Goaty The Travelling Goat Part 11: Home

After a long journey over thousands of miles/kilometers,

Goaty is home with his family

And so am I!

The end is near!

Sorry for my general silence on the blogwaves of late, but I only have a few precious days left in Australia! I'm in beautiful Lennox Head for the last few days, reunited with my program-mates after we each had an adventurous independent study period! We had all our presentations on Saturday and Sunday, and I am SO impressed with everyone's work. We had people hiking, painting, writing, photographing, researching, and interning all over Australia. Really inspiring to hear (and see) all the results.

Of course it was really tragic to leave Melbourne. Will miss all the amazing people I met there, especially Tegan, Lara, and everyone over at Ink & Spindle who gave so much time and effort into my experience there!

Overall, feeling the love. Sad to leave, but no regrets, and starting to positively anticipate a return to the snowy mountains of Vermont and then to the prairies of good ole Illinois, where a Republican representative has proposed Chicago become the 51st state. More on that later, I'm off to enjoy myself :)

Fabric!

Designing based off my lino cuts

Stencils!

Printed!

(ooooohaaaaaah)

FABRIC!

Goaty The Travelling Goat Part 9: In the Studio

Today Goaty hung out at the Ink & Spindle studio!

Goaty and Teegs became fast friends

Bella gave him a sniff

And Lara had a Goaty goatee!

Safe and sound

...in Melbourne! Will be here for the next 4-5 weeks. Settling in, getting to know the area better, trying to get sleep in a hostel on a weekend.

News Media

I've been inspired to change the way I get news! Take the challenge with me!

Nation of Change

Al Jazeera

Grist

Avaaz

I'm tired of hearing the same old crapola! I want news that actually tells me what's going on, and isn't run by the investors in the status quo.

Bounty!

Apples, blueberries (a fortune but worth it!), potatoes, green beans, beets, broccoli, lettuce, rice, and bread... all local, all ethical. Good eats!

Occupy Byron Bay

Today I went to Byron Bay's solidarity rally for Occupy Wall Street. It was really nice to be able to be a part of the amazing movement that started not far from home and be able to feel it's ripples thousands of miles away!

Aboriginal Camping Trip

We flew back to Byron Bay early last week and almost immediately set of to Mynumai, an Indigenous Protected Area. We met up with Doug (the traditional owner), Russell (an elder from Queensland), Pete (who is a Bunjalung member because he married an indigenous woman), and Ian, another elder from Queensland. We camped there for 4 days, 3 nights. It was SO AMAZING. I learned to throw a spear and boomerang, learned about the area and wild edibles, and learned about the culture and history of Aboriginal peoples in Australia. The only downside was that yesterday a GIANT brown snake came into camp. Doug tried to scare it off and yelled at it in his language but it kept coming, so Pete ended up killing it with a stick. It was about 5 and half ft long! Everyone said it was the biggest brown snake they’ve ever seen. It creeped us all out! But luckily no one got bitten and it was dealt with. The leaders were great people and really funny. Pete and Ian especially say hi, Lindsey! We were each given an Aboriginal name by Russell, and mine is Gubara, which means songbird. It was so sweet. I brought my ukulele and Laura had brought various instruments, and everyone on my trip always tries to get me to sing, which of course I enjoy doing. I was the first to get my name, the very first night. So then every night partway into the camp fire, Russell would say “Where’s our songbird?” and pass me the guitar for a few songs. It was such an amazing experience and really difficult to describe but suffice it to say we all got teary on both sides when it was time to get on the bus and leave. Peter emailed us later this afternoon and said that both Russell and Ian (who have been with SIT Australia for 18 and 23 years respectively) said that this was their favorite group to work with of all time. Really touching stuff! (no pictures were allowed, so imagine it in your minds!)

Goaty The Travelling Goat Part 6: City Living

Goaty at Government House in the Sydney Botanic Gardens

Goaty in Sydney Harbor

Goaty had a good time in Sydney and Melbourne, but like me, enjoyed Melbourne far more and is looking forward to going back for my internship!

Melbourne: Take One!

Yesterday we arrived in this beautiful city! I already like it. I was surprised by this because usually I am not a city girl (surprise, surprise, I go to school in the middle of corn fields!). Somehow Melbourne just has a good vibe, or maybe it's just the area we're staying in, which is full of a spectrum of hipsters and interesting shops. Today I tackled public transportation and met up with the ladies at Ink & Spindle to talk about my upcoming internship. I am so excited and can't wait to share all the shenanigans as they unfold. Then I cruised around Brunswick Street in Fitzroy and then went to the Melbourne Museum, which was not that great but was fun, despite it being filled with children who are currently on school holidays. Mostly it's just nice to be clean after a week in the mountains, although that was fun too. I'm looking forward to being here in Melbourne for the whole month of November! Tomorrow we are having some class discussion and going to some sustainable houses, and then off to Sydney on Wednesday.

Some things are just plain sucky

Like walking from this beautiful forest...

...out to this logged section.

Tasmania has a long history of logging. Luckily they are making progress and moving away from cutting down old growth, but it's still so frustrating to see this!

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.

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.

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.