spring spring spring
Spring break was exactly what i needed. Nearing the end of last quarter, i was becoming so frustrated with my school and art work, not producing anything I liked and not getting very far with any of it. Excitement ensued when i realized it was time for my road trip to San Francisco and Santa Cruz with two great friends. One of which is from "the SCO" (as some call it) so her family welcomed us with open arms. Her house was right near San Francisco State so it was a really nice location.
We ran around like kids in a candy store, exploring all of the different neighborhoods the city has to offer. We ate great food, our favorite being Naan & Curry, cheep and delicious Indian food. They have about 6 locations, 3 of which we went to. We browsed the anarchist book fair which was being held in the Golden Gate Park, right near The Botanical Gardens. We bought a lot of music at the famous Amoeba Records, which has a location in San Francisco and Berkley (we went to both). We explored the UC Berkley campus, trying to digest its enormous size.
My favorite part of the whole trip was riding our bikes everywhere, especially Critical Mass. It started raining and so the 400 or so people riding just got drenched. I was dripping from head to toe and loved every second of it. In total, we rode about 20-30 miles. We did similar things in Santa Cruz: explore, eat, shop, relax.
Eventually, the lovely vacation had to come to an end, throwing us right back into school. I have started my third quarter in Foundations Of Visual arts (FOVA) which is a studio arts program. Taking this program has become one of the best decisions of my life, it is so wonderful. This quarter has made me exceptionally happy because we are covering 3-D. We are going to explore clay, plaster, wood and metal, along with any other material we wish to work with.
Our first major assignment is to use clay to portray a narrative and im not quite sure how I am going to execute it. I will keep you posted!
Comments
Hey John,
Wow, great questions! Yes, we do have a community garden by the name of Demeter's Garden which is located just next to the organic farm on campus. Its a great place to get your hands dirty. I was in a program last year that was assigned to re-vamp the site spring quarter because it wasnt in very great shape. It was great fun and if im not mistaken, its still up and beautiful. We even built a cobb oven so you can have pizza parties!
Yes, we do have a community garden club called the Evergleeners who usually get together summer, fall and spring and help out on local farms, work with the community in building new gardens and various things of this nature. There is also GrUB which is a community garden just 5 minutes from campus which is wonderful. Ive volunteered there a few times and love it.
Yes, we do have a co-op, two in fact! Olympia has an east and a west side co-op (the westside being closer to campus). Its the only place i shop for food (with the farmers market being an occasional exception).
If you are a freshman, living in on-campus housing you are required to have a meal plan. This can consist of either strictly block meals (only eat at the cafeteria aka The Greenery), strictly declining balance (like a debit card and can be used at the various facilities on campus) or a mixture of both (the most common). The tricky thing with The Greenery is that there is always fresh produce, a great salad bar and such, but they dont specify if its organic which automatically leads me to assume that its not. Only because im highly skeptical with any food i eat and im a little neurotic. A good way to assure youre eating good food is either get a mixture of declining balance and block meals or strictly declining balance. This way you can have a fresh salad and various other options while having the ability to shop at the Corner Store which usually has fresh organic produce. If you have a specific health condition, you can get a doctors note and work your way out of your meal plan, but theyre pretty strict on who gets off so be careful.
I hope this helps!
Posted by: Amanda Hakan | April 10, 2008 04:36 PM
Hey AMANDA!
I'm a graduating senior at Jefferson County Open School in Colorado and am wondering about Evergreen State College and you seem to know what i want to know. In particular if ya'll have a Community Garden/Gardening Club. Next a Community Supported Agriculture(CSA) and or a food alternive Co-Op!?! I ask because i'm the main man when it comes to gardens at my school and am a perspective student. Also because if I come there do I have to eat in the cafeteria, is the food there organic/healthy?
Posted by: John Roos | April 9, 2008 02:43 PM
Hey AMANDA!
I'm a graduating senior at Jefferson County Open School in Colorado and am wondering about Evergreen State College and you seem to know what i want to know. In particular if ya'll have a Community Garden/Gardening Club. Next a Community Supported Agriculture(CSA) and or a food alternive Co-Op!?! I ask because i'm the main man when it comes to gardens at my school and am a perspective student. Also because if I come there do I have to eat in the cafeteria, is the food there organic/healthy?
Posted by: John Roos | April 9, 2008 02:42 PM