Ben's first post

First of all, thanks for following this blog. It kicks ass to have some kind of connection to the rest of world while I'm out here in the middle of the jungle.

I'm going to start this blog by telling you about the bathrooms here. They're out by the wwoof house where we all cook and eat and shoot the shit together. The best part about the bathrooms is that people staying at the farms in the past have written beautiful words of wisdom all over the walls. Things like, "You are the one you seek," "There is no good and evil, only fear and acceptance," and "I like boobs."

Most of what we eat comes off the farm. We eat a lot of salad and veggies from the garden, super bomb exotic fruits that I didn't even know exist like eggfruit, and more mangos than we can handle. I'm not kidding about the mangos, they fall every few seconds and we spend hours a day picking them up.

Getting picked up from the airport was cool. I was playing some blues guitar and thinking about what I was getting into when we got picked up. I found out shortly when Tomash sparked a bowl on the way to the farm. Basically, this is the perfect kind of farm for me.

I'll leave you with something I wrote a few days ago. "Sarah is pretty in her sundress" is written right above this entry.

"Its even better than I expected. I woke up to roosters crowing today, fuck yeah.

People here talk about spirits and energies in a way that they don't in Minnesota. I have only been here for two days and I already think of (things) everything in a different way.

Keroak said the first thought is the best thought, but i felt it necessary to cross out (things) and write "everything" instead.

Everything that is, is beautiful. That being said, nowhere is more beautiful than here. That statement is true anywhere you are, but its impossible to ignore here."

In Hawaii

Hi all, we're in Hawaii. Sitting on Janelle and Steve's porch. In the Jungle. We arrived here 5 days ago and it's been one of hell of a ride since then. The flight was okay. I was pretty nervous the whole time about getting there but it all turned out okay. the computer isn't letting me post pictures right now but ill try and get it figured out asap.

let's see. where to start... i am living in the jungle. i don't really know what to say now that i'm here. our first night here was pretty good. getting to know everybody, where they are from and what. there are the wwoofers like ben and i and then there are residents. the residents could be here for any number of reasons. the wwoofers are: alex ( 20 years old and from france), kyle (21 and from new york), michelle (19, new jersey/vermont), and julia (19 from new jersey). julia and michelle came together. they are all very great i like them a whole lot. and it's nice that they are similar in the age group to us. that helps a whole lot. OH WAIT. there's also jimmy who is 37 and has been in hawaii for the past 5 or 6 months on a previous farm. he's got lots of experience so they give him more duties. he's very kind and nice. smiles a lot. i like that.

the residents are tomash from the czech republic, don from who knows where, he just kinda travels a lot. they are both like 50. smoke a lotta pot. both of em. more tomash. they have a liscence to grow it here so that gives you an idea of how lax marijuana is at this farm. quite lax. theres soffie and she's from the czech republic too and she's a scientist by trade so she's just kinda been here to study the natural and native hawaiian plants. are plot of land is really old and sacred. pretty cool.

i have been very overwhelemed since i've been here and it's hard for me to get it all out. ben will say more about what we've been doing and i will write more when i have a clear head. i am very sunburnt.

one conclusion since i've been here: i am and always will be a midwestern girl. and i love it. i miss the twin cities.

ben will write his own entry now. much love.

Seattle is cold and rainy but beautiful and green

Hello folks. I type this entry from Seattle, Washington. Stop 1 of 2 on our voyage to the island of Hawaii. We got into Seattle yesterday morning at like 10:15 after a 36 hour train ride. I almost just broke the table I am writing this on. Woops. Anyways, I love the train. It's a beautiful ride starting out in Minneosta (although we got on at 11 at night so kinda missed most of Minnesota landscape) and going through North Dakota where there are tons of beautiful animals to look and tons of flat space that goes on forever and ever. Kinda soothing to me to watch. I never did get bored staring out the window. After North Dakota we're pretty much in Montana for the rest of the time because Montana is a hugeeeee state. Montana is even more beautiful because it has amazing rolling hills and more texture to the landscape. Soooo greeen. Then we get to go through glacier park and it's amazing and we go right through the cascades and it's amazing. The mountains are magnificent. Really. Ben and I made some friends on the train. Alex and Kim. They were fun! Kim is going to a farm too. She just graduated from Macaalester and it turns out we had a billion St. Paul connections..of course. And Alex was from Madison and was our age and was taking a year off and he was just tight as hell. We all played bananagrams. It was sweet.

Yesterday we just hung out in Seattle. Hangin out with the grandparents and the auntie. We're at patty's now. Ben and I staying here. My grandma is doing better than I thought but still not very good. She can hold conversation pretty well..most of the time..kind of. My grandpa seems sad and depressed but I know it cheers him up to hear about our trip. Patty,Ben, and I went to the Pike street market because I love it done there. We tried like 1500 kinds of jam. Garlic-Jalapeno game, Pomegrante-Habanero jam. Beer jam! So delicious. We also had some delicious pico de galllo. Yum. Lots of things to see and Lots of interesting people to talk to down at the market. Seattle is a place where just watching people walk by is interesting because you'll see a nun, a guy with dreads, a yuppie, a hippie, a anything all within 5 minutes of eachother. I love the diversity. We went to a pho restaurant for dinner and it was a delicioso place.

So far it still kinad feels like just a trip to Seattle and not like we're leaving for Hawaii in 2 days. We'll see how it goes. Ben's in bed. I'm gonna go give him a hug. Good morning folks. I love you all.

Namaste.

P.s. julia, i love you!

WOOPS!

P.s. Hi Julia, I love you! :)

First post

Hello family and friends. I am starting a blog! I have never done anything quite like this before but it really appeals to me. As many of you all know, me and this guy <-- are heading off to Hawaii. We're going there to work on a farm for the summer ( so maybe it's dumb and lame that I'm only writing a blog for what some may say is a short trip but I kinda like the idea of also continuing it post this trip..these are exciting times in my life.) We'll be there from May 25th to August 5th.

In Hawaii, we will be working approx about 25/hours a week in exchange for a shack. I think we will also be receiving some food and access to all the tropical fruit we want. Yum-o. So, here I am. About to REALLY embark on something new and foreign. It's scary. It's thrilling. It's surreal. It's crazy. It's gonna be AWESOME and I really am working myself up a whole lot more than I have to but that's kinda the fun part. I didn't go away for school last fall and I have been home this whole year until now. This is my first big step. I'm ready. I'm also feeling incredibly estatic and happy that I get to share this experience with Ben because I love him very much. Hi Ben :).

I'm writing this blog just to help remind me that life is amazing and I'm doing amazing things. Life is exciting and I'm loving every minute of it. I want to remember this time of my life because as of right..I really just can't complain about much.

Anyways, this is my first post. The last night in my bed for awhile. I will be posting when I can and will be writing letters to all you lovely people when I can't blog. I will post my address in Hawaii as soon as I know it. I love you all and thanks for reading my blog..? That sounds nerdy.

Namaste.