“My name is Travis West and I am a freshmen at Haverford College. Over fall break I attended Haverford House’s Alternative Fall Break. Despite the rainy/windy weather, it was a adventurous time mostly spent moving about the city of Philadelphia. The first I was given a little tour of Philly. I was taken to the Redding Terminal Market to get some delicious cheesecake and visit one of the women in the house who worked there for a non-profit organization. Over the next few days we went to see the new Micheal Moore movie “Capitalism; A Love Story”, volunteered at a clinic for the homeless in Camden New Jersey, and ate a fabulous Middle Eastern restaurant that I wish to return to. My favorite time over the four day experience was hanging out with the occupants of the Haverford House. They were all really awesome people whose dedication to social justice I really admire. They could just as easily be off trying to advance their careers instead of taking a year off to do non-profit work in Philadelphia and Camden.”

Anyways, here is our photographic journey:

Sarah D and the pumpkin we finally chose!

The pumpkin orchard also had a little petting farm, which I of course made Sarah D. go to.

Luckily for me, the exchange of duck spit was ok, because it’s swine flu and not avian flu that we gotta be worried about this season.

George Washington Duck.

I love ducks!

So, Cranberries don’t grow underwater – even though they are always seen underwater in the Ocean Spray juice commercials. But the bogs – which were dynamyted out almost a hundred years ago (now they laser out bogs for the cranberries to grow in) – are flooded when it is time to pick them.

Check out the pictures!

Above: cranberries growing underwater!

A guy with a threshing machine to pick the cranberries.

See how the cranberries float to the top after he goes through with the machine?

Me by the cranberry bog!

mmmm cranberries!

Then they are packed into crates like this.

Raking the cranberries into the machine.

me catching cranberries as they come out of the machine.

cranberries falling out of the machine into a wooden packing crate.

and FINALLY they are packed into these blue plastic containers … in which they come to our farmstand!

I got back from a 5-day Canoeing Expedition with students from Parkway NW this afternoon http://www.outwardboundphiladelphia.org/…), what a trip!

During the first night, there was a moment when I stepped away from the group and just appreciated the stars. One of the students joined me in my star-gazing and we reflected on how beautiful the sky can be, and how easy it is to ignore it. We discussed the difference in pace when one is home versus being on such a nature-intense trip; it’s crazy how much easier it is to feel comfortable and open up with people when you’re forced to slow down and detach yourself from life’s everyday hustle and bustle. From what I heard from the students, they created strong bonds during this trip and this was an experience they will not soon forget. Even the students who seemed most skeptical at the beginning of the trip were planning on signing up for another expedition before ours was over!

I enjoyed getting to know the students in a more informal setting; I was joking around and it felt like I was with my own high school friends at times. One of my favorite memories is when we all had to trudge through muck and drag our boats near the shore because the winds were too strong to canoe. Morale was getting low so I started asking my boatmate what music she liked. We had a lot of overlaps and began busting out with some Destiny’s Child songs. When the boat queue slowed down, we accompanied our singing with dances. Her response to my energy picked up my spirits and it made it a lot easier to stay positive.

We also had once-in-a-lifetime experience on this trip. In the middle of the night on Tuesday, I was in my tent and heard a LOUD crack of thunder that woke me up. My co-worker woke up and mumbled “whaat?” and I, seemingly calm, replied “just thunder, don’t worry about it.” But, a few minutes later, BABAMMM, a louder crack erupted from the sky and my co-worker and I shot out of our sleeping bags. As we looked at each other trying to figure out what to do, she remembered that her rain jacket was outside the tent and ran to get it before the rainfall. As she opened the tent flap, I saw a BRIGHT flash of lightning. As soon as she got back from getting her jacket, the rain began to drench the ground. Before we could consider any future steps, our instructor called out ‘LIGHTNING DRILL’. This was a position of sitting so that any electricity that might enter the body comes in through the butt and out through the legs, avoiding any major body parts, aka the heart. I knew it was a serious situation because our instructor didn’t even leave her tent to announce it, she screamed it out from her own. We sat up for 15 minutes in lightning position until we heard her announce that it was safe to go back to bed. Mother Nature did not disappoint for the rest of the trip either because the next night we heard a howling that sounded like someone getting attacked but was an animal.

