It's a windy, cold afternoon here in Oakland, and I am looking out my not-so-clean window at the vacant yard that once belonged to my neighbors. Yet another victim of foreclosure, they moved out a few weeks ago, taking with them their assorted vehicles, weight set and junk that once crowded the small, concrete back patio. Sometimes loud and raucous, always lively, I will miss them and the little piece of Central America they brought to the neighborhood. I recall one summer afternoon when I dozed off in my backyard to the soothing sounds of their Guatemalan marimba music. Now, it's just an empty space, one of many in this city.
Bad news is not hard to find these days. Sixteen teachers at the elementary school where I work got pink slips yesterday. Families and staff are concerned what will happen to the school. Many of the dedicated educators who have served there now find their future uncertain. I am lucky that the grant money that supports my position as a school garden teacher remains intact, at least for now, and I have a job for the time being. It is sometimes a stressful one, given the current atmosphere in our district.
What keeps me going is working with some amazing students, families and fellow staff, as well as being able to grow plants. When I am rushing around trying to set up lessons for the day, or understand yet another change in our paperwork protocol, I can stop for a moment and contemplate the new growth on the little avocado tree. The tree survived a defoliating vandalism a year ago, and I had given it up for dead, when a few months later, some small branches and leaves burst forth. It has grown slowly but surely since then and I keep a special eye on it. Many years off from producing avocados, it one of my connections with the cycle of agriculture.
I haven't been so great about updating this blog since I've come back from Nicaragua, mostly because I wasn't sure what I had to say was very interesting (I'll let you, my readers, be the judge of that) compared with when I was traveling. To my pleasant surprise, a couple people have found the blog and it has been a source of information for them while planning a visit to Lagartillo. I am glad to be able to share my experiences and promote the language school, Hijos del Maiz. It's been more than two months since I got back and I am most certainly back into the routine of my life here. My work with the garden project as well as conversations with people planning a trip to Lagartillo keeps me connected with that little community tucked deep in the folded northern mountains of Nicaragua.
After a long week at work and a tiring workout at King Boxing Gym, I came home to a pleasant surprise. The box of donated seeds from Seed Savers Exchange had arrived and I excitedly explored the contents: many wondrous varieties of peppers, melons, beans, lettuce, tomatoes and eggplants. Some of the seeds will stay here in the Bay Area at my school in Hayward, others will make the trip to Nicaragua where hopefully they will flourish in the tropical climate there. In difficult times, it gives me a sense of profound pleasure to think of the possibility of cultivating these amazing and nourishing varieties of fruits and vegetables.
I will post pictures from my school and home gardens soon...
Bad news is not hard to find these days. Sixteen teachers at the elementary school where I work got pink slips yesterday. Families and staff are concerned what will happen to the school. Many of the dedicated educators who have served there now find their future uncertain. I am lucky that the grant money that supports my position as a school garden teacher remains intact, at least for now, and I have a job for the time being. It is sometimes a stressful one, given the current atmosphere in our district.
What keeps me going is working with some amazing students, families and fellow staff, as well as being able to grow plants. When I am rushing around trying to set up lessons for the day, or understand yet another change in our paperwork protocol, I can stop for a moment and contemplate the new growth on the little avocado tree. The tree survived a defoliating vandalism a year ago, and I had given it up for dead, when a few months later, some small branches and leaves burst forth. It has grown slowly but surely since then and I keep a special eye on it. Many years off from producing avocados, it one of my connections with the cycle of agriculture.
I haven't been so great about updating this blog since I've come back from Nicaragua, mostly because I wasn't sure what I had to say was very interesting (I'll let you, my readers, be the judge of that) compared with when I was traveling. To my pleasant surprise, a couple people have found the blog and it has been a source of information for them while planning a visit to Lagartillo. I am glad to be able to share my experiences and promote the language school, Hijos del Maiz. It's been more than two months since I got back and I am most certainly back into the routine of my life here. My work with the garden project as well as conversations with people planning a trip to Lagartillo keeps me connected with that little community tucked deep in the folded northern mountains of Nicaragua.
After a long week at work and a tiring workout at King Boxing Gym, I came home to a pleasant surprise. The box of donated seeds from Seed Savers Exchange had arrived and I excitedly explored the contents: many wondrous varieties of peppers, melons, beans, lettuce, tomatoes and eggplants. Some of the seeds will stay here in the Bay Area at my school in Hayward, others will make the trip to Nicaragua where hopefully they will flourish in the tropical climate there. In difficult times, it gives me a sense of profound pleasure to think of the possibility of cultivating these amazing and nourishing varieties of fruits and vegetables.
I will post pictures from my school and home gardens soon...
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