Welcome!
I will be using this blog as often as I'm able to keep friends and family updated about my upcoming travels in New Zealand. There are so many tools to stay close to people who just so happen to be a cool 8000 miles away. Please comment on the blog or throw me an email (silberschmid@wisc.edu and/or feelthaboogie@gmail.com). I'll hope to have more information about a phone later this week.
Here's the skinny on my trip. I will be spending the upcoming 6 and a half months in New Zealand through an exchange program called Willing Workers on Organic Farms (Wwoof). I'll be working on several different organic farms across the country as a volunteer, assisting in anyway the farm owner may deem necessary. It seems like most of the work is 4-6 daily hours of harvest work on small scale farms, but also anything from weeding, installing renewable energy systems, cleaning, and so forth. In return, I will be taught all sorts of green farming and construction skills, get free room and board, and lots of tasty tasty food. It seems like a great program, a cost-effective way to travel, and a phenominal opportunity. Many more reviews to come...
My father is driving me from Madison, Wisconsin down to Chicago one week from today. I look forward to a long train trip across the country to Los Angeles going down to San Antonio, Texas then along the US/Mexican border into California. A very frontiersman-y, intrepid, and fitting way to start this whole trip off. I am staying with my dear chum Dan Foster for a few a days Koreatown, which is a neighborhood located between downtown and Hollywood. On February 2nd at 10:30pm, my flight leaves, Auckland-bound, with a 3 1/2 hour stopover in Nadi, Fiji. I'll get to the Auckland airport 12:50pm (their time, 18 hours ahead of us) on August 4th. I have reservations for 2 days at City Garden Lodge hostel just west of downtown Auckland for a slick 54 New Zealand Dollars (about $30 US). Very fortunate that the US dollar is strengthening right now, so my money will go almost twice as far there. The first farm I'm staying at is the Caretaker farm located 50 miles north of Auckland. I'll be staying with a woman named Audrey Sharp who owns the farm with her mom for at least 2 weeks. She teaches a class on NZ tax policy at the University of Auckland which is convenient as she'll graciously pick me up and give me a ride. I'm excited to meet her and learn from her. I hope to travel south relatively early in my trip as it is currently summer there and weather will be most permissive. Like all good jazz musicians, I'll plan to do quite a bit of improvisation. Truly, this will be a lifetime experience to remember.
I write this immediately upon watching the inauguration of President Barack Obama, an experience which brought me to welcomed tears. Just about the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. I worked for a few months going door-to-door for this man and it is sure the sweetest thing to see such a dream animated. He is as articulate a leader as I've ever seen, who addresses every issue with inspiring depth, clarity and compassion. It will be hard to leave my country at this exciting exchange, but I leave confident that time away from home will compound the drive to better the USA when I return. My mom usually tells me it is good to leave a good time when it is in full swing because that's just how it will preserve in your memory. Plus, I think my travels will really give me a lot of tools and insight into what I'll pursue when I get back. It is not new to say I am an optimist, but Obama actualized a part of my generations hope in a way that will be celebrated by history. He spoke to the world and knew just what to say. And he was right. Doctor King was not shot and killed, he was a dream and he is president. Slaves helped build our government buildings, but a generation ago black Americans could be jailed or beaten for attempting to visit them. Today is a beautiful day, I have to get out of my house and celebrate! I hope you do too.
Peace,
Joe
"Recall that earlier generations faced down facism and communism not just with missles and tanks, but with the sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead they knew that our power grows through its prudent use. Our security emmanates from the justness of our cause; the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint. We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort, even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people and forage a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat and roll back the spectre of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waiver in its defense. And for those who seek to advance their aims by using terror and slaughtering innocence, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken. You cannot outlast us and we will defeat you. For we know that our patchwork heritage is a STRENGTH not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth. And because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we CANNOT HELP BUT BELIEVE that the old hatreds shall someday pass, that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve, that, as the world grows smaller, OUR common humanity will reveal itself and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace. To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict or blame their society's ills on the West, know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who came to power through corruption and deceipt and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history, but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist. To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work along side you. To let your farms flourish and clean waters flow. to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can now longer AFFORD indifference to suffering outside our borders nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. FOR THE WORLD HAS CHANGED and we must change with it."
A change is gonna come
The change is here
OBAMA!
