United States   -    Tanzania    -    India  -   New Zealand    -    Mexico

Washington D.C. Letter Home

Composed by IHP Trustees Fellow Sabra Loewus with assistance from RG Students William Coffey and Timothy Robb

 

Twenty-six students and many of their parents arrived in Washington, DC, eager (and nervous!) to start the Rethinking Globalization (RG) program. After briefly getting to know one another and an enticing presentation by IHP faculty of the journey on which we were about to embark, everyone bid farewell to their families and we boarded the bus to the Concord Retreat in West Virginia to kick off the first week of RG.

 

Within just the first day, the group was already bonding and having a great time together. The Concord Retreat provided a beautiful setting to continue getting to know each other and experience our first shot at communal living on RG. After a yummy dinner and trying our best to memorize each other’s names, everyone headed off to bed to rest up for the first full IHP day. Most of the students shared bunk beds, but some chose to sleep outside, under the stars…and rain.

 

Our week at the retreat was full of group building and orientation activities, such as IHP’s version of “speed dating” and discussions about safety, vacation planning, culture shock and other challenges expected on the journey ahead. The week also included introductions to the various topics we will explore throughout the year. Before long, the academic program was underway.

 

Introductions to social movements, economics and development, anthropology, ecology, and environmental policy and governance courses were thought-provoking and gave us a chance to get to know our wonderful faculty team and all of the experience they have to share. In addition to our first classes, the students blew everyone away with their excellent poster presentations about global issues, social movements, and questions about the world that personally affect them. Topics ranged from reflections about identity to experiences with consumption patterns and recycling/reusing efforts to global indicators of happiness. In groups, the students also facilitated great discussions about the summer readings. Throughout all of these learning opportunities, we started ongoing conversations about the diverse issues that will set the foundation for our quest to “rethink” globalization. These intense classroom discussions carried over to meal times, where the professors and students shared more personal perspectives on the issues brought up during lectures.

 

In addition to the academic program, students exercised their leadership skills in running meetings, formulating group norms, and organizing responsibilities. During our free time at the retreat, we had lots of fun exploring the grassy, hilly property through running, walking, swimming in a nearby river, playing volleyball, having campfires and s’mores, building forts, watching documentaries, engaging in late night conversations, racing through an obstacle course, and playing capture the flag – a more dangerous activity than anticipated!

 

After our first week in the woods of West Virginia, we returned to DC for the remainder of the US program. On the way back, we had an inspiring site visit to Polyface Farms – the now famous sustainable farm with environmentally-friendly farming practices featured in Michael Pollan’s book: The Omnivore’s Dilemna. Owner and farmer Joel Salatin gave us a great tour of the farm including its innovative portable sheltering systems for the animals and compost piles. Joel also offered us many words of wisdom that guide the farm’s mission. He commented, “Nature tends to go back and reestablish normalcy” and “local is always better than organic,” reinforcing some of the farming principles at Polyface Farms of utilizing natural cycles and retaining the knowledge of the land around us – neither of which require certification stamps. He urged us to also “find something [we’re passionate about] and believe in it,” stating that the most important thing in life is to follow your heart and “be true to yourself.” Of course, we couldn’t leave without purchasing local food from this “non-industrial food production oasis” to cook up and sample once we got back to DC.

 

In DC, we had the opportunity to visit and hear from various organizations ranging from the World Bank to environmental NGOs, along with the continuation of our classes. The personal stories from the National Coalition for the Homeless speakers panel touched all of us, and inspired us to break the stereotypes about homelessness and volunteer more of our time in our own communities. At the World Bank, we learned about the dominant approach to global development and their Inspection Panel. During the environmental NGO case study day, students broke up into groups to visit eight organizations including the Wilderness Society, the Center for a New American Dream, The Natural Resource Defence Council, Co-op America, African Wildlife Foundation, Friends of the Earth, Population Connection and the Center for Ecotourism and Sustainable Development. We also had a great session with John Cavanagh and Sarah Anderson at the Institute for Policy Studies, where they asserted that the era of free market fundamentalism is shifting and commented about the overall history of social movements in the United States. During independent research day, students explored more NGOs, visited several national museums, viewed educational films, and rode tandem bicycles around the city.

 

For our last Saturday in the States, we enjoyed a wonderful alumni panel discussion and dinner. The alums provided valuable advice about what to pack, what to leave behind, how to spend our final days in the States, what our homestays might be like, the bonds we will continue to form, and a reminder to always appreciate this amazing experience by living in the moment. The current students proved to be quite receptive to the advice, as they immediately began unpacking and figuring out what to send home right after dinner.

 

The next day, we heard from young organizers and learned about ENGAGE as a resource for returning study abroad students to build networks and continue working with the communities we meet abroad. We also participated in a migration workshop with Mexicanas Sin Fronteras (Mexicans Without Borders) and heard powerful stories from a migrant speaker panel.

 

Our evenings in DC were complemented with a delicious variety of food for dinners made by each country group. The first country group set the bar quite high and each subsequent group was up to the challenge! All of the cooks even managed to cater to all of our peculiar dietary preferences. Our stomachs thanked us for these yummy meals and we’ve discovered that chocolate is a favorite indulgence for many of us!

 

In between all of the structured activities, we had lots of fun exploring DC and hanging out with each other. We visited the great monuments, national buildings, museums, and parks that DC has to offer. There were many late nights of talking, watching movies, snacking, reading, and teaching each other fresh dance moves.

