So Many Ways to Enjoy

A lot of good things have sprouted up this spring.

Still A Nature Girl

- I got an ipod app called "LeafSnap" from UMD/Columbia University tha

t has been teaching me a LOT about leaf and flower identification. Everytime I go for a walk or drive around, the greenery around me is popping with life because I know the names of what I see. We have also gone morel mushroom hunting - less successfully than GROWING them, mind you! -- but learning to hunt helps necessitates easy spotting of may apples and tulip poplar trees. Found some beautiful, leaflike yet showy flowers while hiking in Patapsco State Park up in the McKeldin area -- introducing the cobra lily:

Best part of our hike? My bum knee wasn't hurting after 5 miles. Physical therapy is paying off!

Trees (in America) I can more or less identify in nature now, thanks to LeafSnap:

Sycamore, Elm, Cherry, Mulberry, Maple, Japanese Maple, Oak, Beech, Dogwood, Pear, Magnolia, Tulip Poplar, Ginkgo, Sassafras ... but I'm still working on learning the variations better!

PS. Did you know Ginkgo trees are also called Maidenhair? Go figure. My hair doesn't look anything like a fan!

Still Crafting One Knit Wonders

- I've been mixing craft mediums for variety: I made a friend a yarn jellyfish for her Birthday, then crafted a gift bag to give it in!

- My loud, printed Malawian fabrics have finally inspired me to sew them into something useful. Thanks to $1 pattern sales at my local sewing store! Here's a shirt I made recently.

3rd Goal? Check! You Have Fostered World Peace.

- I went to my high school to speak with 3rd graders about Peace Corps. Come again? McDonogh has pre-K through grade 12, though I was there for upper school only, I have some connections in the lower school. Those little 3rd graders were pretty excited to hear more about what 'helping people' in action is, as well as contributing to a toothpaste/toothbrush drive for Dental Hygiene Month (October) my friend Mary is conducting in Malawi. Those who want to contribute should do so before July 15th!

One thing that stood out: kids in America are SUPER sharp. I was absolutely overwhelmed by the degree of engagement these kids showed. When I asked, "What language do you think they speak in Malawi?" one girl gave an answer that was a great guess - Swahili. Great because that's what they speak in Tanzania next door, and because it's what a huge majority of people DO speak in Africa. What a difference for these 3rd graders to learn in their native language -- and private school education doesn't hurt, either! Walking in, their hallways were absolutely crowded in achievements, inspirations, and arty creations coming from every classroom, not just Joan's art class.

Cultural Outings Etc.

I love going out to dance, and I like to get silly too (but you wouldn't know it - I drink much less than most people I'm social with), but I suffer existentially past the hour of 9pm when it's impossible to have a real conversation at a bar or a club. Thank goodness for events with actual content:

- The AVAM's Kinetic Sculpture Race! Gotta love Baltimore for wacky, fun exhibitions. This one took the form of an overland/overwater parade. Check out some of the moving sculptures that made it through water and mud:

- Nerd Nite at DC 9. Nerdy but fun! 200 other young geeks and I learned about microscopes and dinosaurs, competed to win fake mustahces, and laughed nervously about the legend of a paraguayan god with a 10 foot penis. We lucked out and got some live music out of it - an indie pop band from Brooklyn. Thanks to Jen for the tip!

- Passport DC Embassy Tour. Last Saturday, we traipsed around the Dupont Circle area in rain and shine seeking to gain entrance into some of the elite and well-guarded 1900s-era mansions now occupied by foreign consulates and embassies. Botswana was definitely the coolest, keeping it low-key yet inviting and informative. Leather mini-skirt wearing ladies stomped a familiar dance while older, rounder women ululated and I couldn't help but join in. We went up to the fourth floor to get some food and tried the staple - mealie pap with cream and oil, which was quite nice - with some pulled pork relish and doughnut morsels. Sound like a more sophisticated version of Malawi? Precisely. Cool fact: Their word for rain is 'Pula' (sim. Mvula), which also doubles for the name of their currency.

Other embassies we went into were high tech, including their security setups (the Japanese physical therapy robots were totally worth it!), tasty (Haiti had some passion fruit punch that was out of this world), and laden with tourist eye candy (beach after beach in the Croatian vacation pamphlets).

Next weekend: Asian street festival!

More Productive Things

- I've got a temp opportunity brewing for the summer. I won't jinx it by naming names, but it's a chance to come back to one of the places I've temped at and do some necessary office caretaking for them for a perfect 2-5 days a week. I'll help fill in for people taking vacation, and staff the front desk and phones Friday evenings (most people leave early.. but I'm happy to work it!). Huzzah! Sounds like I'll be doing more around town - it's high season for free stuff! Movies on the lawn, jazz in the sculpture garden.. give me my summer fun.

