The past 7 days have been insanely busy.
I volunteered at The Food Project in Roxbury as the practicum portion of my Cultures of Environmentalism course. Caught the bus into the city, then the train once I was there:
And then got my hands dirty. 🙂
I loosened soil, put down compost, and got to interact with some really amazing people. It was a wonderful way to spend a beautiful Saturday morning. 🙂
College government campaigning was in full swing, and since I'm really involved with on-campus activism, particularly when it comes to issues of intercultural education here at Wellesley, I've been really involved in seeing what these candidates are about. It's been super rewarding–elections are tomorrow!!
It snowed on April Fools' Day. That was foolishness. I will not dignify that absolute ridiculousness with any more words.
What else…oh, there was a special food night of some sort in Bates, the dining hall near my res hall. We were supposed to eat something that was every color of the rainbow–it was sort of an initiative for better awareness of what we eat:
I wish we had food like this all the time–blood orange sorbet, grilled steak, garlic crusted tomatoes, rosemary baked chicken, grilled pineapple, blueberry tart…sigh. I miss food from back home, but this was NOT bad at all.
The greenhouses were, again, my solace from the crazy outside world. Here's our banana tree:
All these lovely flowers–this room in the greenhouse is so pleasantly fragrant, I love it. 🙂
Ponderosa Lemon!! Okay, so over the past few weeks, one of my classmates and I have been watching this big fruit growing on a fairly small tree. When we went to check on it last Thursday, it wasn't there anymore! We sought out David, who's the main greenhouse go-to-guy, and he told us that the fruit fell off over the weekend. We were asking him about it, its origins (hybridized by humans), its taste–so he pulled out his knife and cut it open for us! And we ate it!! The lemon was delicious–the size of a grapefruit, taste of a lemon–but less sour? It was so exciting, haha.
David and I also had an extensive conversation about the processes necessary for compost, and he took me out back, where the greenhouse's new compost container is situated. It's really interesting…but since my friends were wildly uninterested when I told them all about it, I'll spare you the details as well. 😛
Yesterday, I found out that I am one of the recipients of Wellesley's Wellesley Serves! Grant. Each year, people apply for grants for summer experiences–for example, I plan on working with a couple environmental justice organizations this summer, which fits in perfectly with my major and mission in life as a whole. The grant is $3,500, and I'm so, so thankful. If I didn't recieve the grant, there'd be no way for me to live here over the summer and do the kind of work I'd like to do. I was so emotional when I found out, I was tearing up in class–it was a little much, I admit. But having somebody believe in you enough to completely hand you the means to explore your dreams? It feels pretty extraordinary to me.
Oh, my life….maybe at some point, I can do a screenshot of my Google Calendar, and post it here. That way, you can SEE the chaos that is my life.
You know what, though? I love it. I don't do well if I'm not overcommitted (how very Wendy Wellesley of me), and I wear all my hats on campus with pride. This weekend, I'm performing with my a capella group, the MIT-Wellesley Toons. I'm also supporting Women for Caribbean Development (WCD)'s EXPO and party, entertaining friends from Smith, preparing myself for one of the leadership positions I've been offered for next year, and beginning to look at law schools (yikes). I'm doing way too much, but honestly–I wouldn't have it any other way.
I hope you all are well. Have a great week. 🙂