Spicy Contacts and Chicki Minaj - RUAB Brooklyn

So yesterday started with a rude car alarm awakening; today wasn't the pleasantest either. Remember those peppers from Phil's delicious dinner last night? Apparently the spicy stuff in peppers stays on your fingers for quite some time, which makes for difficulties when taking off, and especially putting on contact lenses. Oh, the burning! Like yesterday, though, bad beginnings weren't indicative of what was to come later on. We had our last delicious breakfast at the New York Loft Hostel and said our tearful goodbye to what was the most unexpected and delightful surprises of the trip. In the minivan taxi, air laden with the smell of Ocean Mist Car Fresheners (there were at least five hanging in the back, smacking Randi in the face with every jerky acceleration) and Spanglish spiritual songs, all six of us, I'm sure, were wondering what today had in store.

We rolled up to Wingate High School and, seeing that we were early, took extensive pictures taking advantage of the scenery and the murals on the school. Stacey Murphy, the founder of BK Farmyards and my new role model, arrived not too long afterwards and thus began our work day. She gave us a nice tour and dropped some sweet knowledge about the garden itself; for instance:

-Wingate High School is situated on one of the best patches of land in Brooklyn, thanks to its origins as a pig farm
-the garden gives students opportunities to learn more about sustainable agriculture, but also grows crops for the community and offers urban farmer training for adults
-the garden focuses on soil-based farming on the ground (as opposed to hydroponic, rooftop farming, etc.) because of all the magic that goes on thanks subterranean ecosystems; plus it's cheap!
-one handful of ground soil contains more microbes than there are humans on earth!
-ground-grown crops are more nutrient-dense than rooftop crops, which are both way more nutrient-dense than what you'd normally find in the grocery store

She also took us around the garden and gave us different plants like sorrel, sage and parsley to try. We headed thereafter into the greenhouse (whimsically named Harriet the Hoop). We sat in a circle on milk crates and talked about what problems we face in the food system and what food justice means in a very real sense (for some definitions generated by our own members, check out our Twitter @RUCommService). She put her efforts and those of other urban farmers in the larger context of food justice and we got into a really stimulating and heated discussion about a wide range of things all encompassed by food and food culture. Also, she talked about how much her students love and are edified by the garden, and how gardens that involve student efforts put power back into their hands. They're involved in all aspects of food production (like naming chickens after flavor-of-the-month pop stars and using mathematical principles to build plant shelters in the garden) and provides a more holistic sense of education. All such awesome and really crucial dialogue!

And of course, a work day wouldn't be complete without work; our main efforts of the day involved turning compost to help the decomposition process. Lots of sweaty work, but (safe) tomfoolery helped get the job done with smiles all around. The day passed by super quick and we were soon on our way back to Manhattan. No subway mishaps or getting lost this time around, and we jetted to Breeze, a Thai-French restaurant where we had our final debriefing and last dinner together as a group. Under dim lighting and over plates of steaming curry, we reflected on how much we accomplished and learned in such a short amount of time. I can personally attest to how much closer these issues and these six individuals got to my heart within the span of days. Indeed, food, something absolutely essential to life, has gained a more comprehensive social, political and communal frame thanks to this Alternative Breaks trip. Thank you to everyone who made this possible, and to you for reading! Stay excited to hear from winter break trips, coming up so very soon!

THE POWER IS YOURS!

Democracy and Leadership, indeed!

Guess how many tries it took to get this one right.

Stacey Murphy showing us some beautiful beds

An informative and thought-provoking workshop inside Harriet the Hood!

The right ratio of greens and browns

Coffee chaff - good browns, great photo op!
 

Things are getting steamy!
 

"American Gothic"...

with a RUAB twist!

What is food justice?

Yes!

Someone said GMO.

Car Alarms and Magic Hands - RUAB Brooklyn

Before I get to the first full day of our RUAB, I exercise full rights to roll over stuff that happened yesterday after blogging. Excited for what would happen today and slightly delirious from late night hours, we somehow transitioned from our True Colors activity to a full-on dance party, featuring our very own Phil as our personal dance instructor. Salsa! The Spongebob Shuffle! The Cupid Shuffle! Filipino Line Dancing set to "September" by Earth, Wind and Fire! How multitalented are we?

