So, let my pre-pre-pre PC training begin J!
This past weekend I was given plenty of opportunities to
gain some insight on agriculture, communication skills and perseverance.
I went to volunteer at the local farm called Gaining Ground,
which is an awesome organization – it grows organic produce for local families
in need, and is run on volunteers' support. Located in historic Concord, MA (right next
to the house where Henry Thoreau grew up), it has rows and rows of potatoes,
strawberries, tomatoes, herbs and other good stuff. Basically, a great place to
grow and learn. But first I needed to get there.
As a Boston-Cambridge resident, I do not need a car to get myself
around town. In fact, a car is a burden (parking-tickets-insurance-street
cleaning-gas-traffic-ugh). So, I’ve been happily living car-free for almost 4
years. If I needed to drive somewhere for a weekend, I would rent a car, or a friend
would give me a ride. This time my good friend Darla lent me her noble steed (standard
shift!). All was going well, until I stopped to pay a toll on I-90. Then, as I
started to switch gears, nothing happened. Uh-oh --- the clutch pedal was very
loose and flappy, and I was losing speed. Good thing a Watertown exit was
nearby, so I coasted through it and parked on the side street. Hmmm, now what? It
was time for some resourcefulness training. Since I know almost nothing about
cars, I needed to find someone who did. Thankfully, I found a mechanic’s garage
just around the corner, so the main challenge was to get the now immobile car
there. How? By pushing it, of course (just like in the ‘little Miss Sunshine”
movie)! I knocked on a couple of doors and found a few good men. We pushed the
car around, and joked that many people would pay for this type of workout we
were getting. Again, I coasted through (rather gracefully) right in from of the
mechanic’s garage. Another bonus was that it was right next to Starbucks where I
could wait for the verdict, compose myself and get a cuppa coffee (not that I’m
a fan of Starbucks but hey – beggars can’t be choosers). While waiting there, I
finished reading “From Microsoft to Malawai” book by Mike Buckler who served in
PC Malawi (a pretty good read, very insightful passages), emailed several
people about their Ghana experience, and appreciated air-conditioning space.
All in all, it was a pretty productive morning. The pedal problem was fixed,
and I was on the road again.
At the farm, I was shown how to hill potatoes. Since potatoes
don’t like heat, I don’t think I’ll see a lot of them in Ghana. But I should
definitely see (and eat) some sweet potatoes, cassava, corn and millet. I also
did some weeding and chatting. While weeding, hilling and chatting, I started
recollecting some fun facts about plants and gardening from my childhood. I
told the farmers how our family would grow squash, strawberries and rabbits
because there was simply not enough food in the 90s during the disintegration
of USSR. Back then my mom and grandma would pickle veggies, and make jams and
lecho (chuntey), and dad would slaughter rabbits (sad – they were very cute;
but they were also delicious). All GG farmers are very helpful, and the entire
place is peaceful. I can see myself living here (just like Thoreau).
Speaking of Thoreau, I finally got to see Walden Pond! Unfortunately,
I was not able to park (see, I told you!) and walk around, but I actually
bought ‘Walden’ book in Concord (only $1). I wanted to read it for a long time.
Finally, as a final perseverance training test, when I woke
up in the morning, I saw a tick lodged into my leg. Yikes! As I did not want to
take it out myself incorrectly, I dashed to an emergency room (only 5 blocks from
my apartment). Oh well, I was going to go for a run anyway... Also, next time I’ll
do a thorough checking for ticks so I would not have the same experience (as
much as fun as it was, emergency room is not on my bucket list).