 

Overall, our first three weeks together laid the groundwork for the next eight months we’ll spend abroad. We have already explored many issues and raised lots of questions, recognizing that many of them may not even have clear answers by the end of our program.

 

We’re gearing up for our first flight and excited to be off to Tanzania to continue learning about globalization firsthand!

 

Tanzania Letter Home

Composed by IHP Trustees Fellow Sabra Loewus and RG Students Mary Crawford-Roberts, Eli Dibner-Dunlap, Chris Girgenti, Lucas Guilkey, and Brie Robertori

 

Jambo friends and family! The last few months in Tanzania have been full of diverse experiences, as we began our journey in the large city of Dar es Salaam and ended in Arusha at the foot of Mt. Meru. We have made new friends, enjoyed delicious food, learned basic Kiswahili, and embraced the local attire of kangas and kikois.

 

Upon arrival in Dar, after nearly 24 hours of travel, we were greeted by Fatma, Munira, Prisca, and Chambi, members of the hard-working IHP Tanzania coordinating team. We settled into our rooms at the YWCA in the center of town, rested, and awaited our first Tanzanian dinner, where we enjoyed a thoroughly foreign, albeit delicious, first meal abroad. We were fortunate to arrive in Dar during the week of Durga Puja, an Indian festival in celebration of a Hindu goddess named Durga, and be able to partake in the nightly festivities.

 

Our program in Dar provided a variety of foundation lectures featuring local academics and activists. We learned about colonialism, globalization, social movements, Pan-Africanism, women’s rights, land rights, and natural resources. Beyond the formal lectures, we participated in a theatre workshop at the University of Dar es Salaam to learn how singing, dancing, and acting can be used as tools for social development. A highlight of the week included an amazing theatre performance by performers who were formerly street youth, but are now employed by a non-profit organization called THT. We did our best to learn some of their dance skills and share the song we learned at the theatre workshop, laughing the whole time in acknowledgement of our need for more time to practice! Another highlight was our opportunity to participate in a public forum on the Tanzanian food and fuel crises that was organized by the Mwalimu Nyerere Institute at the University of Dar es Salaam. The debate was presented in palava style, similar to American town hall meetings, and public commentary fired around the hall. A few RG students even made it onto local television when the filming of this forum aired!

 

The first week in Tanzania flew by and we were soon on the ferry to Zanzibar. Our homestay families greeted us at the port and brought us to our new homes for the next two weeks. Living with our new families, we immersed ourselves in Zanzibari life, as we learned more about the local culture, shared our histories, and faced communication struggles.

 

In Zanzibar, we focused on the island’s history and its connection with the mainland, resistance, human rights, ecology, ecotourism, local Muslim culture, and women’s identity issues. After a week of classes that contextualized political and social intricacies, we divided into groups to engage with three different conservation and sustainable development efforts. Our classrooms became Jozani Forest, Chumbe Island, and Uroa, a small fishing village, where we learned on the ground and with the people. “I can’t believe I’m in class right now!” became our mantra as we hung out with Red Colobus monkeys and trekked through mangrove forests in Jozani Forest; snorkeled among coral reefs and saw first-class ecotourism on Chumbe Island; and witnessed a fishing village opening to international tourism and the global economy through seaweed cultivation. Visits to a spiritual cave and traditional healer also added to our stay in Uroa.

 

In our free time, we got lost in the winding streets of Stone Town in Zanzibar, overloaded our senses in the markets, frolicked in the turquoise sea, lounged on the white sandy beaches, danced to the beat of local music, and traversed the length of Zanzibar in the cramped, bumpy dalla-dalla commuter trucks.

 

After Zanzibar, we headed into northern Tanzania. Driving toward Moshi, breathtaking Mt. Kilimanjaro (also known as “the roof of Africa”) peeked through the clouds. To explore one of Tanzania’s key cash crop economies, we visited a sisal estate and factory where we learned about smallholder sisal farmers, the production of biofuel in a globalized economy, and sisal’s manufacturing process as it goes from plant to product, such as rope and carpet. We also followed the Tanzanian coffee economy in its various development modes (e.g., cooperatives, private global economy, and parastatal economy), visited a coffee farm and processing factory, and then sat in on the Moshi coffee auction that exports most of Tanzania’s coffee beans.

 

We then visited the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha, where we learned more about the complex human rights history of Rwanda and engaged in thought-provoking discussions about the tribunal process that tries the accused of the Rwandan genocide.

 

At Lake Manyara National Park and Ngorongoro Conservation Area, both popular tourist destinations, we hopped into safari vehicles, cameras in tow, and roamed the plains, our eyes perked for wildlife. We learned about conservation in protected areas and the roles of tourism and local communities in relation to environmental protection. At one of the campsites, we couldn’t resist indulging in a Halloween celebration. We’re enjoying celebrating local holidays as well as holidays from back home with our new RG family. Because clothes are few among us, our outfits have become part of our identities, so this year Halloween was a time to don another person’s outfit and personality, while enjoying lots of candy and exchanging IOUs to share our personal skills with each other. As another day faded into dusk, we gathered in a circle at the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater and initiated a powerful, sensory group conversation where we shared and learned through each others’ interpretations.

 

Next, it was onto our homestays in a Maasai village outside of Arusha. During our five-day stay, we journeyed back and forth between a campsite in Terrat with formal lectures and our smoke-filled boma homes for experience-based learning. We conversed with our Maasai homestay families over a kindled fire at night and worked with the community around the boma in the early morning. Projects included re-mudding the houses to prepare for the rainy season, wrangling donkeys for market delivery, fetching milk from the cattle herd, and caring for the children of the boma. We all continue to reflect on and react to our stay with the Maasai. While some of us felt that we left with a new family and friends, our thoughts return to both the foreignness and familiarity of the East African pastoralists.