Afterwards, we went off to sleep in anticipation for a great day ahead...only to be awoken by a car alarm. Three times. But the morning was to be saved by a beautiful and unexpectedly plentiful continental breakfast thanks to our hostel! Yours truly enjoyed a peanut butter and banana sandwich, an apple and some vanilla chamomile tea. Fully fueled, we headed out for the day. Thanks to a ride on the L train and a Google Maps-guided walk, we passed by several community gardens before arriving at East New York Farms. What did we do at this beautiful garden you ask? Closing down operations for the winter, we harvested spinach, turnips, peppers and bok choy, dug up roots and cleaned out plant beds. Alongside our team of six were several individuals in high school and college volunteers. One student wanted to study culinary arts in college; another volunteered because of his deep connections to East Brooklyn. During our lunch break, we explored the farmer's market featuring all local products. Thanks to the predominantly Jamaican population, our group enjoyed jerk chicken, plantain chips and ginger basil juice in addition to the peanut butter and apple butter sandwiches that we'd packed for lunch. We nabbed some vegetables, too, for our dinner later on. In all, it was a beautiful thing to be able to serve and give back to the community with members of the community itself.

After a slightly extended but by no means bemoaned work day, we headed home with some small snags along the way (Phil and Alex didn't get off the subway train quickly enough and had a brief adventure and some stimulating conversation, apparently. No harm done, though, and it made for some good laughs during reflection!). We made it back safely to the hostel and, after a quick nap, gathered the remaining materials for dinner and got to work! Working all together to chop, boil and simmer, we mede a wonderful batch of whole wheat pasta with vegetable-laden marinara sauce. Around then, lots of hostel guests started to gather in the kitchen (today, we met a couple Austrians, some Spaniards, a Polish woman, and some Americans - something that's been relatively rare during our stay). Coincidence? I think not. I personally shot myself in the foot by chopping up FOUR WRINKLY, SPICY PEPPERS in my pasta, but that made for a memorable dinner with frantic "this is hot" hand gestures and frequent sips of orange juice. We headed upstairs for a great, engaging reflection session, going over our high points, low points and general expectations for the trip. After talking as a group tonight, I feel fortunate to be able to share this great experience with such a quality group of people all passionate about the same things. Indeed, whether it be for a few days or an entire week, any amount of time spent serving alongside these wonderful individuals would be too short. Tomorrow's our last day on the trip - keep checking back to see what we encounter in the fantastic city of Brooklyn!

Encountering some beautiful graffiti along the way...

We're here!

Bok choy's some fun stuff!

Stomping down compost - jumping on beds trained us well for this moment.

The Phil Action Cam (that didn't really work but made for great headgear nonetheless)!

Kimber hard at work!

Getting in touch with our spirit animals at a park on the way home...

A panoply of colors and flavors that led to...

a beautiful dinner, thanks to Phil!

True Colors and Aussie Travelers - RUAB Brooklyn

Hey all! This is Sam and I am one of the six members who are currently in Brooklyn to pursue urban farming and food justice. I, as well as Kimber, Phil, Randi, Alex and Beverly (whom you'll see more of in later posts and pictures) are sitting around the table after going through some wonderfully pizza-y post-dinner eats and getting to know one another better by means of a True Colors activity. If you're looking for an easy way to get to know people, by the way, run an Internet search for "True Colors" and thank me later.

I'll backtrack a bit, though, to encompass the earlier bits of today. We left Rutgers after eating some delicious multicultural burritos from the student center and arrived in Penn Station around six. Navigating the subway afterwards was quite an adventure but we eventually got to Brooklyn safe and sound with nobody left behind! Despite the frosty weather, it was exciting to walk down the artfully graffitied streets. After backtracking, squinting at distant street signs and making sure to look both ways before crossing streets, we got to the New York Loft Hostel. Trendy and spacious, beautiful and welcoming, this in all aspects surpassed any expectations I had for a hostel in the city. The only slight against the place would be the winding corridors and stairways that seem to transport you to someplace unexpected. Easy to get lost but more to explore! In fact, just tonight, we met a group of Australian travelers in the communal kitchen. They told us about how riots are generally rare in Australia; we tried to explain where "Old" Jersey went. Indeed, the magic of hostels and cities showed itself to us on just the first day, bringing peoples of all cultures together and finding commonalities across borders. Overall, this was a great prep night to the rest of the week, Brooklyn welcoming us warmly as we hope to give something back in the next couple of days. Keep checking in with us here and on our Twitter (@RUCommService) throughout the weekend; it'll get a lot greener from here on out!

Top from left to right: Alex, Beverly, Kimber
Bottom from left to right: Phil, Randi, Sam

What would a train ride be without some fun picture-taking at the expense of your co-leader?

The New York Loft Hostel!

Smells like True Colors....

Bonding activity or primitive torture technique?

Cinnamon bun! Thanks to Beverly's friend for what was our morale-building secret handshake of sorts throughout the weekend!