Summer, Part 2
The day before my departure from Kathmandu, I presented the
Srijanalaya team with a summarization of all that I had done in the past eight
weeks, including an explanation of the lesson plans and tutorials that I put up
on the organization’s website (link here). That evening, they came over to the
guesthouse I had been staying at, where we all cooked up a storm. I had made
two vegan no-bake cakes the day before, so we were prepared as far as dessert
went.
One thing was certain: I was not going to leave without a
celebration of the new friendships I had made. Whether or not we meet again
(and hopefully we do meet again!), I am thankful to you all for giving me a
space in your community for a short time. And of course, I cannot forget how
amazing it was to have Cat there as well. It’s only a shame that the time flew
by so quickly!
The next morning, I set off for the airport with my mountain
bike (in a box) strapped to the top of one of the iconic small taxis. I had
started on the journey to Hawai’i, which consisted of four different flights.
However, what started out as a journey that was supposed to take (only?) about
25 hours turned out to take over 48 hours.
My second flight - from Chengdu to Beijing - was delayed due to
stormy weather in Beijing. Though I wanted to complain, yell, and sleep, I ultimately
just sat and waited. I chatted with a Chinese gentleman who turned out to be
incredibly helpful later when my inability to speak Chinese proved a
disadvantage. Then, after several hours of waiting with no idea when (and if) our
flight was to leave that night, the attendants suddenly announced that boarding
was beginning, and it seemed like everyone sitting in the terminal that
night breathed a collective sigh of relief. We all hustled to get ourselves and
our belongings onto the plane as quickly as possible.
That delay, however, caused me to miss my flight from
Beijing to Honolulu (as I had already suspected). Luckily, Air China booked me
two new flights (and a hotel for the remainder of the night along with a few
other unlucky travelers). I was excited for the chance to sleep in a real bed,
until the shuttle bus kept driving 15, 30 minutes, then almost an hour! By the
time we arrived at the hotel and got our rooms sorted, it was after 3AM. And
although my flight wasn’t until later, the last shuttle to leave the hotel for
the airport was 9AM.
What I also wasn’t prepared for was how my typical modes of
communication during travel (Facebook messenger and Whatsapp) were banned in
China. Thus it took me a while to contact those I wanted to contact, and by the
time I got to bed I only had time for an all-too-short nap.
By the time my flight took off later that afternoon, I was
exhausted. Air China had booked me on a flight to LAX, from where I would fly
directly to Hilo, Hawai’i. If you look at the globe or a world map, you’ll
notice that California lies quite a ways beyond Hawai’i coming from China, so
that additional back and forth ultimately added unnecessary fly-time! Not to
mention that it was odd to be in LA for a few hours - so close to home and yet so
far away. If I had known this in advance maybe I could have planned a quick
lunch with my parents (sorry guys).
I finally arrived in Hilo after two days of travelling and
plane-quality sleep. A friendly and recognizable Therese picked me up from the
airport, dropping me off at Scot’s place where I’d be staying for the next
three weeks. He gave me a warm welcome hug and promptly led me to what he
affectionately calls the “camping platform,” a structure that sort of resembles
modern glamping. The mosquito netting around the bed has saved me from being
entirely covered in bug bites, and otherwise I am plenty comfortable. When
Johann and I WWOOFed for five weeks on the farm a year and a half ago, we
stayed in the “glass shack,” a slightly more glamorous place to sleep through
the nights in this rainforest (accompanied by the sound of the stream below and
a chorus of koki frogs).
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| A view from Piha Kahuku Rd, where Scot's Kalaeha Farm is located |
So, that’s where I’ve been since arriving on the island. I
have no cell phone reception or WiFi here, which is why it’s taken me so long
to update the blog again (the last update came from a café in town, about 20
miles from the farm). Although I miss being “connected” to friends, this has turned out
to be a blessing rather than a curse: I’ve read more than I ever have in years,
and I’ve finally started writing again (beyond these blog posts, that is). Not
to mention all of the work we’ve accomplished on Kaleaha Farm (we being Scot,
myself, Reggie, and Rika).
I worry that this blog post is already too long, so I’ll try
to save some of the details for next time. Although these three weeks are
supposed to be about me getting work done for and on my thesis for my senior
year, so far I’ve spent more time in rainboots, pulling weeds, digging ditches,
and moving things around. These are things that I actually enjoy, believe it or
not.
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| one of the greenhouses on the farm |
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| some Russian kale, spring onions, and "weeds" |
I don’t know if I can properly describe the kind of work we do here, but let me just start by saying that there is plenty to do. Scot’s been sick the past few years, so most of the heavy work he leaves to the young folk such as myself. But that’s not easy in a rainforest climate, where nature quickly overtakes any spare inch of dirt and sunlight. Sometimes I wonder at the efficacy of having a farm in this kind of climate, where it’s necessary to combat the encroaching weeds, at least if you want to grow typical plants like greens. I’m currently reading Restoration Agriculture by Mark Shepard, who discusses the need to work with nature rather than against it, and although he’s mostly aiming this at chemical farmers in the midwest, I think it applies to this patch of land, too.
In any case, I’m continuously learning through experience as
well as reading, and regardless of how much “work” I ultimately accomplish
towards the thesis (in translating nature poetry), I know that this will be a
critical part of the journey. It reminds me of being introduced to a number of
different books (including Daniel Quinn’s Ishmael) by Dave, my good
friend and mentor, as a young and troubled girl. I think it was then when I
started on a path of wanting to understand our relationship and disconnection from
the natural world. And, thankfully, I don’t see that path ending any time soon.
A few days ago, I biked a few miles past town (Hilo) to one of the beach parks, pictured below. I biked over 40 miles, and although I was chasing sunlight by the end of it, it was a great day. I'm looking forward to another two weeks on the island, though I know it'll be over before I even know it!
Namaste and mahalo!
Hopefully we will meet again
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