Caca-Cola

      Every day gets even better and better. I can't even begin to describe the love I have for Peru and it's people. I feel like right when I make a new friend, I meet another. Right when I fall in love with a new place, I find another. It is a very busy city, but the Hostel and the people I'm with make a home in this big city.
      Today the gang, this time including Tete and Nico to the gaggle of girls, travled to Casa Blanca, about at 45 minute ride out from Lima. Casa Blanca is an organic farm that was started by Carmen and Ulises, the cutest old couple that you will ever meet. I fell in love with Ulises at the start when he started explaining his love for the earth, for his home and how even though they may not be millionaires by money, they are millionaires in their way and quality of life.
      On their farm, Carmen y Ulises grow a variety of fruits and vegetables, my favorite being granadillas. Now the fruit here in Peru is BANGIN. Granadilla looks like an orange in size and color, but eating it is much, much different. You squeeze the fruit and it pops for it is hollow. Inside the fruit are wonderous, jelly seeds that you suck up. As Rosi said, it's like eating brains. If brains tasted like granadillas do, I may have to induldge in them more.
      After a tour of their extensive garden, we were introuduced las cuyas, aka the guinea pigs. Although I have yet to try them, they are supposed to be a delicacy. I'll just take their word for it. From the guinea pigs, not only do they get meat, they also get power and fertilizer! Once a month they clean out the guinea pig houses from which they get about 3 tons of shit. I refer to it as shit for that's what Ulises kept saying. Hearing "guinea pig shit" over and over again from a sweet old man is one of the more funny experiences in my life. Anyways, apart from the manure that they get to make the fertilizer, they also dump the poo into a huge stomach-like compartment that bakes and gets eaten by microogranisms which release methane. This methane helps power many things around the farm, making it self-sustaining. Such a wonderful idea that I hope we can somehow one day incorporate into larger city areas that have no use for their poo but to dump it, contaminating everything in sight.
      Anyways, after our lovely tour and poo talk, we dined on a homemade meal of fresh greens and fish, with lucuma ice cream for dessert. Again, lucuma is a Peruvian fruit which is AMAZING and should immediately be adpoted in the U.S. After our lunch, and after our goodbyes, we all fell asleep on the way to Lima with bellies full and smiles wide.
      For dinner? I was SO lucky to meet one of my dad's friends, Ada, who is a born and raised Peruvian. From Cuzco, she now lives in Lima just blocks away from the hostel and was nice enough to take me out to dinner and dessert. You haven't lived until you go all out with Peruvian food. After Ada, the girls and I then watched Edible City: Grow the Revolution, which is about Urban Gardens in the U.S. A wonderful end to a wonderful day.

Besos!!!!

Ulises and all of his glory. Love him. 

     

MalaMalaMalaMala Rocking everywhere

      Excuse for the lack in posts! The past two days I have been sin internet/without my iPad in Mala, Peru. Even though they didn't have internet they had EVERYTHING else. I am SO exhausted but SO awake with new experiences. Now two days ago we arrived in Mala which is about an hour away from Lima.
      We started off in Mala at Pedro's organic farm where we harvested apples, played with goats, and he told us of his life story of becoming an organic farmer. His daughter made some AMAZING homemade chocolate desserts so we dined on that and fresh fruit. We then were invited into his home for a HUGE lunch that would make any mouth water, then decided to take a hike in his backyard of bones and rocks. Yes, I said bones. Not sure how long they've been there BUT still exciting. After our day at Pedro's we headed to our friend Maria's farm where we would spend the next two days.

Pedro from the day before harvesting at his Organic Farm.

   

      The morning after we arrived we started with harvesting all kinds of vegetables. I opted for the kale and spinach for two reasons. One, I wanted to now how to harvest leafy greens and two, it was closer to the puppies. Yes, I said puppies. Two little fluff balls which, once they decided to make their appearance in the early morning hours of 7:30, I decided to stuff down my shirt to keep me warm. Also, puppies love to be snuggled and played with so it was a win for both of us.

Pedro's grand daughter with a fresh pomegranate.

      After greens, Leah and I moved to help Maya, Margaret and Emily who were digging out beets. After Jaclyn washed these and became better friends with Henry, a worker and fan of 50 Cent from the farm, I asked Henry if he was a "jugador de los mujeres" aka player, to which he laughed off. The question was relevant for his ringtone was PIMP. After all of our hard work we dined on peanut/potato soup, spaghetti and some leafy greens. Once our bellies were full we again went to the fields to gather carrots and make new friends. After a hard days work of being exhausted, as well as our early wakeup call, we went to bed at the late hour of 8 PM.

