Using the sugary, ripe apples of Threshold Farm, Francesca baked a savory apple pie to share with friends and family upon our return. Over bites of warm apples and refreshing ice cream, we recounted our first farming adventure. It was a week of mastering an English accent to rival that of our fellow wwoofer, a week of pure, hard and rewarding work, and a week that inspired us to be more conscious food consumers. Needless to say, we were downhearted to see the week come to a close. The sharp contrast between the quiet farm and the over-stimulated island put both of us in a bit of shock as we adjusted to city life once again.
With one adventure ending, a new adventure was soon to start. I departed for New Orleans one week later. I gave myself one week to reacquaint myself with my beloved city, falling in love with New Orleans over again. One of my first priorities returning to the Big Easy: a fried oyster po-boy. Fully dressed and overflowing with oysters, when my teeth sank into my first bite, I knew I was back. My partner in crime, my college roommate for four years, landed in New Orleans a few days later. Together, we caught up with friends, saw some live music, and visited the alumni tent at the Tulane tailgate. It was a good week.
Now, however, the real adventure in New Orleans begins. I came down to work with the non-profit, Lowernine.org for three weeks. The organization rebuilds homes in the post-Katrina Lower Ninth Ward and operates an urban farm. I will be living in the volunteer house with around fifteen other volunteers in the same neighborhood that we are working to restore. My impetus for this adventure is to give back in the slightest to a city, a culture, and a community that has given me so much. Let’s bring back more of the funky-colored shotgun houses and grow some veggies. Stay tuned, we’re in NOLA now.
The twigster,
Josephine
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