Muchas Gracias a los Padres

No, we are not thankful to a San Diego baseball team. We are grateful to our parents for helping us to figure out some of the details for this trip. From being attached to bank accounts in case of emergency to helping us figure out hundreds of other little problems, they have been very helpful.

You never know what to expect from parents when it comes to telling them you are leaving the country for a year, missing all major holidays, will be only available by email and the occasional phone call and are traveling through countries that occasionally get press for unpleasant things. We have gotten only support and excitement.

We are grateful.


The parents (most recently known as Gramma and Pops); Maria who's Spanish is quickly surpassing mine, Helms and Greg (www.hyaets.org) who run a really cool place in Charlotte that all should check out and learn from; John Tyson, the handsome nephew a.k.a. Juan, El Guapo, J., etc.; and Tracy and I. (In no particular order since I cant see the picture as I type.)






Tracy and her parents in Vilas. Check out the barn quilt!

Que Hay de Nuevo?

One month until we are off. We are leaving Raleigh on the 26th and heading to Miami where we will hang out with Aaron and Lilly. Aaron is a good friend of many many years, so it will be good to see his face. On the 28th it is off to Montevideo and on October 1 we will be making our way onto the farm.

We tried to pack our stuff a few days ago just to make sure it would all fit. We each will carry about 20 pounds. Not bad for a year, but it should be interesting to see how that will work out.

We have made contact now with a farm in Argentina and have made plans to spend 4-5 weeks there. So far, no word back from Chile.

A dull update, but an update nonetheless.

The IT guy

A conversation at work with the I.T. guy who was fixing my computer:

IT Guy: What is the background on your computer?
Me:It is a bus station in Guatemala
IT Guy: oo, Guatemala, that is somewhere I could only go if I took my gun.
Me:hmmm...
IT Guy: I'm not gonna be an easy target.
Me: so...how about that computer virus...

Guns are heavy so I am going with a different, slightly more non-violent theory: beard size is inversely proportional to the likelihood of getting robbed.

Gettin' Ready

Less than three months before departure. Looks like the farm we were hoping for in Argentina might fall through. Since Argentina is going to be in our path anways, we may extend our stays on the farms in Uruguay and Chile and forego the Argentina farms altogether. Both of the others sounded more exciting and unique anyhow.

We are spending time in camping stores, realizing just how much money people spend on things that are light or waterproof or what-not.

We are also trying to spend time at the library and bookstores to fill up our brains with thoughts and ideas of some of the great Agrarian thinkers, food philosophers and travel gurus. Books are heavy, so we better read now.
























Plane tickets will be purchased soon. How would YOU like to store some of our stuff in your attic/basement/garage?

South America to Appalachian Mountains

You may know of my (Tracy) plans to go to grad school in Sustainable Development. I recently found out that I was accepted to Appalachian State in the program, and I was already able to defer for a year, so everything is set up for me to start in fall 2009. This is one of the reasons we are taking this trip; to learn about global sustainability. It's my hope that I will pick up many useful techniques and skills that I will be able to implement when we return. This gives us a timeline to return in early August to finish moving to Boone, find a place to live, and readjust to things in the US before starting school.

Until then, I have picked up a job with the sweet potato breeding department at NCSU, helping researchers in the greenhouse and field. I'm acquiring a nice farmer's tan, and learning more than most people would care to know about sweet potatoes (but I find it very interesting as I'm a plant geek).

Maybe...

So I had a moment where I heard about something I had not heard about before from a couple of different and unrelated sources. So I decided to follow up on it and now we are thinking seriously about trying to make it happen.

We have been looking at airfare for flights to Montevideo or Buenos Aires, which range in price from 600-1300 a piece, one way. Pricey indeed. Also it is unoriginal and boring. So why not travel on a luxurious...



FREIGHT SHIP!!! Apparently freight shipping businesses book passengers in extra cabins and feed passengers in order to offset costs, or perhaps they just like to have strange people who travel in strange ways on board. I am trying to get in touch with someone about figuring out how to book this and how to find out if it is even feasible from southeastern US to South America. We will keep you up to date on how things come along with this fun new idea. In the mean time, check out this site for more information on travelling using freight ships: http://www.geocities.com/freighterman.geo/mainmenu.html

UPDATE: whoa. this is bloody expensive. got info on going from miami to brazil. approximately 14 day trip at almost 200 dollars per person per day. That adds up. Kooshy unoriginal boring airline, here we come!

Uruguay, here we come.

Our plans continue to come together. We contacted our first farm, located in Uruguay. We were very excited to hear back and I wanted to share the response. This place sounds like it will really be quite an experience. Can you go wrong with a country that has a sunshine on their flag?

"We are very glad you contacted us. And it is nice to know you found our place attractive to work on.

"We live in a very old house which we recycled recently, and also works as a bed and breakfast for tourists in the area. We are very close to Montevideo and Buenos Aires ( 120 km each) so it is a very tempting location for tourists looking to have some peace greenlands, and rest from those big citys. In our 30 hectors we have lots of things to do, and we like to think that every volunteer will be willing to help more in one area than the other… from working in the vegetable garden to helping with the tourists, from construction in ecological techniques, to milking our sheep, from collecting fruit, to making wood, from helping in our homemade organic “Limoncello” factory, to helping with our horses, dogs, hens, ducks, turkeys, geese, and the goats… there are plenty of things to do down here…

"WWOOFERS would be living in another hundred years old house which we are now recycling, located 1800 metres away from the bed and breakfast big house. Me and my family live on a third old house 1200 metres away, so Wwoofers have a lot of independent life in our farm. Where you will be staying, is where we have the goats, some sheeps and horses, a small vegetable garden for your own use, the dairy barn, and the cheese making facilities.. And if you are looking for something more natural, we have two tents waiting to be used when someone asks for. In a few words, there are plenty of things to do, and we are opened to hear what your expectations are at each time.

"As every other wwoof farm, we provide you with the food and accommodation during the period of time you will be helping us. Wwoofers work here from Monday to Saturday, six hours per day."