Pedro pouring some homemade wine. Yummmm

      At four PM the next morning we were ready to go with our harvest to BioFeria! All loaded into the truck, who was driven by an old bilnd man, most of us hopped in Rosi's car yet I opted for the more exciting ride with Henry and the driver. Although it was scary, swerving in and out of lanes, I did have an enjoyable converstaion with Henry who asked if 50 Cent was still popular in the U.S., as well as him being a fan of Wiz and Snoop Dogg.

Dank lunch of corn, goat, pig, potatoes, sweet potato and fava beans. 

      Once out of my roller coaster of the ride, the food as well as us traveled by bus then taxi to finally arrive at the Bioferia. At 8 am we were then dropped off one by one to various stands at the market to help out with vendors. Lucky me, I got to help out with an organic coffee vendor which helped me power through my 8am-1pm shift. All of the vendors in this market were/are organic too, which is great not only for the environmental reasons, but also because all of the food was so tasty and fresh!

Puppiessss 

      After our long day we vegged out at the hostel until our AMAZING dinner at night where we got to meet stewards from years past, as well as friends of stewards. We dined on guacamole, quinoa and grilled veggies. Oh, and sangria. Sooooooo amazing. As for today? We toured around other markets and chilled for a lazy Sunday afternoon. Now I shall post some more pictures of my journey thus far with some lovely captions for I must run off again!

Besos!!!! 

Rosi's dog Chuqi in a pancho :)

Market we attended today. (Non organic)

Bioferia!

Bahhhh Rammmm Youuuuuu (At Pedro's farm)

Such a Bonobo

      The days are flying by! As Jaclyn stated, it has felt more like 14 years not 3 days, but in a good way! Peru has been so welcoming to us gringos and this has been a wonderful pseudo home. This will be a short post for I am exhausted from the last couple of days. When we get back from Mala, though, I promise a more substantial post.
      We went back to El Huerto today where we learned about how farms are able to become certified organic, how to transplant trees and how to make good compost. There are some cotton plots right beside El Huerto where I picked my first piece of cotton, which is hilarious seeing as I'm from the South.
      After our day at El Huerto, we again had lunch on campus then went to our spanish lessons. Once our "advanced" Spanish group was finished, and while the not so advanced took their lessons, Maya and I took a walk with Nico and Jared. Jared, who I have yet to introduce, is an Aussie who also works at the hostel and teaches surfing lessons. I'm telling you, this place is paradise. We all walked down to the shore along with Sancho as the sun went down. A perfect end to a perfect day. But lets not forget the amazing communal meal we had of quinoa and stir-fried veggies.

Besos!

Besos de Sancho

Lima Day 2 for you!!!!

      Good afternoon friends and family! Que tal y como estas? I would do the upside down ! and ? but sadly my keyboard is very limited. The second day in Peru was just as exciting as the first! New friends, new locations and much, much more!
      To begin, we started off our brand new day with the same eggs, oatmeal and tasty rolls with jam. We also got introduced to more members of our tribe, Maya and Leah. Maya is another steward while Leah is a director of this great organization! They fit right in which makes me so happy. Yes, it can be good to fit into situations, but I'm just happy because they are already so much a part of our family.
      Rosi took us, seven in all, up to the University of Molina, about thrity minutes away, where she actually did her undergrad. There we took a tour of El Huerto, the on campus organic farm where stewards, and Rosi back in the day, studied and still study on to this day. There, students in the agriculture program get there own little piece of land which they must take care of LIKE IT"S THEIR JOB. Which, I mean, it is. Anyways, they must help expell all pests as well as weeds in order to get the highest marks. A little bit intimidating, no?
      Once investigating the pieces of land, we were taught how they irrigate these large fields of brocolli and other assorted vegetables in a sustainable, clean way. Another previous steward on the farm is growing over 300 kinds of peppers collected all over Peru! Some were sweet, some were spicy, but ALL were delicious.
      After our 10 to 3 tour of El Huerto, we sat down at the campus cafeteria where I ordered veggies and spaghetti, yet was given a lo-mein type dish instead. Expected? No. Delicious? Yes. We also shared two plates of papas fritas while discussing our exhausting, rewarding morning. A huge success. After our lunch we went straight to our 1.5 hour Spanish lessons at 4:30, then went back to the hostel to collect ourselves. It's been a long day.
      For dinner? Margaret, Maya and I went to this wonderful Arabic restaurant where we enjoyed falafel and sangria and talked about our long, wonderful day. And now? Now I am vegetating over a LARGE dinner and blogging. A wonderful end to an amazing day.


As always, muchos besos.

