Hobart, Tasmania!

Today was a fantastic day, and there's more to come! We arrived in Hobart yesterday after saying goodbye to our homestay families in Lismore and flying for a few hours. Last night we explored but it was already dark. Today we awoke to a beautiful city! A few other girls and I headed to the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA), a really unique museum built underground. It was started by an eccentric dude who had a lot of money on his hands! It was free, and possibly the best museum experience I've had.

View from outside MONA

It was amazing. Afterwards we went to a really tasty sushi place near our hostel. Tonight I'm going out to dinner with an old camp friend who is living here now!

Ways I'm making today great

figuring out academic plans

figuring out future plans

seeing wallabies

having a cat want to be my friend (take that, Henry!)

being SUPER productive and getting tons of work done

listening to good music

channeling frustration into action

remembering to hydrate

figuring out what cool free museums to go to in Sydney

making plans to meet up with these awesome ladies in Melbourne about my upcoming internship

appreciating an amazing homestay experience

remembering my "e"

reading David Holmgren's Permaculture book

enjoying beautiful Australian early spring weather (which feels like New England June)

getting excited about leaving tomorrow for TASMANIA/MELBOURNE/SYDNEY!

Frustration and Sadness

Trying to explain my country is hard. So many Australians I've met here have been so kind about my being American, always distinguishing between the American government and the American people when criticizing policy. Telling me I shouldn't lump myself in with situations I describe as frustrating to me about the country I'm from. But how am I supposed to explain that my justice system just executed a man who was clearly innocent? More of my friends commented about the new facebook format than Troy Davis today. Most of them probably don't understand that, once again, someone was targeted for something they didn't do. They don't get that in the face of honesty and endless effort on the part of those who accused him to right the wrongs of his trial, our court system still killed a man. I agree with my friend Jamie that this feels so much worse because "So much of the injustice we face feels like a tide, a constant pulling that is scary and bigger than any one person. This felt real. This was measurable. We literally had to change the mind of 1 person. 1 person so that justice could prevail."

I remember working with my high school's Amnesty International group to raise awareness about Troy Davis's case. Several years ago. It took this long. They made this man wait. And wait. As Laura Moye of Amnesty International wrote in an email,

"My heart is heavy. I am sad and angry. The state of Georgia has proven what we already know. Governments cannot be trusted with the awful power over life and death.

Today, Georgia didn't just kill Troy Davis, they killed the faith and confidence that many Georgians, Americans and Troy Davis supporters worldwide used to have in our criminal justice system."

So today I have to wear a little more shame in my accent that I am from a broken America. I will continue to work to show that there is another America, an America that cares about justice and is working to fix all the problems we have helped to cause.

Some thoughts on effort

Read the accompanying article here.

Protester's Falls

Yesterday I went to Protester's Falls with my host family. The falls are named for rainforest conservation activists who camped out nearby to save the area from deforestation in the 1970s. After a walk through some beautiful rainforests on a wooden boardwalk and some cool stone steps. we came to THIS!

My host sister Amy

You could walk down the river a good ways on all the large rocks. It was really beautiful. Eventually we had to tear ourselves away so Amy and I could go do homework!

Goaty The Travelling Goat Part 4: Border Ranges

Goaty got to come along on a class trip to Border Ranges National Park. I told him he had to promise not to chew on anything. He ate my banana peel from lunch but was otherwise well behaved.

Mt. Warning

Inside the rainforest

(Goaty was a little upset that I made him sit on the ledge of the lookout to Mt. Warning, but he understood that it was necessary to capture the moment. I made sure he didn't fall!)

Sustainable Agriculture Workshops

Yesterday we went on a day-long ag. field trip. Needless to say, I was pumped. First we went to Dave Forrest's farm. He farms a whole host of things, including macadamia nuts (called "maccas" here) and bananas. He talked to us about all the problems with modern agriculture, and let us sample some amazing goldfinger bananas and macca nuts along the way. We went for a little tour, and met his two jersey cows.

Dave with his lettuces

Next we went to Djanbung Permaculture Center near Nimbin. It was fantastic. The 12 principles of permaculture are:

-Use and value renewable resources and services

-Produce no waste

-Design from patterns to details

-Intergrate rather than separate

-Use small and slow solutions

-Use and value diversity

-Use edges and value the margin

-Creatively use and respond to change

-Observe and interact

-Catch and store energy

-Obtain a yield

-Apply self-regulation and accept feedback

All of these things can be applied to life AND to agriculture. Very cool people.

Mandala student garden

Delicious lunch they made for us!

Overall, a great day! Learned lots of fun little tidbits, and saw a wallaby in the gardens. Also met the biggest turkey I had EVER SEEN.

Beach beauties!

Eco-Social Checklist of Goods+Products

From our workshop on sustainability today with Peter Cumings of Sustainable Futures Australia:

Questions to ask yourself before consuming:

1. Do the materials come from a renewable source?

2. Are the materials coming from a sustainable supply?

3. Where do the materials come from (local to global)?

4. Are the materials used durable/ good quality?

5. To what degree are they reusable/recyclable?

6. Are the materials used safe and nontoxic?

7. Are the production processes safe and environmentally friendly?

8. Can I dispose of the product safely if not reusable?

9. What are the social implications of its manufacture and supply?

10. What are the ethics of organizations involved in the product?

11. Is the product cost likely to include eco-social externalities?

12. To what degree am I sure about my answers?!

Do right by the country and the country will do right by youA

Me being very excited that the beach is 3 blocks from our apartments

Almost surfing

Sunrise as 7 Mile Beach- thanks jet lag!

A week and a half in, and I'm in love with Australia. The people are friendly, the beaches are beautiful, and the wallabies cute beyond belief.

Cool things to check out:

-John Dahlsen's art. We visited his studio and it is amazing! He uses plastics collected from Australian beaches.

-Sustainable Futures Australia, an organization started by two of our lecturers.

-Byron Bay has some really awesome markets. We went to one Sunday that was fantastic! Rows and rows of vendors, including local artisans and farmers. Check it out here.

One night at our ecophilosophy workshop, an Aboriginal elder named Uncle Ron came to tell us some stories. As he was leaving he told us, "Welcome! Just remember, do right by the country, and the country will do right by you." Good words.

Overall, lots of fun, lots of learning.