 

Throughout our time in Tanzania, there was a lot of discussion about the upcoming U.S. presidential election and our challenges with absentee voting. From a “forgotten corner of the world,” we sat clustered in front of the television on the rooftop of the Arusha Backpackers as the historical moment of Obama’s victory was broadcast worldwide. It was a special privilege to celebrate the event as hope-filled Americans among proud Africans. It wasn’t long before local radio stations played Obama songs and kangas with Obama designs could be found in the markets.

 

The Tanzania program closed with an incredible, tear-inducing performance by the students to share their experiences in Tanzania through theatre. While words cannot fully capture the beauty of this performance, partially comprised of the following rap about land rights by RG student Lucas Guilkey, you can see the profound insight that has already been gained:

 

I’d like to talk about the human right to land,
Whether it be soil, icy mountain, or sand.
It’s an important topic we all should know.
I’ll assume many voices, so follow my flow.

 

Much of it began at the Berlin Conference,
When European powers birthed imperial hubris.
It was 1886 at a German table
When an entire continent was deliberately disabled.

 

“It’s a cake for us but let’s share,” they said.
“You can have the foot if you let me have the head.”
Their favorite term was the word pacification.
The white man’s burden and racial subordination.

 

Soon Tanganyika was a centralized state,
Implementing policy that fostered hate.
A colonized body and a colonized mind.
“I’ll fight ‘til I die if you take what’s mine.”

 

You can have your power, you can have your might,
But in your heart of darkness, do you know what’s right?
Do you know my rights?
In your heart of darkness, can you hear my plight?
Can you resist my fight?

 

In 1895 there was a German decree,
Declaring all these lands German state property.
In 1920 the British got the land
And took the same control that Germany had.

 

Then came the sixties, revolution worldwide.
In the states Malcom X, Ella Baker, Freedom Rides.
In Africa, Nkruma and Nyerere.
The Maasai told the British, “Yo, Olecere!”

 

But black liberation’s not the only unity.
Indigenous struggle was linking you and she.
It’s all about AIM and taking back Wounded Knee.
Land access matters if we want to be free.

 

It was a time of hope and a new sense of power,
But soon in many mouths it left a taste of sour.
Cointelpro took out the Black Panthers
And Ujamaa still gave state-centric answers.

 

And then a neo-liberal Reagan-Thatcher revolution,
A second colonialism masquerading as the solution.
“You can have your power, you can have your might,
But in your heart of darkness can their ever shine a light?”

 

Modern Tanzania erodes Zanzibar sovereignty
And increases in number national park policy,
Like they drew the nations, they create park boundaries.
I hear all the elephants yelling, “Don’t surround me!”

 

The environmental policy is to put up a fence?
The state makes dollars but it doesn’t make sense!

 

Nearly 20 parks on 30 percent of the land.
Violent displacement by the state’s iron hand.
In the name of investment, in the name of conservation.
Lives are lost from paramilitary operations.

 

As a rich, white Westerner, I’ve learned from the two Ts.
Terrorism for you and tourism for me.

 

But as a human being, I know one more thing.
You will always resist, and solidarity I’ll bring.

 

Our week-long vacations included plans ranging from hiking Mt. Meru to relaxing in the beautiful countryside of Lushoto to living with bushmen tribes in the Kidero Mountains, as we awaited the next leg of our journey to India. It is hard to believe that we are already departing Tanzania, but we thank all of those who have contributed to this amazing experience that we will always remember and hope to be back to visit soon!

 

Stay tuned for our update from India in a few months! Kwaheri all!

India Letter Home

Composed by IHP Trustees Fellow Sabra Loewus and RG Students Lucas Guilkey, Brianna Hayes, Bekah Hykan, and Connie Vogelmann

 

Namaste! What a whirlwind journey the past four months of RG have been!

Although we visited many places and learned about many things in India, we barely scratched the surface of this subcontinent’s complexity. Beginning in Delhi and ending on a beautiful farm in Dahanu, we studied India’s history, the interconnectedness of the global economy, natural and organic farming practices, plights of cotton farmers, Gandhi’s life and influence, how to anthropologically observe life in tribal villages, industrial development in the name of national progress and its many destructive impacts, social movements across the country’s rural and urban areas, and environmental conservation initiatives – many heavy and entrenched issues. We practiced customs of the many rich cultures that comprise India; indulged in the delicious, spicy cuisine (even when advised not to in times of sickness); gazed at the beauty of the colorful attire and grace of women wearing saris; nourished our health and spirit in early morning sessions of yoga with Saachi, our anthropology teacher in India; danced with villagers who welcomed us into their local celebrations; created works of art after learning about Warli painting; enjoyed the quirky yet irresistible allure of Bollywood; attempted to navigate through the intense traffic of India’s streets to find our way home; and endured the endless hawking from vendors and begging from young children carrying around babies, while feeling guilty about our own privilege and resisting the urge to feel hopeless. In this land of contrasts – where the gap between the rich and poor is striking; where Mumbai has access to 24/7 electricity while the rest of the country lives with daily power outages or no power at all; where SUVs travel alongside cattle-driven carts; where cows, camels, elephants, and stray dogs roam the streets eating trash; where land that once supported farmers’ families now witnesses the suicides of thousands of desperate farmers who have seen their livelihoods assaulted by India’s economic reforms; where religion and caste interweave through all aspects of life – it is impossible to even begin to describe and convey the depth of all that we have experienced.

