I am now sitting refreshed and ready for my day in the leafy shade of Hostel Albergue. This is the third day of my 2 month journey with GSE and with my journey to a better understanding of a biointensive, sustainable farming. A week ago, I would not expect these technical, “hippy” phrases to come out of my mouth. But my work at Chacraseca has taught me so much more about my health, my environment, and my ecological footprint on the world.

The first day we arrived at the school we went out to our plot of land, and were greeted with a cleared out field and one or two rows of “double dug” beds. In the past three days, we have created about 15 beds, and are still going strong. These beds that we are putting in will supply the school students with food for breakfast and lunch in their daily lives. Many of these students live in rural poverty and arrive at school without having eaten.

The ability to collaborate with so many people from a different social and economic background on a basic survival skill (producing food) of life is providing me with a new outlook on the world, and how I can be in it. By using healthy, sustainable plant growth methods, and adding in a bit of my own physical labor, I now see that I can truly make a difference investing my positive energy alongside so many other young people.  I am still so early in my trip, it is exciting to think about how big of an impact I will be able to make in my next 2 months!

Thanks everyone for being involved!

Carly

When I finally woke up, I initially didn’t even realize where I was. As I realized the past 20 hours, I got up, the immense enthusiasm returned. After breakfast we hit the city immediately. We took it all in, eager to experience this world of excitement and wonder. Culture shock wasn’t a negative aspect, in fact inspiring, to throw oneself into the fray of an entirely different way of living. We stood on the top of a the cathedral, and looked down upon a city plaza. We walked through the market, seeing foods entirely alien to us. Was that tongue? fish? meat at all? who knew. It was something to eat, for sure. The flavors of Central America can be found high and low, ours being strong, bold, simplistic barbeque, made in front of us.

Exploring, check. Eating, check. One last on the list: work. As we made our way to Chacaresca I realized I had very little of an idea of what to expect. Everything had gone so well so far, how was I to know things would stay consistent? My anxiety was relinquished within the hour. Our coworkers were accepting and amiable, even through the language barrier trying to build friendship. The work it self was dirty, messy, and physical, but rewarding.  All sentiment of holding back to preserve ones appearance were thrown to the wind, full force of ourselves put into the making of these gardens. We put in 110% and our effort was appreciated! Needless to say I slept equally as well that night.

We headed out to our site in Chacaraseca, a community about 30 minutes outside of Leon. We found shade underneath a neam tree grove and began the second workshop prepared for the group. Sitting in a circle, we discussed the organic movement, what it means to live sustainably and the importance of supporting your local community. Tying all of these themes together, we also began to talk about our work in Chacaraseca, and what it will mean for the community there. We were incredibly impressed with the amount of participation from the group. Not only was everyone offering their own insight, they listened intently to their peers.

Then we got to work! At this point in the project we are clearing land to prepare for double digging beds. Lots of weeding and machete work.  Because the soil is soft and the wind is fierce, everyone was absolutely covered in dirt, but smiling and working hard the whole time.  The day is ending with some story telling and pizza.  We are getting ready for a long day of work tomorrow followed by some salsa classes!

Today I spoke with the head master of Morogoro Secondary who expressed his desire for Global Student Embassy to be involved with the school on a weekly basis as I described to him. He has appointed a new teacher to head the GSE club and she is young and exuberant, an English teacher who seems very promising in regards to keeping her word when it comes to taking action with GSE at the school. Her name is Teacher Ringo. The headmaster then asked Paul, myself, the head mistress and Doreen to speak to nearly 150 students in levels 1 through 4.  After the unique experience of walking into the classroom and receiving a loud and inspiring welcome from the students, I described GSE’s philosophy and the opportunities the program presents to them as students. I was proud of Doreen for being confident and articulate (at least it sounded that way in Swahili) when speaking to the students and I am truly amazed with Paul and the growth he is demonstrating. If there is any student that is truly living the GSE philosophy it’s Paul Israel. He spoke confidently and intelligently, and the students mistook him for a teacher. He really is growing into his own. He was recently accepted as a finalist for the South African Leadership Academy, widely considered the best school in Africa.  He leaves for his interview in Dar Es Salam on Friday. Any student that is interested was informed to contact Doreen, who as you know is the acting G.S.E. club leader at Morogoro Secondary School. The head mistress also made a point of it to explain the MYTC to students and the discounts they receive. It was nice to have her support.

Big news from Mzumbe Secondary School! The head master has given GSE its own classroom to be used as a meeting place and library. He told us that GSE has complete access to as much water as we need at Mzumbe, and the freedom to use any of the school’s land for projects.  Considering the plentiful amount of water and large area of vacant land, this is ideal for an orchard project as has been proposed. Signing out, Nathaniel Monroe

The constant question I receive from people is what major am I going to choose in college; or what I want to do in life. I never have a clear answer. But after traveling to Africa with GSE and fully experiencing the people and the atmosphere; being thrown into the daily lives of the Tanzanian people; I know I want to do something to help people and make a difference in this world. I don’t want to sit behind a desk, I don’t want to file papers, I want to be out in the world experiencing things first hand. I want to do something where I can take my teachings to people and places around the world that truly need it. Bottom line: GSE has opened my eyes to the world. Day by day I continue to look back upon my trip and notice how it is still shaping me to be the person I am today; and the person I want to be as I continue in life. When we were in Africa, we met a man in Arusha named Bori, who we became good friends with. He told me that “In your heart, you must be free”. I don’t think anything is more true then this.

