Random Post #2

The Spirit of Aloha 

It's been a little over a month since I moved to Oahu with 2 of my friends, we plan on staying here until right before Christmas. If you've ever been to Hawaii you're probably familiar with the aloha spirit. This is my first time here in Hawaii and before getting here I (ignorantly?) thought aloha was just meant to say hello or goodbye. Within my first few days, I learned aloha is a way of life. In its basic form, it means compassion, love, and peace. It's also the idea that sending and receiving positive energy never dies but multiplies and spreads over to others.

We live on the west side of Oahu which is hardly touristic and I had heard mixed things about the locals' feelings towards mainlanders. I'm happy to say we have been shown aloha in more ways than I could have imagined. People are exceptionally friendly in the simple ways you'd expect such as smiling and greeting you as a stranger, but then there's a different sort of kindness that I have experienced. 

Hawaiians show spontaneous gestures of generosity. The best way to describe it is probably just through some examples. There was this one really hot day, my friends and I were trekking home from the beach and we had run out of water hours ago, we didn't have our phones or money. We walked up to a food truck and asked for a drink from their water hose and the owner stepped out of the truck with ice-cold bottles of water for each of us. Our neighbor, Francis, often comes over to gift us bags full of mangos and papayas from his trees and teaches us Hawaiian pidgin phrases. One day our other neighbor, Boy, randomly bought us 2 buckets of KFC chicken with all the sides for dinner! Camilo is our other neighbor that lives behind our house and he often barbecues. When he sees us hanging out in the yard he'll toss a bag of smoked meat over the fence and tell us to enjoy, he's a guy of few words but it's aloha. 

Aloha is about giving more than you receive and showing kindness to others through actions, even in the smallest forms. Each gesture of kindness always strikes me because it's so unexpected and different from how we treat each other in other places I have lived in. The spirit of aloha has already left a lifelong impression on me. I love how living on this island is teaching me about mutual regard for others and the importance of daily expressions of compassion. 

Growing a Farmer Post #2

 Growing a Farmer

by Kurt Timmermeister

Growing a Farmer is the story of how a man left the restaurant he owned in downtown Seattle and moved to a nearby island, accessible only by ferry or boat, to start his own farm. Timmermeister conveys a realistic picture for us as he explains the various components of farming. I really enjoyed the way the author mixes technical information about the land and animals with anecdotes of his experiences and adventure. Timmermeister's writing style demonstrates how the experience of farming is not just routine, physical labor which is often the view associated with modern farming. The way he incorporates his passion, humor, and failures into his chapters shows how farming is a process that is challenging and also incredibly rewarding. 

My favorite chapter was on vegetables. I used to grow a variety of vegetables with my mom at home so I was looking forward to reading about Timmermeister's experience. In this chapter, he goes on a tangent about wondering how potatoes form underground, how pumpkins grow huge from little seeds, and how cows produce milk from eating grass. I thought it was cool that even an experienced and educated farmer ponders the creation of the food he cultivates. His inner monologue reminded me of my own curiosity about growing and tending vegetables. This chapter, along with the rest of the book taught me how humans/farmers have a connection to the origins of food, there is a synergetic relationship between ourselves, the earth and the food we grow and consume. 

"I want to take credit for most of the food produced here. I planted the seed. I milked the cows. I fed the lambs. In reality, there is something greater at work. Not sure exactly what it is but it is a force far greater than myself" (Timmermeister 181). 

Since my mom grew up on a farm, she always instilled an appreciation for the origins of food in our family. I believe reading this book has deepened that appreciation and also taught me the importance of respecting the work and life that goes into our food. When we disassociate ourselves from the origins of our food we are more likely to waste it, eat poorly, and develop more disassociative consumer behavior. This book does a great job of taking the reader back to the basics and acknowledging the roots of what we consume. 

Growing a Farmer Post #1

 Growing a Farmer 

by Kurt Timmermeister

The back cover of this book features a review that I really liked: "Timmermeister's book is perfect for anyone with agrarian fantasies" - Food & Wine. I decided on this book because I've always been intrigued to learn more about what it takes to have a farm and care for it. Like I mentioned in a previous post, my mom grew up on a farm so she would often spill some anecdotes about farm life. Along with this, I believe it's super important to be familiar with the production processes behind the food we consume. This book is giving me a close-up into all the hard work and technical components that make up a farm, which is interesting to read about and reinforces my belief that our food culture is very disassociated with the origins of our produce.  

So far I've been really enjoying Timmermeuster's writing style, it's casual but also very detailed in terms of explaining the duties of the farm and conveying the emotions he experiences throughout his journey of becoming a farmer. He demonstrates so much passion for food and finding sustainable farming techniques, and he often lightens up the tone by adding some humor. Timmermeister explains he never intended to be a farmer, but being one feels right. I really enjoy reading books by authors that are moved by their gut feelings and persist despite their failures in the process, so I'm excited to get further into this book and learn more about his story!