We kicked off our adventure in India with homestays in Delhi, where we bounced through the streets in tiny, three-wheeled auto rickshaws for up to an hour each way to get to class. The streets of Delhi contained a myriad mix of people – from wealthy tourists to families sleeping on the streets. Our first week of classes introduced us to India. We had classes on topics ranging from the history of Delhi to various viewpoints of India’s massive economic growth, from classical Indian dance to the struggle to decentralize governance. We had three site visits in Delhi to Chandni Chowk, Jantar Mantar, and Mehrauli. Chandni Chowk is a 300-year-old market in Old Delhi full of narrow winding streets, tall haphazard buildings, bright colors, sounds, and smells. Jantar Mantar is a protest space where citizens from all over India raise their grievances with the central government using different tactics such as hunger strikes and political rallies. A location for heritage walks, Mehrauli is a historical site that contains a complex of monuments and tombs. During our first weekend off, some students traveled north to Amritsar, where they visited the Golden Temple, while others spent time (and money) exploring local markets such as Delhi Haat and Sarojini or searching through the newest Indian fashions at Fab India.

After Delhi, we briefly visited the beautiful Taj Mahal in Agra before heading south on our first overnight train to Sewagram. We stayed at Gandhi’s main ashram, where we learned about Gandhian philosophy and began discussing the concept of the dignity of labor. It was in Sewagram that we began to see how the cotton economy plays out on the ground and in the lives of local farmers. These lessons were further explored during our next stay at Ajay and Yogini’s farm in rural Maharashta. The farm’s peaceful setting allowed us to catch up on both sleep and neglected homework, while enjoying our cheerful tent accommodations and classes under a large outdoor pavilion. We visited cotton farmers who showed us around their fields, then followed the commodity chain to the cotton gin, where cotton was processed and we were able to play in the multistory-high piles of cotton. For our last week before vacation, we split up into three small groups for site visits. One group went to a natural and organic farm based around the principles of non-violence and soil regeneration. Another group participated in the daily routines of residents in a tribal village. The third group visited a forest and tiger park, where, regrettably, no tigers were sighted.

After only hours of regrouping in Nagpur following our site visits, we broke for vacation. We scattered far and wide across India – from Dharamsala in the far north to the very southern tip of Kerala. Many students’ parents came to celebrate the holidays together and the rest traveled in groups of twos and threes.

Once we reconvened in Ahmedabad, we split into two groups to visit either the Golden Corridor in central Gujarat or the Kutch region in northwestern Gujarat. In the Golden Corridor, an area of concentrated industrial development, we were led by local activists to an effluent waste disposal channel, a large dam, and chemical plants. We then visited nearby villages to speak with locals and learn about the incredible costs that they had to bear because of their proximity to this development: displacement, loss of agricultural livelihoods, pollution, contaminated water sources, diseases, and occupational health and safety hazards. At this point, the realities of “development” became strikingly clear to many of us. The Kutch group embarked on an ambitious tour and covered a lot of ground in their visits across the region. They began by visiting the beautiful stone-carved Modhera Sun Temple and a Becharaji temple, which is home to a community of eunuchs. Next, they visited several tribal groups consisting of pastoralists and fishermen, and spent much time in and around some of the area’s infamous Special Economic Zones (SEZs), where they witnessed firsthand some of the social and environmental problems created by this wholehearted economic venture. Finally, they briefly discussed some of the crafts of the area and visited a screen printing workshop with many locally made quilts. Each group welcomed the New Year in its respective way, either around a bonfire at a palace resort or with a view of the modern industrial world on the property of two power plants.

Following the site visits in Gujarat, the students celebrated coming back together as an entire group for the Mumbai portion of the program. We spent three days studying the beloved Bollywood culture, touring the world’s largest urban national park, and talking with local residents and activists as they walked us through their neighborhood of Dharavi, commonly referred to as “Asia’s largest slum,” which is currently under threat of reorganization due to a large proposed development project. We also enjoyed a few free afternoons, either frantically completing mid-year essay assignments or spending time exploring the vast city of Mumbai, including paying respects for the tragedy of 26/11 in front of the Taj Hotel.

Upon completion of the Mumbai program, we rode our final train a few hours up the coast to Dahanu, where we were welcomed by our hosts Michelle and Hemant. We quickly settled into our rooms and tents on a beautiful, open farm plot along the bank of a river. Grateful to enjoy some fresh air, we spent our first half day on the farm swimming, playing in the fields, and venturing into town with our translators Prachi and Vinit. During our time in Dahanu, we visited surrounding local villagers, to whom it was incomprehensible that we would spend so much money and time to travel to India solely to learn about their culture, and not for any economic pursuit to improve our livelihoods back home. Michelle and Hemant, as well as their friends and colleagues, gave lectures to initiate discussions about the movement against the local coal-fired power plant and the struggle of the Adivasis (“first inhabitants”) to reclaim their rights to the forest. We spent our nights learning from and grooving to Bollywood movies. On our final night in India, we enjoyed a feast of BBQ and dancing before gathering around a campfire to express our words of gratitude to one another for all of the hard work that had gone into crafting an invaluable journey through India that none of us will ever forget.

As Smitu commented on our final day of processing in India, “Don’t worry about the end result of what you want to do – just go out and do it.” Having gone out and seen it, heard it, smelled it, and tasted it, we embarked on our journey to New Zealand. Although we left India for now, we will carry with us the lessons we learned from past and present struggles, as we prepare ourselves for our upcoming adventures in New Zealand.

