Tuesday, November 30, 2010

O'ahu you doin'? Honoluluvin' life!

Hawaii has been so good to us already and it's only been a week. We found some hosts on couchsurfing.org at the last minute and it has paid off. Not only have we had a free place to stay, we've had great people to hang out with and a lot of help with almost everything we have wanted to do.

Currently we are staying in Manoa which is the neighbourhood in Honolulu that Obama lived in. Yep. Our first day here we went for a hike up to Manoa Falls through a magical jungle. That night we were at a bonfire birthday party on the north shore of the island. We planned to camp out on the beach that night but it rained and we were taken in by an awesome surfer dude with lots of couches.

The next two days we walked, bussed and hitch-hiked along the north coast heading east, camping along the way. Then we came back to Honolulu and were so lucky that our couchsurfing hosts took us back in even though they had another couchsurfer staying with them. Linus Von Moos from Switzerland! He's awesome! This is what the girls say ;)

It's been a pretty constant party. Snorkeling, swimming and beaching in the days and painting parties and cheap beer & bourbon at night. We can't decide when we want to leave O'ahu because we've been so lucky to meet great people who've hooked us up with more places to stay here.

I want to try surfing before we head to the Big Island because the south shore of O'ahu has some of the best beginner waves. I also need to pick up a ukelele while we are staying with Nick and Anne because they've got lots of paints and I want to personalize my uke.

All in all, our adventure has been relaxing and magical so far. As soon as I glanced the constellation of Orion out of the plane window, I knew we we're being watched over and that our troubles would be few. Orion was a herald of good times for us on our last radventure too.

We don't have regular internet access, so until next time,

Aloha my friends!

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Adventure, Ho!

We fly to Hawaii in two days! I can barely believe that we've been off work for only six weeks, it feels like forever. In that time we've been to Vancouver Island three times, packed and moved everything we've owned, had two job interviews and a family reunion.

I am ready to leave after all the build-up and stress and excitement! I am so fortunate to have friends and family that love me and support all my choices. I love you all more than words can express.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Already, Again

I am feeling the stress of homelessness. A rather cushy homelessness, as we have been graciously hosted by many wonderful and hospitable friends but stressful nonetheless. It's hard to be me without my own space and I find it even harder to be a good partner without space for intimacy.

The period of limbo between adventures is quickly closing and I couldn't be happier about it. I have too much time to think about the things I can't accomplish and not enough time to do anything other than what is planned.

I am feeling the pull of my heartstrings, to remain in one place and be quietly in love with all these humans who care for me. I made the choice, though, to leave again. To be constantly leaving and always returning, so that no one even says "Bon Voyage" anymore and celebratory events are pointless. It's hard not to feel the fibres of my friendships strained and fraying.

I miss all the passing moments, the being together without speaking that glues together conversations and experiences. I miss my friends already, again.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Hold Fast

I just watched this awesome documentary about DIY sailing, Hold Fast. It was inspiring and pretty exciting to watch. I love the application of DIY punk ethics to just about any venture. If you can do it for yourself, then you don't have to buy it from someone else.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Sailing on the Apprenticeship

Hallowe'en was magical and glorious. I borrowed a costume at the last minute and went as a barbarian, which was pretty convincing. I kept looking around at all my friends together in the midst of a totally crazy party and realising just how lucky I am. I felt like Hallowe'en chose me.

Now we are on Vancouver Island visiting my family and checking out farms to work on next season. I will be so great to be close to my family next summer and share the bounty that we will grow.

Last year we really just jumped headfirst into our apprenticeship. We didn't have a good idea about what we wanted to learn or what was out there. Looking back over the season, I have no regrets. We learned so much, so fast and our experience at Sapo Bravo has put us in a great position to expand our skills and specialize further. Now we are an asset to whomever hires us because we need less training and have our own know-how to bring to the table.

If you are considering doing an organic farming apprenticeship I highly recommend going through Soil Apprenticeships. They are incredibly helpful and well informed about most of the farms in the program. Ask questions! Lots! Never assume anything. It's hard to explain to someone just how hard operating a farm can be and just how much and how hard you have to work.

Oftentimes you will be living closely with the farm family and it really helps to go visit a farm well beforehand to get a feel for how they operate and interact. Every farm is so different and there are dozens of ways to accomplish the same goals.

I'm really looking forward to learning about animals and bees this coming season and putting our knowledge of different ground crops to the test. We haven't confirmed our placement yet but we just visited these two amazing places: ALM Farm and Tugwell Creek Honey Farm in Sooke on Vancouver Island. Beautiful farms and people to be sure!