Traveling Insights: An Inside Perspective

So you know that scene in the movie The Holiday  when Cameron Diaz is leaving her winter home for the holidays, and she leaves behind the man she loves?  She begins breathing unevenly and is confused when she finds tears running down her face, and then she runs all the way back to the cottage to ask her love interest if she could stay through New Years. (This is a link to the scene in case you have no idea what I'm talking about) I felt a little bit like Cameron Diaz on Saturday, except my crying started before I even left my sister's apartment, and I couldn't ask my Uber to turn around and drive me right back so that I could extend my stay.  As we pulled away and kept replaying my sister's quivering lips as we said our goodbyes, I couldn't help but think about another epic movie scene, one I'm sure she will remember. At the end of Night at the Roxbury, Steve and Doug reunite when Doug shows up at his brother's wedding playing a song from a giant boomb...

Over the past few days I interviewed four people, ranging from a researcher to an employee with a non-profit to a city employee.  To say that our discussions were useful in helping me figure out all this food system stuff would be an understatement.  I think I've finally reached the point where I stop wanting to be a researcher and want to be doer in all the things I'm learning about.  It's not enough anymore to sit on the sidelines and write about all the freakin' cool stuff going on around me.  I've lost my patience!  Hence my decision to move to Minneapolis after I graduate from the University of Kansas to get some work experience in the wonderful field of food.  I'd also like to get more exposure to Hispanic culture, and I'm quite confident that I can do that there. Today's post I wanted to include some of the information I learned about honey, beekeeping, and issues of biosecurity in Melbourne and the state of Victoria.  The culture around hone...

Only two days away from leaving, I'm starting to make some very exciting and daunting conclusions/decisions: 1. Four weeks is not enough time to learn anything about anything 2. I'm moving to Minneapolis! 3. I probably should have focused on something specific within Melbourne's food system to make my research more effective.  Couldn't have known that until now, though. 4. Dryers are a wonderful invention. 5. Sharing my experiences with others is essential, especially when they are new. 7. Because 6 doesn't matter...Making time for family is essential, especially when I get along with them. 8. Filling out job applications is a tedious process.  Keeping my resume up-to-date and making a CV this year has saved me a LOT of time. Sister power! I've got a lot more to write about in the coming days/weeks.  Post your biggest takeaways from international travel in the meantime below!

Today's post I'd like to dedicate to all those involved in food systems work in Melbourne and the state of Victoria as a whole.  I realize that I've become so immersed in this world, but I haven't shared my master list of contacts.  For anyone who's interested in traveling to the area or finding a job in this field, I figure this would be helpful.  I've tried to give a brief description and organize them by theme as best as I could.  Most of the organizations will also have hyperlinks to take you directly to their website.  Enjoy! Food Waste/Redistribution Second Bite Works to reduce food waste by collecting it from various markets and redistributing it across the city OzHarvest Works to reduce food waste by collecting it from anyone who has it to donate and redistributes to charities across the city Community Gardens/Council Initiatives *Please note that this list is not comprehensive, but only represents the areas that I'm familiar with i...

Decided to combine two themes for today's post because they're both kind of short.  Early on in my trip I noted subtle differences in the use of language by Australians versus those in the States.  It was a pleasant surprise, and something I have continued to take note of during my time here.  The following phrases are just a few examples of how Australian English has a very light and chipper flavor: "Would you like me to top off your tea, ma'am?" "I've got to top up my myki today" (transportation card) "Cheers" (used often instead of thank you, hello, goodbye, good, okay) Word + "o"     Examples: cheerio, right-o Goodonya--that one's not necessarily as cheerful as the others, but still a very Australian phrase; hard to translate, but kind of used as "good job", or "good deal".  Very situational. Other things I picked up about Australian English are its relationship to aboriginal roots.  Examp...

I think the next few posts are going to be a bit shorter than the last.  Of course I say that and then 2000 words later I find myself back at square one.  In my worrying about not having a job yet once I get back to the states, I will happily distract myself by writing away.  I'm doing so at the Writers Meetup right next to the river in downtown Melbourne.  Belgian Beer Cafe.  I feel like an Aussie ordering fries with gravy and a pot of cider.  :) This post's theme is consumerism and of course, as the title suggests: the value of food.  My sister keeps making this comment about how she doesn't pay enough for food, which I know is the same in the States, but I didn't realize how BAD it is here in Melbourne.  Residents spend about 5% of their income on food here, compared to roughly 30-40% of American households.  How freakin' crazy is that? If you know a much (or as little) about economics as I do, you're probably also feeling slightl...

The title of today's blog post translates indirectly to "Careful!", which encompasses a lot of what I wanted to talk about today in relation to water.  "Agua" by itself means 'water' in Spanish. During one of my many explorations so far, water's drinkability and safety have come up in interesting ways.  Aside from my first introduction to water from my sister as "we've got some of the best tap water", I started to think about water in a new light. My sister is a chef at the Merri Table at  CERES , a Community Environment Park just north of where I'm staying in Fitzroy North.  Having gotten slightly depressed from the city center's cement jungle, it was refreshing to be surrounded by trees and all kinds of food plants.  In the visitor's center, the entire bookshelf looked my dream library, with topics on beekeeping, raising chickens, permaculture, etc. CERES is the name of the goddess of agriculture. It's also ...