Now that we have a blanketed definition of what a Gibson Girl is, I think it's time to define exactly who I am. My name is Courtney Savannah Gibson, Savannah to all those that know me, and I am from Asheville, North Carolina, and I go to school at UNC Chapel Hill where I will be a Junior next year. However, I was born in Sylva, North Carolina, and grew up on my Grandparents farm in Whittier, North Carolina, so my heart belongs in many places. This probably explains why the open road is my true love. Traveling is my passion and my happiness.

(My Papaw on our farm. Isn't he a cutie?)

      I do realize that traveling, like a Gibson Girl, is also a blanketed term. You could travel anywhere, you may say, why are you going to Peru, you may ask. There are a couple of reasons why, including my background as well as my future. I'm a seventh generation farmer and will one day have the family farm in my name. Even though I don't do chickens, or any birds for that matter for they TERRIFY me, I love fresh food, cows and horses. There is nothing better in this world than sitting on my Grandparents  front porch enjoying fresh lemonade and fresh biscuits with my Nannie's homemade blackberry jam on it. She is the Paula Deen of Whittier and I will venture to say even better than Paula Deen herself! (For those Paula Deen fans out there I apologize, but not really... I mean have you seen the news lately?) 

(No farm is complete without a Big Red Barn, don't you think?)

      Now that we know a little bit about my past, what does going to a farm in Peru have to do with my future? No, I don't plan on starting a llama farm, although that would be awesome; they may spit, but they are SO fluffy and cute. Instead, my passion comes from my Sophomore year of college when I took ENST 370H: Agriculture and Environment, which is taught by the AMAZING Professor Amy Cooke. Now I'm not trying to get brownie points here. She really is amazing. For the final exam? She had us all over at her house for a potluck, each bringing a family dish, in order to review for the final. Bet I'm making your Professors look bad now, huh?

(My best friend and sister, Sarah. She's the other Gibson Girl who will be inheriting our family farm along with me. She doesn't do birds either, so if you know of a chicken wrangler, LET US KNOW!)

      Anyways, this class changed my life. I've always had a connection to food growing up on a farm. I've been lucky enough to know what fresh food really tastes like and to know what a fresh cooked meal really is. Professor Cooke fueled this love and concern for food in a non-foodie way, despite my obsession for local restaurants. I learned about food subsidies, pesticides, government fueled conglomerates and most importantly the uneven distribution of food. I'm a firm believer that a good community garden can cure a lot of the world's ills for not only do they allow people the satisfaction of saying, WOAH, I WATERED SOME SEEDS AND MADE THIS?!?, they also allow people to have fresh food and vegetables on their tables. Not only does one save money on groceries by growing ones own food, one also saves money on unnecessary doctor visits by treating ones body like the temple that it is with good food. 

(I know, I know. I said I wasn't a foodie. But how beautiful are these tacos from White Duck Taco? Nothing is greater than fresh, local ingredients going into your belly.)

      This class also fueled my choice of major/minors in college. I'm a double major in Geography and Anthropology with a minor in Environmental Studies. With my love of new cultures, maps and the environment, I plan on doing a do-it-yourself/create-your-own job. When I "grow-up" I would love to use my GIS (Geographic Information System) skills to help develop infrastructure in developing countries who don't have the means or resources to do it for themselves. I want to help plan out roads so that healthcare can get to these remote places but, most importantly, I want to help plan out where agriculture needs to be. I want to feed the world by mapping out where the best soils are and where the best places are to plant crops and let animals wander so that not only will forests not need to be unnecessarily ripped down, the environment as well as the people living it can live better lives. 

     Now how will I do all of this and what will MESA (Multinational Exchange for Sustainable Agriculture) teach me in order to pursue my dream? Stay tuned and find out!!! Until then, here is a picture of what I call home. Although mountains await me in Cuzco, these will always have my heart.