Spring (Quarter) is just around the corner!

Well, spring has sprung in Oregon for the last 6-7 weeks. A very mild winter, though we did have 3 days of cold weather this past week which threatened the lovely blossoming trees. We had sleet and snow, but the ground was so warm that it melted almost instantaneously.

I just finished setting most of the clocks forward (Daylight Savings Time or regular Time or whatever you call it is coming early this year! So we spring forward tonight. YAY!

I'm finishing up the winter quarter at Portland State University with spring break on the horizon- next week after finals. I'm staying in town (though I had hoped to go skiing at Mt Shasta) to nanny and to, hopefully, get a jump start on reading for the spring quarter, since I'll be taking more than a full load.

I'll be taking 13 hours of classes, plus working as a Graduate Assistant, plus volunteering in the community and working with a grad student group to develop leaders. I'm signed up for a ZUMBA class which should be a load of fun! I've begun tentative work toward my thesis (International Service-learning and its transformative effects). I'll be taking a class on Ghandi's peace education during summer school as well as a class on the theory and practice of sustainability. I will have nearly a week off between spring and summer (June 10-16). I hope to see the California branch of the family, either here in Oregon or there in California.

I considered hiking an ancient pilgrimage trail (the via francigena) from Canterbury to Rome (through the Alps)...or as far as I could go in the 75 days I will have off this summer, but am now considering working with Schools Without Borders in Morocco and Western Sahara.

Ha ha. Maybe it's just that I'm ready for some HEAT! I love Portland. We've had a very mild winter, but temps won't even begin to warm up here until August (or so I'm told). Once again, it looks like I'll miss summer in Portland which everyone assures me is the most gorgeous time of year to be here- sunshine all day, every day. One of the former nannies is returning for the summer any way, so she can take my apartment and I will pay only a portion of the rent to hold my apartment until I return next fall. (At least I hope all of this works out...we'll see...).

I found an intentional community in Spain -in the Andalucia region- which is reclaiming or greening the desert there through the application of permaculture techniques. I'm looking into working there for 5 weeks, setting up my research with volunteers and students who want to do service-learning, and learning more hands-on about how to reclaim the desert.

Then, I'd like to head to Morocco to work with some of the groups that have already begun building schools in remote areas and planting fruit trees.

Still not sure what to do with Sam (my dog). If I hiked the via francigena, I could take Sam along. I doubt he can accompany me in a Muslim country.... but I'd like to begin setting up contacts in Morocco so I can begin my research next year and set up some service-learning programs (think volunteers who reflect on their experiences in order to get the most out of them and learn how to be engaged, global citizens). It's kind of like study abroad or short-term mission trips or short-term volunteer trips which focus on what the student is learning about themselves, their assumptions, and new ways of thinking as well as helping and working with indigenous peoples.

I stumbled across a small organization of Moroccan citizens who came to the US, got their education, made their fortunes, and who have returned to the home country to build schools in remote, rural areas. Morocco Foundation is a very small group of committed citizens who are trying to build a better world. And you know how I just eat that stuff up! I've started making connections here with the Rotary Club and hope to be able to get them on board with Morocco Foundation (and Schools Without Borders) to educate kids in remote areas. Who knows? Maybe when I'm ready to start my PhD, I'll get a Fellowship or grant through the Rotary Club?

I've been inspired by the Greg Mortenson story, Three Cups of Tea- One man's mission to promote peace...one school at a time. I'd like to do with Morocco and Western Sahara what Greg has done in remote regions in Pakistan and Afghanistan. See www.threecupsoftea.com. And I'd like to bring along other students to learn and change and grow by helping them get the most out of their international experiences through partnering with indigenous peoples/tribes. Like Mortenson, I believe that if we can educate people (NOT indoctrinate with American ideals), simply educate people so they have options in life, fewer of them will turn to terrorism as a way out of their desperate existences. Think about this: Every major, oppressive ideology succeeds on the backbone of ignorance.

If we can educate people to embrace their heritage but also be open to other world views, we will eventually open the hearts and the minds of global citizens. I'm not explaining it well. I don't believe we need to "westernize" or even modernize remote regions, and certainly not if it means that we pillage and plunder their resources! But if we can help people see that there are many ways to tackle issues and problems, perhaps we can come up with sustainable solutions that work for each region (within the parameters of their culture).

And where those parameters have been oppressive in the past (or may even be oppressive now), we can begin a dialogue which addresses the root causes of oppression, allowing those good citizens to build new systems. Much like the work of Dr. Wangari Maathai in Kenya, she began to help people ask, "WHY does this oppressive regime continue? What can we, the marginalized, the disenfranchised, do about it?" And like Dr. Wangari, I want to plant trees. I've heard of success stories in reclaiming the Sahara desert! What if we could use permaculture techniques to make the deserts green once again? Dr. Wangari did this with women in Kenya. She encouraged them to simply begin by planting trees.

The rainforests of Kenya had been razed (cut down and burnt to the ground), leaving almost a desert in its once luscious place. Rivers dried up. But Dr. Wangari knew that trees purify air, create leaves and debris which hold moisture on the ground, and create shade and attract rain! She began a small program in the 1970s and 1980s with poor women. She taught them how to plant and care for trees, then paid them approximately 4 cents per tree which survived. Some of these women began to dig themselves out of poverty, making this tree-planting business their own business. Women had no rights. Eventually, they began to talk about how they could influence their government. They radically changed their government over a period of years (decades) by speaking out as mothers and wives. They worked within their culture to bring about change and liberation and empowerment for everyone. When we begin to empower the most fragile members of society, oppression will cease!

I've been inspired by the concept of co-intelligence. In essence, co-intelligence says that together we are a genius. You have strengths and areas of expertise which I do not. When we collaborate, we create something so much more empowering because everyone's voice has some wisdom to impart to the whole. The whole is more than the sum of its parts. And I've been delving into whole systems theories, too. I've begun meeting with mathmeticians and physicists to gain a better grasp of whole systems design and what that can mean for education, economics, medicine, peace movements, ecology, politics, etc.

In fact, I've been working with a group of student leaders to develop a sustainability leadership workshop in May 2010. We're also heading to MIT (eeek! very excited about that) in Cambridge, MA in April to attend and to help facilitate discussions at the Global Sufficiency Summit! www.globalsufficiency.org. Yeah! I even got a travel grant to pay for all the big expenses!

I hope you are doing well and that you are surrounded by friends! If I know you, you are making the most of every opportunity! You have such a way of making people feel loved. So, keep sucking the marrow out this life, Sister! I often think of the Broadway character, Mame. I can see her running around telling everyone: "Life is a feast and most poor sons-of-bitches are starving to death!"

Oh, good news! My boss at the Educational Leadership & Policy department offered me my job to continue in the fall! YAY! I'm on track at this point to complete my degree next winter. Then, I'll look at my options for the PhD or Ed D.

I love you and always believe the very best for you! Life really is going to get sweeter and richer as you pursue your bliss.