I Run To You

Been waiting to use that song title...

As promised, pictures of my run this morning! Well it was more of a "run 500 meters then gasp and have to take a photo" kind of run, so it took me twice as long as it should've...

And there's Skipness. Told you it was small. 

Going a different route in Friday so even more exciting photos to come!

Got My Boots On

Woke up to a rainy morning here in Skipness. Also to over one hundred views in the past 24 hours! I'm about to hit two thousand page views since I've left, and we have added followers in France, Spain, Germany and Ukraine since last week. This is still a tiny little blog, with no quirky "thing" to attract anyone other than my family so it's a bit surprising! 

I have been to five countries (will be six), and twelve cities; all with just one rucksack. It's been seven weeks so far, with two to go and man am I ready to be back home. Not that I'm not having the time of my life, I am learning tons and loving Scotland. But there are people back home I really miss, and I am ready to sleep in my own bed. I'm only going to be home for two nights before galavanting off to New England for a month though... But it's still the US. There's froyo there!

So for those of you following along for the travel advice, I might be able to help you out with this post. Quite a few things are different than from what I thought, but I'm glad for all the preparation I put into this trip.

My rucksack has changed a bit since day one. It's without the packing cubes and shoes in this photo.

Probably doesn't look it to anyone other than me, but when you're carrying your life like a turtle, you pay attention to every tiny change. I've dumped the travel sheet; it was too bulky and I never needed it. Haven't needed the rain cover either, but that was $40 and it's small so I've kept it. I wish I had brought a travel towel, renting in hostels has gotten expensive. Picked up a couple tiny souvenirs, didn't have much room for anything bigger than five ounces. The packing cubes were definitely my best investment other than the pack itself.

If I hadn't gotten these, my god, I would be going insane from my clothes being everywhere! They keep everything organized so if I'm late to check out of a hostel, they're super easy to throw into my pack and go. 

I've added a soft shell jacket to the mix, thanks to Mandy bringing that over last week. Scotland and Iceland were my only countries following her visit so it worked out perfectly to have it later. Glad too, it's only 50 degrees today, we have the wood stove on in the living room. 

Because I only have two flights left, both with Icelandair (who allows two free check in bags, woohoo!!), I added a small carry on bag so I can bring back a few bigger souvenirs. 

Can fit in a couple bottles of something and my hat from Henley at the least. It's quite a relief to not have to worry so much about space and weight now. Pretty much everyone I've stayed with says, "wait, where are your other bags?" when I show up. And it's true, I can't believe how small my pack is sometimes. But we really don't need so much stuff all the time. 

When I was preparing for this trip, I of course read tons of blogs for advice and one of them said you should do your spring cleaning before you leave, and get rid of everything you haven't used in the past year. Because when you come back, it will make you sick how much stuff you own. And now I understand why. I did a bit of that, but the amount of rowing tshirts alone in my closet will make me feel guilty when I return. I've always been a light packer (not this extreme though), and when I would move from home back to JMU I stressed about how much stuff I thought I needed. But I really didn't need it. My laptop, a travel mug, more books, and a never ending supply of chocolate or peanut butter sandwiches would make my life easier on this trip, but I've gotten along just fine without those things.

My greatest difficulty while being away has been to stay in shape. Walking everyday has kept me fit, but my version of in shape includes lifting and rowing almost everyday... So it's been a struggle. I've been able to run a bit here and there, but when you're only in a city for three days you want to see as much as possible! Now that I am stationary for two weeks, it's much easier to get back into the groove; ran for a half hour today and boy did that feel great! Ended in a downpour on my way back though. Oh Scotland... Tomorrow I will take my phone so you all can see the amazing views from my running path. Get excited!

Today was mostly chopping firewood and ducking out of the random rainshowers with my books. Tonight will be dinner with the whole family and semifinal Cup game!

Until tomorrow;

Go out and eat the world!

Where the Blacktop Ends

I've decided to start naming my posts after country songs. Since my blog is named for the great Garth Brooks, it was only a matter of time.

So my last post was all about breaking free of "the plan." This upcoming year is going to be all about figuring out what I love. Most of the jobs I have now don't feel like work. I look forward to going to coach a practice, or to market, to the food tuck, or to my garage to repair oars. These things right now for me, are perfect. I enjoy the random spurts of working three 18 hour days and then having a few days off to head up to Baltimore. And all of these jobs allowed me to galavant through Europe this summer, so that's pretty great. 

Both Croker and my team require me to travel at certain times of the year, but the farmer's markets are kind of a one place, weekly endeavor. That's why I have loved seeing all the different types of markets while over here. My favorite so far has been Borough Market. It's privately run by a management team and council with representatives from the city and market. It's stationary and at the foot of London Bridge. It's been there for centuries! 

There's a great marketing campaign, complete with education services tailored for each class that wants to incorporate some part of the market into their studies. There's also a demonstration kitchen and monthly newsletter. It's all so amazing!!

Other than the reasons I listed before, there are even more to love this place. The infrastructure allows for the vendors to run their stalls like actual stores, so you get great variety and attractive set ups. All they have to do is pull the door at night, and voila! Ready for tomorrow. 

Mandy an I went on Tuesday morning and again on Friday afternoon. It might have been because I begged to go again that we did Friday... But it was worth it! We bought fruit and baklava, cheese and bread. For lunch I got Ethiopian food and Mandy had the salted British beef sandwhich. Both were amazing.