 

New Zealand Letter Home

Composed by IHP Trustees Fellow Sabra Loewus

 

Kia ora from the beautiful land of Aotearoa/New Zealand!

 

Upon arrival in the shiny, ultra-modern Sydney airport, where we had a layover between Mumbai and Wellington, we all experienced quite a bit of culture shock, which continued into our first days in New Zealand. It had been four months since we experienced “Western” culture to this extent. Some of us indulged in free showers, wireless internet, and endless sweets at the airport, while others were sticker-shocked at the prices of everything in the duty-free stores.

 

Before long, we hopped onto our next flight and landed in Wellington, where the relative quiet, orderliness of the streets, fresh air, and English-speaking locals provided a contrast to our days in India and felt very familiar to some cities back home in the United States. We soon learned that while New Zealand seems very similar to the U.S. on the surface, there are significant differences in their cultures, histories, and present-day issues.

 

We got a taste of the choice (Kiwi slang for fantastic/great) city on our first free day in Wellington and celebrated Chris’ birthday that night as the clock struck 12:00. Many of us stayed up all night or set our alarms very early to watch the much awaited inauguration of President Obama. Needless to say, we were all very tired as we boarded the bus in the morning to Otaki, about an hour north of Wellington.

 

In Otaki, we spent about a week at Riverslea Retreat, where we had a wonderful space and time to relax, get used to the new country, recuperate from various illnesses, come back together as a stronger group, and explore the natural surroundings. Our coordinators, Peter and Monique, as well as our new anthropology teacher, Jessica, introduced us to New Zealand by welcoming us in Maori and teaching us Maori songs and traditions. Our faculty classes kicked off that week and we had a great presentation on cultural and environmental sustainability from a Maori perspective by Pataka Moore. Some of us spent the weekend hiking in the nearby mountains, while others swam in the pristine river behind our lodge, checked out the glow worms down the hill, watched movies, baked, and caught up on sleep and work. It was a treat to communally cook all of our meals together for the week – something we hadn’t had the opportunity to do since DC. A special thanks goes out to Connie for her incredible baking skills (and persistence in finding mint extract for some chocolate peppermint goodies)!

 

Our next stop was Palmerston North, where we learned about wind farm impacts on local communities and had a great lecture on ecological economics. En route to Palmerston North, we had two site visits: one group learned how to weave with flax and the other discussed the Lake Horowhenua restoration project while walking through the forest.

 

We then traveled to Ngati Rangi, where we were welcomed onto Nerissa’s family marae (a Maori communal meeting place) with a traditional ceremony. All thirty of us IHPers plus Nerissa’s family shared one room and participated in their cultural practices for the next 3 days, amidst the backdrop of the majestic, snow-capped Mount Ruapehu. While sharing our personal histories and family backgrounds on our first night at the marae, we realized that we really didn’t know each other that well even though we had spent the past four plus months living, eating, traveling, learning, and working together, and we were very grateful for this opportunity to come together on another level. Many remarked that this was the strongest and most cohesive moment that our group has shared with each other. During our stay at the marae, we hiked part of the sacred Mt. Ruapehu, bathed in the healing glacial waters of the spiritual Lake Rotokura, visited various dams and other sites and discussed their impacts on Ngati Rangi, and participated in nightly discussions to process it all.

 

After our farewell ceremony and sharing songs with each other at the marae, we headed to the nearby Tongariro National Park to explore the area and learn about the park’s co-management initiative between the Department of Conservation and local iwi (Maori for tribe). Most of us ventured out to do the incredible Tongariro Crossing – known as New Zealand’s best day hike – on our following free day.

 

We soon returned to Wellington, where we were greeted by our new homestay families – all active Green Party members. We arrived just in time to celebrate Waitangi Day, which commemorates the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. The day was full of local festivities and we enjoyed seeing the masses of people in costume and attending a reggae concert, among other activities. The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing, exploring the city, catching up on work, visiting Jessica and Lydia’s biodynamic farm to participate in composting activities, and contributing to the Island Bay community nursery and ecological restoration clean-up project.

 

A full week of classes and guest lectures kicked off on Monday at Massey University. We had heated discussions on such topics as activism in New Zealand with Nicky Hager, Maori perspectives and physics education with Ocean Mercier, social policies with Stephanie McIntyre, the large dairy company Fonterra and its sustainability initiatives with John Hutchings, conservation and other environmental issues with Kevin Hackwell, critiques of environmental policies in New Zealand with Cath Wallace, neo-liberalism in Aotearoa/New Zealand with Maria Bargh, and the organization Sustainable Futures in New Zealand with Wendy McGuinness. One of the highlights that week was our visit to Parliament, where we had lively discussions with many of the Green Party members. Throughout many of these conversations, we debated New Zealand’s “clean and green” image, questioning whether this was in fact reality and what the country’s future may hold.

 

Our time in New Zealand was flying by and we were already off for vacation at the end of the week in Wellington. We enjoyed a range of Kiwi adventures, with most of us opting to travel around the South Island and embrace its spectacular natural beauty through tramping, kayaking, and other outdoorsy pursuits. A few students spent the week on an organic farm through WWOOF (Willing Workers on Organic Farms). Several students’ parents and siblings even arrived to experience it all.

