Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about returning. I got back from Jordan about seven months ago, but I’m finding now that the return process isn’t something with a clear beginning and end. So while I’m currently on a different off-campus study program, in this post I would like to talk about the return process …
Tag Archives: U.S./Oregon
Sprig O’ Fig
It is from our roots that we draw sustenance (Maathai 293). Waters of life swirling amidst microorganisms, bitter dirt, and waste. Waters of life rushing, carrying the burdens of the soil, punching at the tenderness of root walls. Flowing, cleansing water pushes through roots, knocking on the tenderest spots of fragile walls. Tapping, drumming, pounding …
Apple Season
“That’s not what I’m talking about!” he said, “I’m talking about a fig straight from the earth— gift of Allah!—on a branch so heavy it touches the ground. I’m talking about picking the largest fattest sweetest fig in the world and putting it in my mouth.” (Here he’d stop and close his eyes.) Nye, Naomi …
The Gift Economy & Finding Community
For every atom belonging to me as goodBelongs to you. Remember? Howe, Marian. “Singularity.” Poets.org, 2019. We just started our segment on “What is community?” here at the OE, and it’s come at an opportune time. This is the point in the semester at which living in community stops being a fun little experiment and we …
Why go?
Hello again! I’m back from Jordan and embarking on another off-campus study adventure, this time (a little) closer to home. I’ve been in Oregon for three weeks now, and so far it’s been really great. In a few pictures, here’s what’s been going on: Cabin Life I live in Cabin 10! I have two awesome …
Politics, Goats, and Tea
“Why, for instance, is the ‘wilderness experience’ so often conceived as a form of recreation best enjoyed by those whose class privileges give them the time and resources to leave their jobs behind and ‘get away from it all’? Why does the protection of wilderness so often seen to pit urban recreationists against rural people …
Playing with Fire
As my time at the Oregon Extension is coming to a close, I’m trying to catalogue stories in an attempt to remember this incredibly rich experience. The semester feels short and long in a timeless sort of way and I have to work to remember both that I’m going and that I’ve been here. As …
Nature at Home
Today I’m sharing a piece written by my good friend Will Lake who’s also here at the Oregon Extension. Earlier in the semester we read Annie Dillard, a nature writer, and were asked to copy her style of writing and observation. We each trundled outside and found a spot to sit as still as possible …
Self-Care
I wake with a foot planted on me. I am immediately angry. So is the owner of the foot. Who’s to blame: me for sleeping on a trail or them for stepping on a sleeping body? I narrowly avoided the above situation. We had just come back from caves filled with tragic stories of …
Connected Travel
There is something magical about the combination of adventure and strangers. We let people in we normally wouldn’t, bond over details which would normally be meaningless, and in my case, are forced to unplug by the stunning lack of service in the Western US. On my way to Oregon, I did a lot of traveling. …
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