CURRENT MISSION

"The aim of life is to live, and to live means to be aware, joyously drunkenly, serenely, divinely aware." -Henry Miller

ABOUT ME

I am currently an urban agriculture volunteer with the Peace Corps stationed in Temeye-Thiago, located 10km south of Richard Toll, Senegal. Basically a fancy way of saying I grow vegetables and plant trees, and try to teach others how to grow vegetables and plant trees more effectively. At the moment I spend most of my time working at a hospital garden, and a women's group co-op. On occasion I attempt to secure funding for things like wells and drip-irrigation systems, while imbibing prodigious amounts of rice and sugar.

PHILOSOPHY

I think Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. puts it aptly:

"Until lately the best thing that I was able to
think of in favor of civilization, apart from
blind acceptance of the order of the universe,
was that it made possible the artist, the poet,
the philosopher, and the man of science. But I
...think that is not the greatest thing. Now I
believe that the greatest thing is a matter that
comes directly home to us all. When it is
said that that we are too much occupied with the means
of living to live, I answer that the chief worth
of civilization is just that it makes the means
of living more complex; that it calls for great
and combined intellectual efforts, instead of
simple, uncoordinated ones, in order that the
crowd may be fed and clothed and housed and moved
from place to place. Because more complex and
intense intellectual efforts mean a fuller and
richer life. They mean more life. Life is an
end in itself, and the only question as to
whether it is worth living is whether you have
enough of it.

I will add but a word. We are all very near
despair. The sheathing that floats us over its
waves is compounded of hope, faith in the
unexplainable worth and sure issue of effort,
and the deep, sub-conscious content which comes
from the exercise of our powers."

Interests

Wanderlusting, Hiking, Biking, Yoga, Cooking, Eating, Reading, Rockclimbing, Partying, Enacting Social and Community Change, though not necessarily in that order. :)

• cooking
• exercise
• yoga
• partying
• gardening
• politics
• reading
• cycling
• hiking
• agriculture
• communications
• philosophy
• science
• volunteering

Music, Movies, and Books

Oh dear. Maybe I'll tackle this another day.
I just finished Tom Wolfe's "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test" and am in the middle of Robert Pirsig's "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance."
Latest movies I watched were "The Hurt Locker" and the second season of "The Wire."
Music... The xx's, Dirty Projectors, Zoe Keating and Beirut rotate a lot these days. But I honestly could go on forever here.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Living every single day of my life reveals a moment of revelation, however big or small.
And yes, I realize how cheesy that sounds, and that I dodged the question with a vague statement, but I'm sticking with it for the time being.

Teach, Learn, Share

Would love to learn more about agricultural practices in developing countries, and WOOFING experiences. If you're a former Peace Corps volunteer, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the organization.
I recently graduated with a degree in politics and a minor in media studies, and do a lot of film and community work around my college town, though I love learning about the world in general. I'll talk about anything!

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Cambodia, Haiti, Peru, Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

China, Indonesia, Senegal, Singapore, United States