 

Upon reconvening in Nelson after vacation, we were whisked off on two field trips to either Golden Bay or Nelson Lakes and Kaikoura. The Golden Bay group explored localization and bioregional issues such as organic farming, sustainable agriculture and environmental policy impacts, permaculture, local economic activity, local currencies, community building initiatives, co-operatives, ecological restoration, and conservation projects with local community members, business owners, and politicians. The Nelson Lakes/Kaikoura group looked at local conservation and environmental policies, social and industrial forestry, low impact logging, forest ecology, critiques of pest management, a sustainable winery, local council environmental planning and waste minimization initiatives, and Maori eco-tourism with local bioregional guides, council staff, and business owners. Both groups greatly enjoyed the site visits, learned a ton, and are very thankful to their respective hosts/coordinators: Sol Morgan, Willie Cameron, and Rewa Glasgow, as well as all of the local speakers and guides.

 

We finished off our stay in New Zealand with a retreat and program synthesis at Nelson Lakes, where we again impressed each other with our cooking skills in preparing communal meals. The last speaker, John Broomfield, led an enlightening discussion on different ways of knowing. Faculty wrapped up their classes, students turned in papers, and we all enjoyed our last few days hiking, swimming, and relaxing in the great outdoors of New Zealand. Finally, we bid farewell to our sweet as (Kiwi slang for cool) coordinators, Peter and Monique, Jessica, Nerissa, and Daniela, and expressed much appreciation for all of our hosts and guests and the time that they dedicated to make this an amazing, thought-provoking, and memorable experience.

 

To close this letter, we leave you with two moving works written and performed by RG students on our last night in New Zealand. First is a poem by Hnin Hnin:

 

"at a log cabin in nelson lakes"

 

you wrote to me about the pressure of a blank page
and pushed me over the edge
just beyond the horizon of sanity
and miles beyond the point of safe
so off i went leaping into
the black unknown knowing
that chaos would catch me in its dark unfurling

 

and on its tidal-wave lip
is the crashing of the old world
riding alongside the rumbling of courage

 

and in its infinite whorls
of wrong turns and good intentions
there is a spiraling that feels like
an invisible string negotiated between your heart
and mine, that tastes in my mouth
like a risk worth taking

 

Following is a song by Eli Dibner-Dunlap:

 

Here is the story of two earth-bound beings
Who came to be born on one fateful evening
Their stories run simultaneously
But there is little in common, and no symmetry

 

It’s a song about brothers, separated at birth
Unknowing of each other, they lived on their own
One was born screaming and crying
One was born without a moan

 

Oh my brother, we’re made of the same
Oh my brother, to this earth we came
Oh my brother, let’s not be hurt
We live together in beautiful dirt

 

The human…

 

One heartfelt evening, man and woman embrace
They were planning their entry into a new phase
Out of two, one
Life to their new son

 

April 18 he was born in a bed
Placenta was buried behind the tool shed
He had little fingers and ten little toes
His little penis, it’s a boy, mama knows

 

He’s given clothing to hide his nudity
He craps his pants until he’s two or three
He cries every night because everything is so scary
The room is too dark, his cloth too hairy

 

He eats from a breast and then from a bottle
His hair is combed like a baby model
He’s not allowed outside of the house
For fear of hurt by snake or mouse

 

He breaks his arm seven times
From clumsiness or bad falls behind
He sleeps under blankets with books at his bed
No fear of hunger, abundance instead

 

He learns to speak with fluent tongue
Stories that he writes and songs that are sung
He knows no other way to communicate
English was thought to be his only fate

 

He practices his mind in school
His brainy brain is his only tool
He forgets how to eat and how to act
He loses knowledge and art and fact

 

Oh my brother, we’re made of the same
Oh my brother, to this earth we came
Oh my brother, let’s not be hurt
We live together, in beautiful dirt

 

The pine…

 

April 18, the pinecone drops from mama tree
Holding bird food and one tiny seed
That becomes the new born, as the seed hits dirt
He grows up fast, his growing pains hurt

 

He loves when it rains because that’s his only drink
He makes himself look pretty, for the birds to think
His food comes from under, picked up by his roots
He eats only local and vegetarian; he’s an “environmentalist”

 

His leaves grow long and green
He’s a sight for the forest, when he is seen
He speaks in his language and times in his clock
He has his close group of friends, his treeful flock.

 

He can stand the cold of the snowiest winter
Or the heat of the hottest day
He has no need for blanket, scarf or shades

 

He grows big and tall, a healthy baby boy
Out-competes the other ones
He’s fought for his chance to live
Under the big yellow sun

 

He rests in peace, even though he’s sometimes self-conscious
He just wants to be healthy, and cares that his mom is
He’s got everything he needs, leaves, roots and trunk
Survival will happen! that’s what he thunk

 

Oh my brother, we’re made of the same
Oh my brother, to this earth we came
Oh my brother, let’s not be hurt
We live together in beautiful dirt

 

The human…

 

He thinks he is happy with the things that he has
Friends and family and community dads
He’s worried because his essay is a disaster
He’s not thinking of himself as a murderer or colonizer or slavemaster

 

Then on his twentieth birthday, he’s got it!
Quickly to the paper, and the paper’s caught it!
The new thought he’s had, that he’s written down
On loving the world and making peace all around

 

The pine…on his twentieth birthday
Was murdered by axe, then sliced and diced and pressed and
Pulped and churned and burned and lined and bound

 

Dead pine…fresh paper.
New thoughts…and the human is a killer.

 

Oh my brother, we’re made of the same
Oh my brother, to this earth we came
Oh my brother, let’s not be hurt
We live together, in beautiful dirt

 

I am speaking this because I can speak
Hi, my name is eli and I support murder
But let’s talk politics.
I vote and I hold up banners – but that shit is false,
Because the only government that I really know
Is the Republic of Me.
And I am governor, indeed emperor, of this island state.

