Touring Mariposa...our home away from home

Before we got here I could only imagine. I could visualize what Mariposa might look like and what the landscape might look like, but of course it is more incredible than imagined. There are many best parts so far.... We had a fun van drive down to Boston and a fun night at Margaritas (preparing for our trip of course!). We had a long day of travels and I was so impressed with our students. They were all troopers. We arrived to be greeted so kindly. Got acquainted with our rooms and surroundings. We had a fabulous lunch. (Tessa will post pictures of this later.) I am certainly in vegetarian heaven--fresh vegetarian food that I don't have to cook! And it is so good! Paulette introduced us to Mariposa and her work is not only incredibly inspiring but it is exactly the kind of work that I want my students to learn more about (and myself as well, but students come first!) Creating community, employing local people, reducing rubbish and creating a place for "first world" people to learn Spanish and so much more. We could not be in a better place to learn about American culture, consciousness, and community beyond our usual "American" context. We are hiking today, which I am so excited about! And later today Paulette will tell us more about her work and her book. From pre-reading and from our talk yesterday we are certainly academic comrades and I can't wait to learn more. Stay tuned!
Sarah