Lima day 1

      Hello friends! So I did write this REALLY amazing blog today BUT being iPad illiterate I accidently delted the whole thing. There is nothing more frustrating. So instead of giving you a not so good one out of frustration, I shall give you the run down of today.
      Met Nico and Pancho, Nico being the human and Pancho his companion, who both work at the House Project, the hostel where we are staying. Nico gave us a rundown of his garden and composting projects after we had a lovely breakfast of eggs, oatmeal and rolls with jam and honey. After that, Rosi, Tete and Jaclyn (the leaders of this expedition), Nico, Pancho and I along with Margaret and Emily who are also stewards, went down to the shore for icbreakers and role playing situations. These included WHAT NOT TO DO if you are a vegetarian and your host parents give you meat.
      After that we did lunch, a small tour of the Mila Flores where we are staying, slack lining, and a bit of relaxing. We also visited the beach where rocks were collected and sand was crushed. For dinner, we enjoyed a communal meal of avacado, tomatoes, baguettes, spinach pasta and lime. We talked why we decided to do MESA as well as our basic life philosophies. Nico is already convincing me to do permaculture eventually at the family farm. I smile at all of this because I have never felt more at home away from home than this little tribe.
      Once finished with dinner, we did a tour of old Lima with beautiful buildings and beautiful people. All in all, soy MUY contento y estoy cansada.
      Highlights of the day? Bonding with all of my new friends, listening to "Eye of the Tiger" on the way back from the shore, and enjoying some chocolate helado with espresso after a long day while listening to John Lennon over the cafes speakers. It was wonderful. To make up for my lack of good information, here are some awesome pictures! Enjoy!

Sancho, Tete and Nico! 

The coast!

Old Lima!

The shore!

Sancho y un perro de Peru

As always, muchos besos! I promise once I get this iPad figured out, these will be MUCH better.

     You've heard me talk about MESA in my posts thus far and no, I'm not going to go to Peru to learn how to build tables. Rather, I'm going to Peru in concern to what goes on them. (I will go ahead and state that all pictures/most of the information on this post will be through information I have received through email as a steward or through MESA's website.)
     MESA stands for Multinational Exchange for Sustainable Agriculture and, "connects sustainable farming leaders around the world for participatory training and cross-cultural exchange to strengthen local, resilient food systems worldwide" (MESA). This non-profit, two-way exchange was set up in 1997 and has so far connected 1200 farmers, activists and advocates worldwide and has helped begin over 130 small-scale farms and food justice projects in the process. In my exchange I am lucky enough to go to Peru, spending a total of 3 weeks in Lima and 4 weeks in Cuzco. Past expeditions have gone to Tanzania and Thailand. (For further, more elaborated information PLEASE visit MESA's website at http://www.mesaprogram.org/. They of course do a lot better of explaining what MESA is exactly for I just want to give you a broad idea/rundown of what I'm doing.)

(From MESA's website)

      For my stewardship, I will be going to Cuzco for four weeks and will be working with Yesica Nina Cusiyupanqu and her family on the C.C. Sacllo demonstrative parcel with biointensive production. Below is a picture of my beautiful host mother for four weeks along with whom I believe to be a family member.

(My beautiful host Mama)

     One may ask, Now did you really want to go to Cuzco?, and of course my answer would be HECK YES! It was actually my number one choice. Part of the perks of being a steward is you get to rank your host preferences in order of most desired to least, (although they were ALL amazing), after you are given a description of each destination. Here is Yesica's: 

Join Yesica’s family farm located in the Calca Province at the heart of the Cusco Region

in the southern highlands of Perú. Yesica participated in MESA’s US program in 2005

and 2006 as a Steward at Golden Rule farm in California. There, she learned

biointensive growing practices and was inspired to implement them on her family farm,

Parcela Demostrativa C.C Sacllo, in Cusco. MESA-Peru Stewards on Yesica’s farm will

have the chance to participate in several community projects, including the construction

of 200 biointensive growing beds! You will also travel with Yesica to nearby farming

communities where she trains other growers in organic vegetable production. During

your stay, you will live in an adobe house in Sacllo, a rural community consisting of

approximately 50 families, while learning about Andean cultivars and catching glimpses

of Inca Empire remnants.

      Doesn't that sound like the BEST thing you've ever heard? Well to me it does, obviously.

(Some of the work Yesica and her family participate in.)

      Now that you all know a general idea of what I'm doing I don't want to bore you with even MORE detail. Instead, the rest of theses posts/THE PURPOSE OF THIS BLOG is to document my adventures with Yesica and her family and what I learn in the process. Don't worry, though, for before I leave I will have a cliche post of what I'm packing with questions such as, Does she really need all of those scarfs?, with the answer, Yes, yes she does. It's cold in Peru! I'm excited to get away from this summer heat though!

Hasta la próxima vez

      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.