This morning, we woke up at 5 AM, packed up, and rowed a few more miles to our van to drive back to Philadelphia. Even though we hit the water when it was cold and the sky was dark, we kept spirits up and some of the students sang as we glided along. To me, it symbolized how even though there were hardships in this 5-day expedition, we learned how to work together and make the best out of situations. It also helped that we were heading to a heated car and a graduation ceremony and family upon arrival back to Philadelphia.

I am amazed that such programs like this Peer Leadership program through Outward Bound exists. Time and time again during my fellowship with Haverford House, I meet people who have dedicated so much time and effort to push young people to strive for excellence. But you never read about them in magazines or see them with their own TV shows…sometimes I wonder if maybe they just live on a different planet. If so, I’d like to move there.

Until next time,
Sarah D

Read more about us in this article that was in the PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER a few days ago:

 http://www.philly.com/inquirer/food/2009…

Here is the middle section of our farmstand – made of recycled materials and stuffed with yummylicious food.

And here is another pic of the middle section of the farmstand.

That being said, it has been a good week. A few culinary mishaps in the kitchen but there is teamwork here so all is good (our smoke alarm works. I’ll leave it at that). Work is moving along, I enjoy being in a high school, even though I look like I am a student. I sometimes feel like an undercover agent, sitting quietly and watching the students interact. Today we had our first fire drill, it was weird not having to go to a class and stand in silence to be counted. Ah the freedom!

I’m meeting more and more students each day. Some feel more comfortable with me than others, as is to be expected. As more and more activities come up and I try to find students who might be interested, I’m finding myself leaning towards a group of students who have distinguished themselves as leaders. I’m trying to fight this trend because I remember what it was like to be that high schooler/college student who sometimes felt stretched too thin because of all the activities thrown her/his way. It’s important for me to remember this moving forward.

Today I had a discussion that made me feel like I was in an affinity group back at Haverford. One student was describing someone as an oreo and I pushed the student to unpack what that meant. I asked the student what being white meant, and conversely what not being white meant. I tried to get the student to explain how the description was being used, in a negative or positive way. The student wasn’t sure how to reply and seemed engaged in the question. If someone mentions “good hair” in the future, we will have another dialogue! It’s important for all of us to unpack our phrases and try to understand what we’re saying and the implications that go along with them. The way I see it, it’s all part of a socially just and peaceful world. And bam, isn’t that the theme of the school?

Next week I head out on a weeklong trip to the woods, canoeing time. Phew. All I hope is that my canoe does not flip over and no bears find their way into my tent. I’m a simple lady.

Until next time,
Sarah D

Many cities have programs like this – Atlanta, San Diego, Boston, New York, to name just a few – but Philadelphia does not. However, my organization is partnering with a few other interested folks to really try and get this to happen for Philadelphia. There is such a vibrant farmers market community in all different neighborhoods in Philly, and Reading Terminal Market is actually the largest point of redemption for food stamps in Pennsylvania! So, there is demand for something like this to happen for Philadelphia. My role, which I enjoy (thanks Haverford! and thesis!) is to research. How did other cities implement this? What were the challenges they faced? Where did they get funding? We don’t want to reinvent the wheel for this type of program in Philadelphia.

Anyways, the reason I was working from this law office was because my office – Fair Food’s, rather – just moved. The new space is GREAT! Except that the floor is not done, the phone lines are not in, and neither is the internet, and there are no desks. So it is not an environment conducive to research. Nora who is working with us on this Market Bucks project (the double value farmers market vouchers all have different names like Fresh Bucks and Market Bucks and Fresh Fund and Market Dollars and so on) offered me the office of one of her assistants.

It was great being on the 38th floor! It’s a sort of heady, ruler-of-the-capitalist world feeling, like you’re standing on top of corporate America or something. The view – all of South Philly, everyone on their little rooftop pools, it’s fun to look at and wonder about people’s lives. Also – and I texted my housemates about this – they had TWO coffee makers and a coffee bean grinder and two water filters and free diet coke and a giant box of Advil in the kitchen. Yes, I am easily impressed, but in ONE kitchen you can caffeinate, pain-relieve, and drink purified water, all for FREE.

