My Three W.E.X. Entrees

"Burning the Midnight Oil"
I was awoken by a hard sturdy shove, that sent me from the bed straight to the icy cold floor.
"Burning the midnight oil last night did you?" the man chuckled, with a voice that sounded as if he'd been smoking for the last fifty years.
My head throbbed, and body ached. Looking out the window I noticed that it had to be five in the morning at the latest. Wow, I thought, I had been asleep for an hour.
" Come on, no time for just laying there, we have work to do." His smile was cold, showed his yellowing teeth. He was going to make me work even harder I see.
"Grocery Bag"
I awoke in a large factory, many bags around me. We were all confused about where we were, and what we are for that matter. I knew I could understand the unspoken words around me, but words spoken aloud in some foreign language.
"This shipment's going to San Diego." What did that mean? What was a San Diego? All of the sudden I was shoved into a large wooden box, hundreds around me. It was so dark; did I turn off my seeing? Or was I seeing? I must have drifted into sleep, because I awoke somewhere new.
This new place was much different from the factory.
I was hanging from my handles on a small pole that stuck straight out of the wall. I thought. I heard a big huff from behind me and that's when I noticed that about ten of us were piled up on that pole, I was the first in the stack. Suddenly lights flickered on and very oddly shaped bags were coming into the store. They were talking aloud. How strange, I thought.
Utopia
There was a little town on the edge of the beach and everybody knew everybody. The sun was always out except for the few days it would rain. The sun was warm with a soft breeze. The water was crystal clear and the little fish that swam around where beautiful. There were little shops up and down the streets of this town, and there was nothing dangerous here, so a kid of any age could walk alone anytime of the day. The shops always had something interesting inside, lots of little businesses, the owner always smiling when you walked in.

The point of our herb garden is to learn about sustainability. As a class we learn about a family called the Dervaes family. We learned how they sustain themselves with the food they grow from their land. I think that Charlotte had us plant herbs in our classroom and make thing with the herbs, to learn that not everything needs to be bought from the store, where the produce is grown hundreds of miles away.

Link for BOTH recipes.

Tarak McLain, This I Believe

This is the link to the essay I chose. (CLICK HERE)

I choose this essay because I thought that it was very inspirational that, this now seven-year-old boy named Tarak, see what should be happening with the world but isn't. Towards the end of the essay Tarak says, "I believe war should not have started.I believe war should stop.I believe we can make peace." I see these few lines as what Ishmael, from My Ishmael, was trying to say throughout the book. He believes that we can fix what we have started. It amazes me that a seven-year-old boy can comprehend that the world isn't perfect, but many of the world's leaders still do not understand.

Baked Fudge (link one)
Mango Pomegranate Guacamole(link two)
These are both food blogs.:)

Sweet Basil(links)

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Basil-Burgers/Detail.aspx

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Basil-Pan-Seared-Scallops-over-Pasta/Detail.aspx

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Insalata-Caprese-II/Detail.aspx

All of these recipes call for basil, and my plan is to switch out the basil for sweet basil.

French Thyme(links)

http://www.healthrecipes.com/thyme.htm (bottom of page)

http://www.theppk.com/recipes/dbrecipes/index.php?RecipeID=105

http://www.letscookfrench.com/recettes/recette.cfm?num_recette=237

Again, all of the recipes here call for thyme, and I'm planing to use french thyme.

OB Farmer's Market

1. What is your name and your role here at the (farmer's market, CSA, community garden)? Crystal; sell honey raise bees and we do our own harvesting.

2. Why do you choose to shop here/grarden here/support this CSA?

I like being able to talk to my customers and I also do this at the oceanside and old town farmer's market.

3. When did you start coming here?

eight years ago

4. Do you garden at home? Why or why not?

Yes, I garden with my family; because I enjoy it.

5. How did you find out about this place?

through a friend

6. What would be your advice to get others to do what you do?

don't give up; good job

What truly struck me about the Ocean Beach farmers market was how kind the people were and how dedicated they were about their products. Going into a local grocery I find that the people don't truly care about what they are selling you, and care more about when you are leaving. I have been to a farmer's market before this assignment, but I never really realized how much better it was compared to an average grocery store.

I really enjoyed going to the farmer's market and I definitely want to go again. I found that the products at the farmer's market are much fresher than at the grocery store. Also I found it very comforting that you could talk directly to the person who grew and harvested the products there.

Shopping at the local farmer's market fits into our essential questions because shopping at the local farmer's market helps support our local economy.

Survey Post

I think the thing that struck me most about the data would be how interesting I found the results. I was interested in how, for example, a 32 year-old had many of the answers for the questions "because I'm broke." I also liked how everyone who filled out our survey, had answered the same question with a similar answer. The question was, " How do you feel about living green?" and everyone's answer was that they thought it was a great idea. Now I know that many people do want to make a difference, they just don't know how.

I was surprised about one of the results on our survey. The question was why don't you think that people don't try to make a difference, the answer was that it was too difficult for people, and that people are too lazy. I was astonished that people think that they can't make a difference, because everyone can make a difference, if they try.

My expectations of the surveys were much less than what we got. I was expecting less proactive answer, and more lazy answer, but I got the opposite.

I will definitely want to educate people on my findings with this survey. It would be interesting to write a letter to the governor about the result and tell him that we, Californians, are ready to take charge of what is happening with our Earth.

(picture: I used this picture because I thought that the girl in this painting looked surprised and I was definitely surprised by my findings.)

My Ishmael post

1. What are Ishmael’s two general rules on how to identify people from our culture? Do you agree with Ishmael when he says that people from all over the world are part of the same culture? Why or why not?

1. "They perceive themselves to be members of a race that is fundamentally flawed and inherently doomed to suffering and misery." " You'll know you're among the people of your culture if the food is all owned, if it's all under lock and key." I agree with Ishmael when he says that people all over the world
are part of the same culture because, all people have come accustomed to this culture.

2. Ishmael disagrees with Mother Culture’s voice that says that humans are inherently flawed. After reading through page 66 of My Ishmael do agree or disagree with him? Why?

I agree with Ishmael because, I don't think that anyone is perfect because if we were perfect we would find a way to live on this planet with out destroying it. I think that if we can find a way to go to the moon, we should be able to find a way to save this planet.

3. Ishmael uses a parable of Tunes and Dancers to explain his idea of Takers and Leavers. Who are these Takers and Leavers and how do they relate to American culture?

I think that the Takers and the Leavers are relate to people in our culture. For example, the Takers are the farmers that were trying to change the Native Americans in to farmers, aka the Leavers.

i. What does it mean to live sustainably?
ii. How much freedom and independence do you have as a 14-16 year old in our society?
iii. As a 14-16 year old, how can you currently live your life more sustainably?

i. I think what it means to live sustainably is to be able to support yourself and take care of where you live. For example, have enough money for gas, rent, food, etc., and also to be able to recycle.
ii. I think that in my society, i do not have think I have a lot of freedom. If you were to look at all the laws that I am expected to abide, you would be surprised.
iii. I think that as a 14-16 year old i can live my life more sustainably by taking care of the inviorment.