Three days to go!

Three days till departure and the plans for my solo section of our trip have shifted in the most exciting way! I will be in Buenos Aires for two weeks after Cj leaves and then continue North of Buenos Aires to the Misiones province which borders Brazil and Paraguay. I will spend the month of February living in my tiny tent on a beautiful organic farm and sustainable living center called "Mama Roja." In February we will be working on earthen building, seed saving practices, permaculture, biodiversity and fukuoka farming methods, as well as learning more spanish. This is their vision statement:

The eco-venture odyssey has begun... and her name is Mama Roja. She is a dream of a sustainable lifestyle, more self-sufficiency, less environmental impact. She exists on 32 hectares (80 acres) of (what´s left of) gorgeous forest in the central hills of Misiones, Argentina. This is our homestead, our learning project, our place to live in peace. We want to be constructive, responsible beings, which for us means living as ecologically as possible, cultivating a deep partnership with the land we live on. We believe we can provide for our basic needs (food/water, shelter, clothes, medicine) through simple, natural means. An organic garden. Natural building using local, site-found, and salvaged materials. Connecting with our fellow beings by offering a place to share knowledge and skills, and gain new insight and understanding.We want to live in harmony with nature, reconnect with her wisdom, and savor her delights. By culitvating awareness of our attitudes and actions, we can have a postive effect on our place in this world.

Check out their blog in english at mamaroja.blogspot.com for more gorgeous pictures and information about their beautiful community.

This way, when I return I will not only be able to hold an entire conversation in Spanish but can also come through on that promise to build a family homestead somewhere in Washington...with sweet, sustainable techniques and permaculture design! :)

love

keren

Preparation

It's now one week before we leave on our Argentinian journey, and my unemployed bum is so excited and so grateful to be spending time with my loved ones and preparing for this adventure! Fully vaccinated, with a sweet emergency kit made by Deanna, a UV water filter gifted to us by Carmen, and two cozy sheet sacks (I'm surprisingly uptight about unknown bedding) sewed by Bre, I'm feeling more prepared.

I have made a great many purposeful decisions in my life, but usually ones that feel more expected and clear: college, work, grad school, marriage. All of these wonderful choices that have brought me here, sitting and reading about organic farm exchanges on Argentinian estancias, the fabulousness of the peña folkloricos in Palermo (all night music party? yes, please!), the out-of-this-world natural beauty of the Patagonian Andes, calving glaciers, backpacker barbecues, tangoistas so talented and well known they have become history themselves, dulce de leche, fileteado street art, 11pm dinners, and days of exploring...crap. I have to get away from this computer and enjoy this lovely Seattle December! All this to say that I am very much looking forward not only to a beautiful, exciting vacation with CJ, but also to making choices based on curiosity, passion, wanderlust and a lot of joie de vivre!

We are so lucky our sweet friend Sadie will be living at our house and cuddling the kitties while we are gone. I will be putting my phone on standby and mostly communicating through email, though I plan to get a cellphone while in Buenos Aires. Please email! I am still unsure what the second month of my trip will look like, but will be coming back some time in February. We will miss you while we are away, and will try to keep this blog updated when we have access to internet cafes in order to share some of our adventures with you.

love,

keren