In Santa Fe, it has been very emotional. Edit and Walter have asked me to stay and live with them, and work at their English Institute for another month. I thought long and hard, and it was very difficult for me to turn down this generous offer. Saying goodbye to my family here has been difficult also. I have never been so close to a family like this.  I have been embraced as a son and brother as though these people have known me for their entire life.  In all honesty, I wish I could stay here in Argentina, and I plan to return.

Last week our student group eamed up with tons of local GSE participants and volunteers to paint the inside and out of an adult literacy school in a very poor Santa Fe neighborhood.  The work was tedious yet rewarding. The school was called ¨Centro Comunicario Juven¨ and it´s a school for adults in the area who never learned to read and write.  Some of the students helped us paint the school, while others stopped in to bring us gifts and food.  The students we met ranged from ages 18 to 70.  At this particular school, they were just finishing 5th grade at the time we begun work. It was incredibly rewarding to work with students, to see their reaction and gratitude, and to help make their environment better suited to learning. We spent one day doing the Santa Fe tourist track, which is really a half-day adventure.  We walked along the famous bridge, which is like the Golden Gate (a reddish suspension bridge) only way smaller, visited a university and went to some of the museums, stopping at the government building and also some cathedrals. We spend the last few days with lots of free time and family get-togethers. Spending time here with my family is what I will miss the most about Santa Fe.

Tomorrow morning we will board a bus to Cordoba. By Monday, we will be heading up to Salta, a city known for its distinct culture and climate, more like Bolivia or Peru than traditional Argentina.  Next, we will travel over or Igauzu Falls, a huge waterfall on the boarder of Brazil, Paruguay, and Argentina.  On our way to the capital, Buenos Aires, we will stop back in Santa Fe to say hello to our families and visit the sites of our community projects.

Students in Santa Fe have also now just begun their Winter Holidays, a two week break from school.  This means that by last Friday, we had to finish up all of our work at Pilares, which we did by working harder and longer days and using the help of the students and staff at the K-12 private school.  We finished by Thursday and gave workshops on Friday to different age groups and showed students how they could maintain and benefit from the beautiful garden. We planted four fruit trees, three orange and one lemon.  We planted five vegetable beds with lettuce, broccoli, spinach, collard greens, and cauliflower.  We also planted a flower bed to help attract beneficial insects like bees and butterflies. There is also an herb bed with mint, lavender, oregano, and other local herbs used for making teas and seasoning.  We left a beautiful greenhouse with many plant starts inside so the students can build and plant additional vegetable beds with radish, carrots, onions, fava beans, and arugula. Inside the greenhouse, we planted about 20 eggplant starts into the ground. The school cooks and uses local food for the students everyday for lunch.  The garden will be used to provide food for consumption directly on school grounds for students who have expressed a desire to see more healthy foods in their school kitchen.  It will lower the costs of Pilares, which is funded by passionate educators, teachers, and parents, who use hand-on activities as a way for their students and children to learn more about the world.  Gardening classes will include all students from the K-Secondary school (equivalent of K-12) including those with disabilities, as Pilares strives to provide integral educational opportunities for students with disabilities, which apparently is uncommon in Argentina.

This particular project has made me very happy.  I am proud of everyone involved and the students at Pilares were so happy to help us.  They were impressed with the garden and many of them walked us to our transport on Friday to say goodbye and thank us for our support.  Maria Jose, the principle of the school, was in tears.  The students from California worked extremely hard. They never once complained.  I was working in the garden and Maria Jose came over and told me there was a local reporter from the Santa Fe news station, which broadcasts to the entire city of over half- a-million, that wanted to interview me. When his crew got there, they filmed the kids working in the garden and asked Maria and few questions in Spanish, then, on video, asked me a few.  Apparently, I got one of them wrong,and answered something off the wall about how we are all very happy and excited to be working at Pilares.  Anyhow, I was on TV in Argentina speaking Spanish with a local reporter.  It aired that night.

Let me explain my typical weekday to you thus far.  I wake up at 7:30am, and wait for the students to arrive at my house at 8am.  I have cereal for breakfast.  We take a bus to Pilares school where we teach English lessons, continue work on painting a school mural, and work to create a healthy vegetable garden.  We eat lunch at Pilares (its a K-12 school with 350 students) with the Kindergartners. In the afternoon I teach workshops on composting, amending soil, and building a greenhouse with the students. We have been well received.  At 3:30pm we return to ISDI, the English Institute where Virginia and Edit (our GSE Argentina Directoras) work.  We often teach workshops to local students.  In the evening we have various activities: tango lessons, trips into the city, and just hanging out with our families.  I eat around 10 pm and usually stay up talking with the family at the table until around midnight.

The family dynamic here is unbelievable and has nearly brought me to tears.  As I mentioned, my family has adopted me, told me I have a place to live anytime I am in Argentina, and called me their son, brother, grandson, and nephew. We eat together and will stay at the table talking untill midnight.