I had gotten to work early so I went running in the middle of the day, on my lunch break. I chose a route I have never done before – I ran the length of the Benjiman Franklin Parkway, under all the flags, and made a point of going around all the fountains, just for fun. I ran past all the museums and the big signs about the Barnes which they are unfortunately moving into Philadelphia from it’s lovely location near City Line Ave. I ran past the Rocky statue and past all the tourists posing in front of the Rocky Statue, and up the steps of the Art Museum, past all the tourists posing on the steps of the Art Museum and/or trying to run up it like Rocky. I ran across the big top plaza and up the final set of stairs and then when I turned around I saw the whole skyline of Philadelphia stretching away across the Ben Franklin Parkway and it was another one of those heady, on-top-of-the-world feelings. It is so interesting how different Philadelphia is in different sections … from my view at the front doors of the PMA, nestled between the elephantine, stately rock-solid columns that rose into the piercingly-white late-summer sky until they met, barely visible, on the mosaic-ed ceiling … to the hipster enclaves of West and South Philly, to the grungy side alleys of Center City murky with car exhaust and blocked by dumpsters … to the ritzy parks filled with lovers and dogs and morose ex-Yuppies nursing their lattes during lunch break … to the less ritzy parks where people without homes try to find a comfortable spot on a bench … to the twinking lights and clatter of the old city bars at midnight, to the grey clammyness of the trolley in early dawn … all of this and more is ensconsced within my view of Philadelphia on a beautiful, cool late-summer’s day. The contradictions and hustle-bustle and diversity of cities always fascinates me and can be a sort of humbling feeling. Especially from the work that myself and my housemates are doing – the glorified, gleaming Philadelphia full of history and planning is not even half of the story. Every city of course has human joys and travails interwoven into its every second, but in Philadelphia I feel that this is true acutely. Perhaps because I do live within it at one of its most diverse (and I do not mean this term just as race, age, sex, etc, although this is part of it, but also I am talking about a diversity of human experiences) areas in our little corner of West Philly.

Anyways, so, from there I ran around the back of the museum and along the Schulykill trail (NO ONE can spell that word so I am not even going to try) past the boathouses (which made me miss rowing!) and down for a ways until I decided that lunch break was half over, so I ran back and did the PMA stairs a few more times, just for the view at the top.

When I was leaving work I saw the CUTEST little Chihuahua in a tutu (and I hate Chihuahuas because they are pathetic excuses for dogs, and don’t even get me STARTED on putting dogs in clothes and handbags) (except sometimes I almost really think it and they are kinda cute ..) She belonged to a homeless lady who immediately offered her to me for $15, because she was moving to Florida (the Chihuahua’s owner, not the Chihuahua). She kept saying “oh look, she likes you!” and “oh, she is worth so much more than $15″ … and I really, REALLY almost bought this damn dog. The woman followed me for a block callng out “look, she likes you, she’s following you!” and it was heart-wrenching because I LOVE dogs, and only $15 for that cute little thing? I wonder if the tutu would be thrown in for free. What stopped me was that Sarah D is currently in a state of re-education about her feelings for animals, and Mary says she’s deathly allergic. But then I thought, well, there is not that much fur on this dog because it’s too little to have a lot of fur, so Mary wouldn’t be allergic to her. And I thought maybe Sarah D would like THIS dog, because who wouldn’t like a dog in a tutu?!?! And she was SO FRIENDLY. And so tiny …

I really, really want a dog.

Here are some pictures that I forgot to put up earlier:

This is Sarah D on her first day of work? Bellisima, no?

Mary and the boys on everyone’s first day of work. Oh, I remember this day! It wasn’t MY first day of work, because my first day started that Tuesday instead of on Monday like everyone elses’ … and I was SO sad and SO disappointed because I was SO excited to start work. I do not have very much patience. Never did.

This is Joe with our homemade wormery!

We made this sushi ourselves! oh yes we did.

Sarah M

That’s right, every freshman got their keychain, ID card, and 30-second (more or less, depending on how in a rush they were and how energetic they seemed) description of what Haverford House is, what we plan to do, and a map of Philadelphia. It was a great success, and great to see old friends as well. Even nicer was that we had some animal crackers to feed us on the ride back to West Philadelphia (just kidding).

Customs people doing their thing

I’d like to end with a pita bread shape that we saw at dinner last night (courtesy of Joe’s mom who gave him the recipe for pita bread), via Mary’s plate and Sarah M’s blueberry:

I’ll let people guess what it is, but that blueberry is a peninsula. That’s the only clue I’ll give.

Ciao for now,
Sarah D.

post scriptum (I’m done with the latin for today, really)-for Haverford students who wanted a handout and didn’t get it/misplaced it, we will have more this THURSDAY FROM 8-10 AT THE STUDENT ACTIVITITES FAIR! And we’ll post it afterwards.