domingo, 13 de mayo de 2007

Laura Kathryn´s Report


August 2nd, 2006

Nervous for tomorrow. A farrago of emotions I feel now strangely in my feet. Portland is so beautiful, with the rosy blue fog a soft cover for Mount Hood and two young stars beside gleam bright. I want to talk with someone who loves me. I want to calm their fears. The sun sets here as I write – colors unduplicable. Hours to go and I’ll be skipping into time… the closest to time travel there ever will be. Now I catch smiles from strangers, but I know that I will soon lose all my words. “Don’t think, only feel”. I pray I am kept safe and will read and remember these precious documented thoughts. My eyes are open and my mind is free. This writing revives my core and in spite of my grounded self, I am ready to take-off.

August 3rd, 2006

It has been just minutes in Costa Rica, but I feel sad. And alone. 10 months to go.

October 22nd, 2006

I’m writing today because I can hardly handle the machismo bullshit of this entire culture that I am just so unconnected with. It can I suppose, just be considered old fashioned for a middle-aged man to give up his seat on the bus to a completely healthy and able-to-stand 20 year old woman. Their prerogative, I guess. It is tolerable to see in this culture outside, on the bus, random gestures of antiquity. However, it is right ...

(click to read the complete report)

http://www.mediafire.com/?rf57ne2s8pyg67a

Photo: Bananas´s saleswoman, Hampi
Courtesy of Beatrice Velarde (www.beatricevelarde.com)

Margaret Halliday´s Report


At the tender age of fifty-one I became a ‘wwoofer’ (a ‘willing worker on an organic farm’, or, more recently ‘world wide opportunities on organic farms’). This organisation has mushroomed since it’s inauguration in 1971 in the UK (1974 in New Zealand). By the way, ‘organic farm’ is a very loose term, encompassing family gardens, retreat centres, schools, communities, hostels plus guest houses with attached land, market gardens, crofts and, of course, farms.

The concept is simple; the wwoofer works 4-6 hours per day (one, sometimes two, days off per week) and in return receives accomodation and food. However, much else is exchanged between host and worker- a wealth of experience which is hard to define.

My introduction to wwoofing took place in New Zealand, commencing in late January 2002. I flew to Auckland from Bali, part of a round the world trip and planned to mix work with travel during my five month stay there, both to keep costs down and allow me to digress from the well-trodden tourist circuits of the North and South Islands. Before travelling I had joined the Kiwi branch of wwoof for a sum equivalent to £15. In return they sent me a booklet detailing all the hosts, with a short description, location and contact details. This can be done online through their web site at
Http://www.wwoof.co.nz.

After a couple of days, rested and recovered, I started phoning hosts in the Northland area, in the far north of the North Island. I was surprised to discover that there were a lot of people around with similar ideas to mine! All the places I contacted were full! On hind sight it would have been better to have e-mailed them. Fortunately, one host gave me a contact number for a friend who informally took wwoofers. I phoned him and in no time had organised to ...

(click to read the complete report)

http://www.mediafire.com/?9042syu5l4hlfju

Photo: Ripe wheat
Courtesy of Beatrice Velarde (
www.beatricevelarde.com)

Raquel Gonçalves`s Report (NEW-in Portuguese)


Conhecer o México por Chiapas é um belo exercício de alteridade. A descendência maia está estampada na cara de cada criança que se vê, a cada passo que se dá na rua. O país é jovem. As crianças estão por toda parte. As ruas de Tuxtla Gutierrez, capital do estado, e São Cristóbal de Las Casas estão cheias de niños. A maioria estão trabalhando. Vendem artesanato enquanto cuidam também dos irmãos. Brincam nas praças e ganham o dinheiro para a próxima refeição. Achei que não me depararia com a multidão esperada apenas na Cidade do México, afinal, são 19 milhões de habitantes em todo DF. Mas por aqui também tem gente saindo pelo ladrão. Ruas sempre cheias de gente andando, muitos carros, ônibus, topics. Todos buzinam descompassadamente. O trânsito é completamente louco. E pasmem, aqui no México não se faz prova prática para tirar a carteira de habilitação. O pedestre está sempre em atenção constante (...)

(click to read the complete report)

Photo: Puno´s Market
Courtesy of Beatrice Velarde (www.beatricevelarde.com)

María Laura Ise´s Report (in Spanish)



Son muchas las impresiones que deambularon por mis adentros durante un breve paseo que emprendí junto con dos amigas de Chaco y un amigo del DF hacia Playa del Carmen y luego hacia la vecina Tulum. No caí en la cuenta rápidamente del nudo de imágenes y de detalles que iban apareciendo y se iban acumulando hasta que ayer, a varios días de regresar y animada por un diálogo con Bruno amigo de Puebla, reviví ciertos aspectos que no dejan de llamar mi atención.

La idea era pasar el fin de año en este “bonito lugar con playa”, o así era como yo lo recordaba, y encontrarme de paso a dos amistades que están viviendo allí y trabajando hace un tiempito. Todo se mezclaba con un vaguísimo recuerdo de unas ...

(click para ver relato completo)

http://www.mediafire.com/?01fhomt6or4jrh9

Foto: María Fernanda en su ventana, Livingston
Cortesia de Beatrice Velarde (www.beatricevelarde.com)

Marcela Valera´s Report (in Spanish)


Hace ya más de un año trabajé en una organización que inició un nuevo modelo académico: un campus flotante en el que más de 200 estudiantes de licenciatura y postgrado, maestros y tripulación de más de 50 nacionalidades interactuamos durante 4 meses. Gracias a este crucero universitario estuvimos en 11 puertos: Hong Kong y Shanghai (China), Bangkok (Tailandia), Chennai (India), Victoria (Islas Seychelles), Ciudad del Cabo (Sudáfrica), San Vicente (Cabo Verde), Barcelona (España), Estambul (Turquía), Lisboa (Portugal) y Ámsterdam (Holanda). El promedio de estadía en cada país fue de 7 días. La experiencia fue emoción pura!!! Lo mejor para mí fue haber convivido y escuchado a personas tan fascinantes, apasionadas ...

(click para ver relato completo) http://www.mediafire.com/?22pjfh4ttrvz79y

Foto: Mujer andina, Perú

Cortesía de Beatrice Velarde (www.beatricevelarde.com)