Just got back from househunting in Harrisonburg, VA. Interesting little town. It essentially comprises JMU students and Mennonites with a small percentage of Mexicans and Central Americans who work in the poultry industry. The downtown is gorgeous, with an old courthouse and town square. The outskirts leave something to be desired. There's been a student population boom, so a lot of prime farmland and beautiful rolling hills have been converted into rental properties stacked on top of each other - no urban planning to speak of: no sidewalks or neighborhood parks. I found our place near downtown, and it looks more navigable for a mom with a toddler and new baby in stroller.
What I love about this town is that (as a friend calls it) it was the bread basket of the Confederacy. The amount and diversity of local, pesticide free food is amazing! The farmers' market does a great business three times a week. Currently, I spend most of my income on good food, and in this place good food is cheap. Polyface Farm (to which Michael Pollan devoted a chapter of his book "Omnivore's Dilemma") is 45 minutes away. It's a local organic CSA (community supported agriculture) that uses revolutionary (read old school) methods of farming.
I'm thinking about following in the footsteps of Texas' own Food Renegade, who actually lives north of Austin in Georgetown, and blogging about learning how to make real food, enjoying the seasons, and figuring out how to slow down life a little bit. It's tempting.
I met with the owner of Shenandoah Yoga. What a sweetheart! We met at a local tea shop to talk about yoga opportunities, and she brought me a container of freshly picked blueberries as a welcome gift. I love yogis. I'm so proud of our community. I promised her some class descriptions, and I may be teaching a beginners series starting in September.
A friend of mine reminded me of something today, she's struggling with a new life in Costa Rica: “The world does not come at us. The world comes from us.”
One of the most challenging and amazing experiences I had was living in Budapest, Hungary - barely able to communicate in the language but still trying. For guidance, I would remember back to the time that I was traveling interior Mexico with an old friend, speaking beautiful Spanish - yet the smiling Aussie who spoke not a word of Spanish was the one who kept guiding us to all the right places. "The locals told us to go here, the locals said this was better." It turns out that he just smiled big, drew pictures, and let his sunshine do just that, shine. He didn't need Spanish to get the job done and make friends.
“The world does not come at us. The world comes from us.”
So excited about this move, because of the challenges and adventures that will make us better people and recognize that in ourselves. They speak English there, so it's not going to be difficult in the same way, but the rules are slightly different in each place, and we're going to have to learn them to evolve.
What I love about this town is that (as a friend calls it) it was the bread basket of the Confederacy. The amount and diversity of local, pesticide free food is amazing! The farmers' market does a great business three times a week. Currently, I spend most of my income on good food, and in this place good food is cheap. Polyface Farm (to which Michael Pollan devoted a chapter of his book "Omnivore's Dilemma") is 45 minutes away. It's a local organic CSA (community supported agriculture) that uses revolutionary (read old school) methods of farming.
I'm thinking about following in the footsteps of Texas' own Food Renegade, who actually lives north of Austin in Georgetown, and blogging about learning how to make real food, enjoying the seasons, and figuring out how to slow down life a little bit. It's tempting.
I met with the owner of Shenandoah Yoga. What a sweetheart! We met at a local tea shop to talk about yoga opportunities, and she brought me a container of freshly picked blueberries as a welcome gift. I love yogis. I'm so proud of our community. I promised her some class descriptions, and I may be teaching a beginners series starting in September.
A friend of mine reminded me of something today, she's struggling with a new life in Costa Rica: “The world does not come at us. The world comes from us.”
One of the most challenging and amazing experiences I had was living in Budapest, Hungary - barely able to communicate in the language but still trying. For guidance, I would remember back to the time that I was traveling interior Mexico with an old friend, speaking beautiful Spanish - yet the smiling Aussie who spoke not a word of Spanish was the one who kept guiding us to all the right places. "The locals told us to go here, the locals said this was better." It turns out that he just smiled big, drew pictures, and let his sunshine do just that, shine. He didn't need Spanish to get the job done and make friends.
“The world does not come at us. The world comes from us.”
So excited about this move, because of the challenges and adventures that will make us better people and recognize that in ourselves. They speak English there, so it's not going to be difficult in the same way, but the rules are slightly different in each place, and we're going to have to learn them to evolve.
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