Hello readers! It is I, Audrey, newly appointed scribe for the
2020 Arctic to Manhattan semester team. While I can not know and realistically
describe how each of the team members are experiencing the journey, I will do
my very best to reach some sort of average.
We all joined together on Monday the 13th, excited
and nervous for the beginning of a 5 month journey together. While some of us
have known for many years that we wanted to go on winter semester, others
joined in just days prior to the start. But now we all have come together, seen
each other’s faces for the first time and breathed out in relief. Like Oliver
Mednick, semester leader for the first two legs, says, “the hardest part of
going for a run is getting out of the door”. While I find the uphills hardest,
I, we, understand what he meant by saying this, the hardest part was getting to
this moment, now we just move forward. With the blessings bestowed upon us by
semester alum and the supportive arch of arms our parents raised to bid us
farewell through, we are well equipped for the long journey ahead (despite some
missing pieces of gear).
~We walk in beauty together~
Monday night after an introductory fire circle and campus tour,
among other things, we chose which chores we would be working on for the next
week. There is a plethora of options and I just can’t describe the enthusiasm
there was to be the one on farm house hormigas, wood yard, chickens, barn,
etcetera… at 6:30 in the morning.
After chores on Tuesday morning, we had a delicious breakfast
and learned about the flow of the day: Chores, Breakfast, 3 people on clean up
and everyone else goes on a sit-spot. For those who aren’t familiar with the
art of sit spotting, it is time taken purposefully to sit alone in the woods
and to think about or observe the world. Living in a tightly knit community is
an amazing, beautiful, lovely, joyful, humorous experience, BUT for our living
arrangement to work we need to take time alone and therefore practice the fine
art of sit-spotting.
Question for the outside
sit-spotter: Sit-spot with or without a journal? Eyes open or closed?(comment
below)
Sit-spot time ends with 15 minutes of journaling. Afterwards,
we hold morning meeting usually followed by some academics and exercise. Today
some of us went for a run up and down
and up and down and up Rogers
road (it was hilly). While those who didn’t win the running lottery helped
Misha, the co-founder of Kroka, paint colors such as “pure joy” and “oopsie
daisy” onto the walls of the food room. After our exercise block we all enjoyed
the opportunity to be the first semester students, first Kroka residents, to
use the newly finished (the door was hung right before we went in!) showers,
also known more commonly as the decontamination center. All in all an amazing experience
5 out of 5 soap bars, as the shower has a very luxurious feel to it with its
fancy tiles, donated by a friend of Kroka. If we could suggest any additions we
would go ahead and add some moss, spider plants, and a bath mat if we were
thinking practically. So if anyone has a spare bath mat that could survive 13
semester students, send it on over!
The rest of the evening was spent organizing lumber for the
construction crew and celebrating semester start with Lynne and Misha in their
beautifully crafted home.
We rose Wednesday morning ready, or maybe not, for a packed
day. We had our first french class with Sylvie, for some of us she was the
first non-stressful not-off the walls french teacher, for others she was the
first french teacher. We are learning french in preparation for Canada where we
will encounter french speaking people! WOW! In class we went over some basics;
very important vocab like “Je voudrais un chocolat chaux s’il te plait” and
“j’ai vu un grand lac dans la forest” and Eni-mini-mini-moe en francais:
“am-stram-gram, pikay-pikay-colegram...”.
After class we got ready for the big moment – the fitness test
(part of it). We were challenged to run the 5 miles down forest road and around
orchard hill bakery (without stopping for a snack) in under an hour. All of us
made it despite the red cheeks, burning lungs, sore muscles, and doubting
minds. In the evening we loaded ourselves into the van for the first of many
times and drove into the heart of Keene. Our plan was to get dinner at the Keene
community kitchen and then do service work in the pantry. While we sorted dry
goods by type, Phoebe, the woman in charge of it all, wove stories about the
food pantry, the building, the people that came there. These were stories that
brought both tears to our eyes and warmth to our hearts. We felt inspired by
Phoebe's ability to keep going, always having enough energy to help more people
in need. Another outcome of the trip is that thanks to Pele the classic orange
traffic cone is now an instrument which receives appraisal from passerbys.
 |
| Julia coming in hot with a win for the cardio! |
The next day, snow greeted us in the morning, both serene and
peaceful but also the gateway to exuberant shouts of joy and flying snow. We
made our way to the Beaver pond with snow shovels to clear out a skating rink.
Among us are both pro skaters and beginners. Afterwards you could tell the pros
and beginners apart by our gait, normal but awkward vs stiff and obviously
bruised.
Friday morning we left after breakfast to the Kohout home. We
arrived in time for lunch, bagels and cream cheese with a comforting lentil
soup created by the much appreciated and loved Jessy. We got right to work
after that on our knives and skiing practice.
Saturday we reached a point where our “knives” started to look
like knives and we could all ski down hills without butt breaking – progress.
By the end of the weekend we all have our knife blades. Now we
just need to sharpen them, make handles to hold them with, and sheaths to keep
them in, before gifting them to each other. When we started making knives we
pulled names out of a hat to see who we would be making them for. Most of us
decided to keep it secret so we only find out which one is ours on the day of
giving.
Jo, our semester long teacher, welcomed us back at Kroka with a
big pot of mac and cheese. While we will miss the wisdom and hospitality of
Micheal Kohout, Jessy Diamondstone, and Sam Foucher, we are happy to be back at
Kroka, a place we have begun referring to as home.
This coming week will be full of skate skiing practice in addition
to knife handle and sheath making with Laurel Iselin.
Sending all of you warm thoughts and toes! Until next week!
Your scribe,
Audrey