- Volunteer (Wodzipereka: one who gives themselves): I'm going to get involved at ECO City Farms, an urban farm I heard about from one of the girls in the soil lab Devin works in. They do a lot of things we do at home, but on a bigger scale: vermicomposting, mushroom cultivation, etc. Should be fun!

Working It: Recent Temping Tales

I work as a temp, and I probably will for 3 or 4 more months. Sure, I could have hoped for more in terms of my post-Peace Corps job - and I had fun going to interviews, even received a few offers - but life gets in the way. We will be going to Grad School out of state, so getting a long-term job here in Maryland isn't in the cards for me right now. I like my temp agency - good location, wonderful ladies, even when some of the clients I work for aren't guaranteed to be the best. I like the on/off schedule because it gives me frequent breaks. Just how I used to study in college! And it's exactly what I need right now. In Malawi, it was culturally uncomely to work like a slave, so I got used to a relaxed, social, friendly work atmosphere. Here, it's almost a polar opposite. People are social to a point, but the main goal is to Be Productive. For Eight Hours Straight. That's hard to maintain! So, breaks are great. The main downside of temping is that health insurance is up to me, and even finding the time to go see the doctor (all 5 types of specialists that were recommended by my physician - ugh!) is difficult to arrange.

What have I done so far as a temp?

- Receptionist at The Textile Museum - 1 day. Beautiful little museum a short walk from Dupont Circle. Answering the phone and greeting visitors was a relatively straight-forward job. I got tripped up when the exterminator came by - I definitely didn't have the authority or desire to consent to spraying chemicals everywhere.

- Receptionist at an International Aid Org - 1 day. It was isolated up in that office - few outside visitors came in. Mostly answering the phone and forwarding calls, plus unlocking the door, over and over. Lots of cool international staff. But at least I got to chill on the internet and read the news. Easy, nice folks.

- Events Help with an International Relations / Political Interest Group - 2 weeks and 2 days. Great people - I loved how they kept calling me to come back, until the night of the event. I called tons of congresspeople / senators' offices schedulers trying to shore up attendance for the event, subbed in as the receptionist, did some data entry, etc. It didn't even matter that the interest group was Republican-leaning!

- Data Entry at a Food Bank - 3 days. I learned a lot about data entry, but I also learned that I am not a happy worker with a supervisor looking over my shoulder and stressing about time. Apparently I was so efficient that I did a 5-day job in 3 days: I got a call after my 3rd day to let me know I was no longer needed. It wasn't a great feeling. But I guess some people haven't had a lot of experience hosting temps - note to self, for future endeavors requiring extra helping hands: do not abuse power over someone else's hourly wage!

- Accounts at a Large Newspaper - 3 days + ? This is my current job. I'm sorting through invoice papers to find specific rogue retailers who don't keep good records of how much they owe the paper company. It's fun because I get to listen to podcasts while working, they fed me cake, and I have another intern around to chat with. There is also potential for extending!

Sprouting for Spring

We're getting leafier and leafier around the apartment in anticipation of spring! Here's what's sprouting - and what we can't wait to start cooking with:

Bell pepper sprouts: The two sprouts remaining (from a group of 11 that we grabbed out of the compost bin) are getting to be robust! We started them on a diet of boiled water because it looked like they were having some salt issues.

Lime tree: lots of new leaf growth! And a new 'sunbathing collar' that we can thank UMD trash for. The older, larger leaves are ready to go into a Tom Ka soup - they smell amazingly lime-y!

Baby worms hatched! Hoping our vermicomposting rate will go way up with those voracious little guys helping out.

Mushroom kit arrived - It currently lives in the fridge to simulate "winter" and will come out soon. The shrooms will use up more of the boiled water, apparently due to salt sensitivity. Right now I'm just saving water in a paint bucket until the shrooms are ready to come out of hibernation. I'll take pictures as it gets more interesting.

We planted some sweet potato leaves "kolowa" to see if we can get the vines going. Check out the leaf-mulched container too - that's the ginger, which is shooting like crazy. Should start leafing soon?
Lastly, the blueberry tree (seen as a stick-like thing to the right of the sweet potato vine): it's budding like crazy under the CFL lights we put on it all day. But I learned that we need a *pair* of blueberries to get any fruit! So we will have to go get him a ladyfriend pretty soon.