We could never do anything like this at the markets I work for now!

The structure of this market was so fascinating. I ended up talking to one of the managers for a half hour; she was super patient and answered my endless questions, even found some previous newsletter publications for me! 

So this kind of market has made its way onto my list of possibilities for my future endeavors. There is a need for stable markets in every city, and vendors need an advocate. I have always wanted to do something with green living/agriculture and the community. Farmer's markets keep me entertained so why not create something great that combines those two things? Just need to find somewhere to start... 

A quote from the good food jobs newsletter has been sticking with me lately.

"There's a world between all or nothing and that's where the magic happens." 

And that's exactly where you will find what you love. So if you're reading this and have wanted to try something new but wanted to have someone there with you? I'm your woman. Grape picking, paddle boarding, cheese making, tax audit classes, swimming with sharks, I'm up for it! Ok maybe not the sharks, I'm terrified of them. But other than that, it is the year of new things!!

So go out and eat the world!

Rain is a good thing

I am in Scotland. Working on a woodlands farm. Which has a castle, sheep, horses, cattle, and is on the sea. I'm basically in my dream come true. 

Everywhere you look are incredible views. There's not a direction you can look and think, "eh, I guess that field/mountain/stream/bay is alright, I'm not too impressed." NO! Each new perspective takes your breath away. 

The farm is called Skipness Woodlands and is on the Isle of Kintyre. Rupert and Anouk live here, where their family owns the estate of Skipness, which is about 100 hectares; a staggering amount of land for this area. The woodlands is being rebuilt by Rupert, to increase the diversity to benefit the ecosystem and also to create more economical trees (furniture and the like). I had to take a three hour bus ride from Glasgow to reach the town of Tarbert, and then we drove about a half hour out to this village. Only about twelve permanent residents... Yeah, it's tiny. 

The first day, we walked to the top of their mountain to see Aaron island, and the gull of Kintyre. It was a trek through overgrown ferns, Victorian landscaped stairs, and over little unpolluted streams. 

Everything is so beautiful, I have to stop myself from grinning when I remember it's in Scotland too. How crazy is that!

After the inspirational jaunt through the wood, we got down to business clearing and burning rhododendron.

This stuff is taking over the forest, and for new trees to thrive it all has to be cut back. So we did that for about six hours.. It was a tough first day. But today was nice and relaxing; I cut firewood, scraped windows and walked down to the sea. Dingo hung out with me all day and we had a great time.

Lots more to come, including hanging out with sheep, other wwoofers arriving, hopefully horseback riding, and collecting lobster pots. 

I'm off to go out and eat the world!

Found some Kraft Mac and cheese in London to eat here. THE BEST

All I Want To Do

The best decision I ever made (in hindsight of course) was to not go directly into grad school after JMU. It was a really tough decision at the time; most of the other psych majors were busy with admissions during our senior year, and it would stress me out just listening to their issues. So when it got to be too overwhelming to go to undergrad full time and apply for the next step, I stepped back and said, "I'll decide after graduation." If I hadn't done that, I would be in grad school for psychology and very unhappy. Instead I'm in Europe, learning different farming techniques and seeing so many places I always sort of thought I would eventually get to, but probably wouldn't if I had followed the plan. These two years in between degrees have been amazing so far, and I've gotten to figure things out in my own way. 

In the US, the time from school age to early twenties is pressured to be very structured. There's "the plan." Go to college, get a job/go to grad school, find a career, start a family, live in the suburbs. Northern virginia can be pretty relentless in that aspect. I'm sure wherever you're reading this, you understand that pressure or know your children do. In the past few years my career goals have changed from psychologist, government researcher, engineer, project manager, farmer, immigration counselor, artist, full time rowing coach, and about twenty other things in between. But it's taken me this full year to realize I can do pretty much whatever the hell I want to, and however I can. There actually is no "plan", and no one to make sure you follow it. Until JMU graduation there's always been some kind of safety net; someone somewhere is going to make sure I get across that stage. But now, it's all up to me (and my amazing parents that have let me live with them postgrad, but that's beside the point). If I fail, it's all on me. But that makes it even better when I succeed!

So the point of this rambling post is that I have had such an amazing time here in Europe, and it's helped me grow up more than four years of college ever did. Minus all the rowing club issues of course; because if there's anything that makes you grow up fast, it's having the whole team relying on you to get a boathouse built. 

Another thing I've learned is that no one uses their degree for their career unless you're medicine or law. There are infinite possibilities of what you can do with your life, and only so many degree options available. You could make a ton of money or just scrape by. Leave an impact with the world or with your incredible family. Love your job or love your hobbies. The college-career-family "plan" is not the only one. It's the right one for a lot of people, but don't waste your time trying to fit in if it's not the right one for you.

That's my advice to everyone following. Because that's what this year has been about for me; letting go of the stress and guilt of not following "the plan". Admitting to myself that plans change and it's not a bad thing. This next year will be about finding out what I absolutely love. I've made a lot of progress so far with that (check out my next post) and the best part is that I can find even more. 

For now, I'm hanging out in Scotland on the most remote island you can be on, helping restore woodlands that were home to primitive people in the Bronze Age. And there's a castle. More on that later.

So go out and eat the world!