Let's Do This

After 45 days of farming, traveling and peeing outside, I was finally home. Home, sweet home. And after 10 hours at home, I was on an airplane once again. Airplane, sweet airplane. Except this time I was flying up to Ithaca, New York to visit the wonderful, amazing, lovely Sonya Boltansky, and where better to go before Hurricane Sandy than New York? Needless to say, the two days I planned to spend in New York became five. After three days in Washington D.C., I was on yet another airplane, this time to Chile. But before I move into part two of my trip and leave part one behind, it’s important to reflect on what I took away from my time WWOOFing.

To put it simply, I learned. A lot. Obviously, I learned a lot about organic farming while actually in the fields, which was not only a new form of learning for me, but also a super rewarding one. However, what I learned about organic farming is not the greatest takeaway, partly because I doubt that I will ever become a farmer and implement those lessons, but mostly because there are some much greater lessons that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.

I learned about myself. Throughout my entire life, I found myself, like many of my friends, wanting days of leisure more than anything. I would count down the days until summer break and rejoice on nights without homework. However, I realized that I am happiest when I am pushing myself. Days at Cloudplay, when we would work four hours a day and then lounge throughout the afternoon were not as rewarding and did not make me as happy as the days at Rainshadow, when we would work almost 10 hour days. Takeaway: I am happiest when I work hard.

I learned about privilege. Throughout the trip, Reed and I talked about how privileged we are to have the background that we do. Just experiencing other lifestyles within the United States, made me realize how fortunate I am to have gotten a great education from Field, have the means to travel and just have lived the lifestyle that I have*. Takeaway: I am privileged.

Just look at how adorable that dog is!!!!!

I learned about home. Although this trip reinforced my love of traveling and seeing other parts of the world, I realized how much I appreciate my home. There were days when we would sleep in cold, wet tents and wake up to a breakfast of oats without sugar, syrup or raisins, and I would want nothing more than to be home. Knowing that I have a place where I can always return to loving parents, a warm bed and an adorable dog is something I will never take for granted again. Takeaway: travel is fun, but a home is more important.

I hope that part two of my trip is filled with as many life lessons as part one. In Chile, I will take two weeks of Spanish classes in both Vina del Mar, an affluent city just north of Valparaiso, the cultural capital of Chile, and in the capital city of Santiago. Hopefully with the newfound ability to communicate and function in a Spanish speaking environment, I will travel to the Patagonia, the southern tip of Chile, for a week long expedition in Torres del Paine National Park.

My last view of the United States....

Although I write this having been in Chile for a couple days, I want to give you a touch of how I was feeling before I left. This is a never before seen, insider’s view of Matt’s journal on the airplane to Chile: “It‘s hard to tell if my sweaty palms are due to my clenched writing style or my nerves. I am incredibly nervous about the language barrier in Chile. Like butterflies in my stomach, pre track race nervous… Even though my gut feels tied like headphones in my pocket, my brain knows that this is going to be a great experience. It will be awesome to not only see, but live in a different culture and language…Let’s do this.”

*After attending the White Privilege Conference last spring with a couple of my friends through Field, I became conscious of my sense of privilege, especially with relation to race. On this trip, I focused less on my racial privileges and more on my socio economic and educational privileges.