants of the training was that, in order to effectively train people and turn them into trainers or change agents themselves, you have to train them in small groups. Preferably 10 or less. And the training should be a hands on experience out in the field if at all possible. Make sure to make the training easy to follow and do and get people outside to actually do it. I have started doing this with great success. We have 3 permagardens in the works as well as 3 compost piles. There are more in the pipeline for the upcoming weeks. These seem like small numbers but they are encouraging. One of the first things I tried to do was get people to make compost. Until I broke it into small groups and brought it to their territory they never did. Now they are. At one of the compost trainings there were 4 people. I know they got it. I know one of them is doing her own pile with out me. I love that. I've told them that, by the end of my service, I want them to do the trainings and I can be a tall, sun-burnt, extremely conspicuous camera man only. None of the trainings have been with more than 6 people. I am confident when we finish that everyone gets it. And I can follow up with people because the numbers are so much less.

The absolute best part is that one of my counterparts, the one who came to the training with me, is already taking charge and training people. She is an incredible asset to the community and a great person. It's crazy to think how high she could have risen if she was born somewhere else or able to get an education above middle school level. But then she probably wouldn't be here and they need her. She motivates people and challenges them. She just gets it. There are times when I want to throw my hands up and just do things for people so they'll get done. She won't let it happen because she knows that, if we do that, everyone will be lazy and wait for me or her to do it for them next time. So she trains people. I am still at every training. There are still things she isn't up to speed on yet and techniques we haven't trained on yet. But the ones we have she knows well and she leads things. I am there to lend a hand and guide things but she does the bulk of the talking. I know she will do this long after I am gone. If everything else fails I know she'll be practicing these things and leading trainings years down the road.

I'd like to think that because of Peace Corps' presence in their community the town of Ankazambo Atsimo in the Sofia Region of Madagascar will be changed for the better. 20 years from now their children will eat better. People will make more money. This will allow more children to go to school for longer periods of time. They will go to college. And the community will continue to rise and improve. I'd like to think that my work and the work of my predecessor here have set them on that path. This new training concept makes me believe this is possible and gives me hope I can move the ball forward significantly these 2 years. The fact that I have at least one change agent ready to work, and already working, gives me more hope. I am extremely cautiously optimistic. Now if I can find a few more like her I can work on my photography skills.  

Caffeine Makes Me Happy

Such a sad day in Ankazambo Atsimo. The big box-ish store in Befandriana has stopped selling the instant coffee that has been my life blood. I do not know if this is a permanent thing or if they are waiting on a re-supply. It seems pretty permanent. For some one who craves caffeine the way I do this is a bit of an issue.

In the US I had many easy to access, and gloriously tasty, caffeine sources. Energy drinks, the occasional diet soda, and of course Starbucks. (Starbucks, to me any way, has become synonymous with all purveyors of $4 espresso drinks such as Coffee Bean, Peet's, etc. Kind of like Kleenex or Q-tips for their respective products.) Unfortunately the big, green giant from the Emerald City hasn't penetrated this market just yet. I'm sure that will come eventually. That feels inevitable. Here you can get coffee at many little road side stands that also sell various kinds of deep fried breads. The coffee is bitter and requires some sugar to make it palatable but it is not too bad considering the circumstances. And the deep fried goodness is fantastic. However, much to my sadness, the bread sellers in my small town do not have coffee. So I have taken to the instant coffee previously mentioned. (Side note: The instant coffee is called “Cafe Pele” after the soccer star.) You can actually by fresh coffee and roast it yourself here as well which is fun but time consuming. Since I can be a bit lazy, especially in the morning pre-coffee, I stuck with the instant stuff.

I ran out about a week ago and couldn't make it to town for a replacement for a 2 days. Those were rough. I was not a fun person to be around and basically shut myself in my house with the exception of a few meetings that were already on the schedule. Then I went to town and learned the bad news of Cafe Pele's demise. So, since I was still feeling lazy, I got tea. Tea here is actually pretty good. Most people take it with a ton of sugar but the tea is not bad. It is the kind that comes loose, so not in tea bags, so you need a little strainer which I have. The problem is that it doesn't have the kick that Pele had (get it). So I drink a lot of it to offset. Not bad but unsustainable.

I think I will have to break down and do the fresh coffee. It is infinitely better tasting than the other stuff so I'm not too broken up by the thought. I'll just have to get in a routine with it and always have some fresh roasted and ground. Unless my dear friend Pele makes a return. What a glorious day that would be.

In brighter news, I had a training on making compost the other day and have another scheduled for next week. It went pretty well. I think everyone gets it but followup will be important. I have to make sure the people who come to the trainings are actually doing what they have learned. Usually most don't but a couple are just a little reinforcement away from being good to go. Compost is a good thing to be doing right now because we are a bit in between growing seasons. It's plenty warm enough to grow things right now but water is in short supply so most people do not grow right now. In our garden we just started some greens and peppers but even we don't have it going at full capacity. That will happen in a few months when the rain comes. Until then it is compost, compost, compost on the garden side of things.