 

What are my domestic policies?
Just look at my hair or give me a smell
My foreign affairs?
I murdered my brother.

 

Change is not a catchy phrase or one person and it does not live in dc
Change is having environmental ethics and social responsibility
In the Republic of Me.
As the world spins, I ride on it.
I spin with my brothers and sisters and my friends and children
Have I waited thirteen billion years to be
A murderer or slavemaster or colonizer?

 

I hold the elections, I vote and I count the ballots in the Republic of Me.
I have complete political power.
What will be my policies, my diplomacy, my relationships with
Sister and brother Republics?
It is time for me, as emperor, to have proper governance.

 

And I am the change that Me has been waiting for.
I am the change that Me has been waiting for.

 

Oh my brother, we’re made of the same
Oh my sister, we’re made of the same
Oh my mother, we’re made of the same
Oh my father, to this earth we came.

 

 

Mexico Letter Home

Composed by IHP Trustees Fellow Sabra Loewus with assistance from RG Students Tristanne Davis, Kalu Long, Phil Longbrake, Elena Miller-ter Kuile, and Grace Stranch

 

Alas, we have reached our final destination: Mexico. We’re finally in a country where most of us speak and understand at least some of the language, and we’re improving as we practice Spanish each day. As has become a common theme on IHP, we’ve continued to indulge in delicious food. Some of the favorites include: Oaxacan cheese and chocolate, enchiladas, guacamole (or anything with avocados!), fresh fruit juice, and paletas.

 

We began in Mexico City (also known as DF, short for Distrito Federal) – the second most populated metropolis in the world, after Tokyo. Our first few days were spent exploring the historical center and museums. After the weekend off, we moved to our first Mexican homestays in Colonia Santo Domingo, a neighborhood that was primarily settled in 1971 through one of the largest land invasions in Latin America. Everyone was excited to reunite with Gustavo, our Mexico country coordinator and faculty member, in Santo Domingo after spending time with him in DC and Virginia at the beginning of the year. We spent the next week and a half discussing such topics as the history of Santo Domingo, Mexico’s political transition, Mexico’s environment from the view of the federal government, and USAID. We also enjoyed salsa and silk screening classes in the evenings. One of the highlights was our visit to Cesar Anorve’s house in Ocotepec to see alternatives in sanitation and architecture in action. We learned about (and used) dry toilets, adobe building blocks, and bicycle-powered water pumps. After a lively, fun-filled goodbye party with our homestay families in Santo Domingo, we hit the road for Oaxaca City, where we spent the next month – the longest amount of time we’ve stayed in one place during RG!

 

In Oaxaca, we settled into our new homestays and were even able to unpack our luggage (a luxury this year!) since we were staying for awhile. It was great to have a lot of time to explore Oaxaca and get a good sense of the place. We spent much of the first week attending Appropriate Technology Forum field trips and workshops to learn about and discuss various initiatives in alternative medicine, farming, education, community radio, and other areas, while being escorted around Oaxaca in a cheetah-themed, vegetable oil-powered bus. Specifically, we were able to see and participate in the making of jewelry from garbage, solar ovens, natural building materials, alternative herbal-based medicines, urban gardening, and easy-to-make greenhouses.

 

Our second week in Oaxaca began with a somber tone after the highly unexpected news of the passing of our dear friend, colleague, country coordinator, professor, and dedicated social and environmental activist in India: Smitu Kothari. Feelings of shock, disbelief, and sadness have permeated all of us as we continue to mourn his sudden death and celebrate the life of this wonderful man who touched us all so deeply in so many ways. Our thoughts and prayers are with Smitu’s family, friends, and colleagues around the world. To share the words of one student, the poem that follows this letter home commemorates Smitu and his life.

 

After holding a special service for Smitu, we departed the following morning for three different villages, where we spent the rest of the week. Teotitlan del Valle, the closest village to Oaxaca City, is known for its beautiful woven rugs and blankets made with traditional dyes from cochineal, indigo, moss, and other natural sources. The women who hosted us are part of a women’s weaving cooperative called La Vida Nueva. We spent our days at the village weaving, cooking, farming, experiencing a traditional temazcal, and participating in other daily activities with our homestay families. The second group visited Capulalpam de Mendez, a mining community built into the side of the Sierra Norte Mountains that is a two-hour drive from Oaxaca City. This town is a gorgeous place with a half millennia-long history, cobblestone roads, and a picturesque cathedral in the town square. We learned about the communal governance and labor structures there that have helped the town develop independent of government aid. We also learned that Capulalpam suffers from intermittent water problems and deforestation because several foreign firms retain mining and logging rights in the mountains surrounding the town and pollute it heavily. Citizens have organized around these issues and conducted successful protests in Oaxaca, blocking freeways and forcing the state government to recognize their rights. The third village, San Bartolome Loxicha, was a six-hour drive from Oaxaca City, up and around nauseatingly curvy mountain roads. Once we arrived, we learned about Hurricane Paulina, which devastated the community in 1997, washing away precious topsoil and destroying the multi-crop agriculture that once thrived there. As a result, the community must now import many of its food products, including staples like corn. The majority of the community consists of coffee farmers who grow coffee under the watch of certified organic and fair trade organizations, which then buy and sell their coffee for export.

 

During the following week, we shared stories about our village stays with each other and discussed topics such as the development of political consciousness, migration, water, and corn issues. We also learned about the possibilities of activism through artistic expression. A representative visited us from the Beehive Collective, an organization that creates murals depicting various social issues through a collaboration of various artists and political thinkers. These murals are presented as tools to engage people in schools, communities, and various social forums.

 

For our final RG vacation week, most of us headed to the Oaxacan coast to soak up the sun, sand, and waves, while a few others went to meet friends and family in other parts of Mexico such as Chiapas, Guadalajara, and the Sierra Norte mountains. One student even went back home to Las Vegas to attend a friend’s wedding.

 

We reconvened after vacation for a final few days in Oaxaca. Our last day there was spent at Gustavo’s beautiful home, where we had a day of lively debates about transportation and food policy alternatives, and were treated to a wonderful lunch cooked by Gustavo’s wife and friends. Next, it was off to Chiapas, with a stop along the way at Playa Cangrejo (“crab beach”) for a lovely day off at the beach. After a day of body surfing and frying in the hot sun, many enjoyed sleeping on the beach – both in hammocks and on blankets on the sand.

 

After our day off, we had about six more hours in the bus riding along windy roads on the way to our final destination: San Cristobal de Las Casas. We spent our first week at CIDECI, also known as Universidad de la Tierra – Chiapas, which is home to an indigenous intercultural system of informal education. CIDECI provides training in such areas as pottery, farming, carpentry, shoe making, electronics, mechanics, cooking, community radio, typing, sewing, and many others. Many of the classes this week emphasized approaches to bringing change and alternative ways of living back to our homes, as we began conversations about re-entry and how we will utilize the knowledge and experiences gained this year on RG.

 

An understanding of the socio-political nature of Mexico, and Chiapas in particular, requires knowledge of the history and influence of the Zapatistas. The Zapatistas are an example of a successful social movement that we have studied throughout the year, and we were excited to learn more about some of the people behind this movement. After driving for hours and witnessing our van break down twice, we finally arrived at a Zapatista Caracol. The Zapatistas, due to the nature of their movement, must keep their borders secure. We had to obtain permission from the Junto de Buen Gobierno (the Zapatista justice system) to receive official welcoming into the community. We slept under trees or strung up hammocks for the night and met with the Junto the next morning. The next few days were spent learning about daily life in Zapatista communities, their governance structure, and their perspectives on the future of their movement. After three days there, we proceeded to another Caracol where we were able to compare the systems of governance and daily life of each. It was a great learning experience to finally meet with some of the Zapatistas, which many of us had been looking forward to for the entire year, and observe how they live their daily lives.

 

Upon returning to San Cristobal de Las Casas from the Caracoles, it was hard to believe that we had just under two weeks left to wrap-up RG, finish final papers and presentations, survive the swine flu outbreak (only to soon find out that several of us instead had typhoid, amoebas, and other nasty bugs and bacteria in our guts), and say our (at least temporary) goodbyes, or as I prefer to call them, “see you laters.” We have spent the past eight months building our community – living, traveling, eating, studying, and working together in times of joy, sadness, frustration, inspiration, confusion, illness, hope, and countless other feelings. None of us know how we can possibly convey all that we have learned and experienced this year to our loved ones at home, but we promise to share our stories to help invoke stimulating conversations about the challenges and possibilities that we face. Our journeys throughout Mexico and the entire year have provided us with so much to ponder, as we think about how the experiences from this year will influence our plans to become inspired agents of change once we return home.

 

In closing out the year, thank you to everyone who has made this journey of a lifetime possible! We can’t even begin to express our gratitude. We send a big welcome to the RG 2009-2010 group and are excited for the adventures that await you!

 

To Smitu

 

namaste
here I stand among brothers and sisters
and I feel no hesitancy saying this, because we´re all baking in the same womb of these nine months,
we´re all planted in the same forest, with roots that are growing, trunks elongating, and leaves that are changing color.
and we´re only beautiful babies and marvelous trees because
of those nutrients fed to us in the womb and in the ground.

 

our papa...grey beard and khadi bound,
presented his home and opened his doors
as we feasted on his words of
peace in times of war,
hope in times of hopeless,
and dreams in times of the unimagined.

 

our papa...is not a world changer but a universe maker
and as we touched and smelled his world,
our worlds swelled with the brilliance of our papa.
the india he allowed us to tumble through does not exist as people or places,
but as rainbows of feelings and encyclopedias of thoughts.
it cannot be seen on a map.

 

our papa...gave us nutrients that made us explode with satiation
and a hunger for new thoughts simultaneously.
sitting on the dock of the bay, watching the effluent roll away.

 

life after death is hard for me to think
but of three things i am certain:

 

first, new flowers are fertilized at the base of the richness of the ashes scattered.
new colonies of bees are attracted to the flowers.
pollen spreads and food is given for the lives of more flora and greater fauna.

 

second, new thoughts are fertilized on the streets of mumbai,
the fields of maharastra,
the buildings of boston,
and the airs of oaxaca.
the tentacles of our papa continue to hold and cradle the minds of those influenced by
Smitu Kothari.
our papa is papa to millions, each with fertilized thoughts that blossom and continue to grow.

 

third, i do not sit among my brothers and sisters
but i must stand.
because i have been given feet that hold me and a voice that carries me,
gifts from our papa.
i do not raise a glass to our papa, but rather my fist.
my fist of remembrance, not in defiance, but in unity of fertilization.
we shall walk in peace.
life after death because our papa has given us life and we continue to live through our papa.

 

thank you smitu for feeding so many and making so many grow.
thank you smitu for the love and care you walked with.
thank you smitu for the mind that shaped india and built the world.
thank you smitu for being my papa.