A wonderful summer for books Part II

My true love in reading lies with non fiction. On pretty much any subject. I usually just read one book and that leads me to another and another, or I find one sitting next to it at the library or so on. I love reading non fiction because people are so smart and being able to expand your knowledge in an area is so simple with books! I just love how much knowledge there is in the world, I just want to read about all of it! Some highlights from this summer - 

Freakonomics/Super Freakonomics by Steven D Levitt and Stephen J Dubner : I started off my summer with these, and what a hoot! These guys have the most interesting minds to even think about putting these stats together! It’s one of those books that gives you tidbits of information that you can pull out later and sound either really interesting or kind of weird. Super Freakonomics = Super Fun. Check ‘em out! (At least see the movie, I heard it’s decent)

More than Good Intentions by  Dean Karlan and Jacob Appel. Freakonomics was created by someone who is a behavioural economist, and that area of study sounded really interesting. When I looked it up on the library database, this title popped up. With a subtitle like How a New Economics is Helping to Solve Global Poverty, I was obviously hooked. It is exactly what aid needs – a scientific study of the efficiency and areas of need of projects, programs and ideas. It presents real solutions that have been tested, and ACTUALLY tested, as in, against controls and everything. Most interesting for me and many I know – the section on microcredit. Clever people putting their smarts to very good use.

Another behavioural econ book – Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth and Happiness by Richard Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein.

So behavioural economics was one topic of interest for me this summer, another was food. In the last year or so I have become a serious foodie. So I read and recommend: 

Hundred Mile Diet by Alisa Smith & J.  B. MacKinnon. A very honest and real portrayal of this couple’s year of eating only food that was grown within a hundred miles of their Vancouver home. Definitely won’t be joining that extreme diet anytime soon but it did make me more aware while I was grocery shopping which is always good!

Food, Inc.: Mendel to Monsanto The Promises and Perils of the BioTech Harvets by Peter Pringle  Another book to film whose on screen version I need to see! But the book was fascinating, all about the pros and cons, benefits and dangers of genetically modified food, a very relevant topic for our GMO eating selves! (yes, you eat GMOs. All the time, I guarantee it.) I liked this book because it’s an easy bandwagon to jump on and so “No genetically modified foods at all! Evil!” but he doesn’t. He presents good balanced information, and it’s enlightening on the topic of how our food is grown and regulated in general!

More Food books: Food Matters: Guide to Conscious Eating by Mark Bittman (and now I have the accompanying How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by the same author! Thanks Sean!), Pandora’s Picnic Basket: The Potential and Hazards of Genetically Modified Foods by Alan McHughen

I also got into reading about Feminism this summer:

Grassroots: A Field Guide to Feminist Activism by Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards .

 Favourite book of the summer. Hands down. 

When I read, I know it’s a good book when I am writing things down, because I’m so inspired. I filled up 3 pages with this book. And had to reorganize them all later because I was so full of energy and ideas from this book. If you are a feminist activist, read it. It’s geared toward beginners in the area, but I think it would be a great read for anyone. They discuss their opinion on things I debate in my own head: the spirit of competition rather than support among activists, feeling like you can’t work on a project because you aren’t perfect in that area (ie – pro-fair labour practices but you probably still buy stuff from sweat shops sometimes), or the struggle many people, and particularly women, face about marriage or partnerships, children or no children, career or stay at home.. I could rave about this book forever. Got it from the library but will be getting my own copy. And don’t be scared of the “feminist” title, I’m sure you would be inspired whether you identify as a feminist or not.

Other feminist books:  To Hell With It: Loving and Loathing Your Inner Housewife by Caitlin Flanagan (Definitely not in my top books of the summer because the author with two young children is writing for other mothers, I was not her audience for sure. Probably better if I was). No Turning Back: The history of Feminism and the future of women by Estelle Friedman

Finally, in no category whatsoever: 

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. Fun book – lots of good ideas, lots of insights into how we can foster our own happiness and that of others, and some honest reflection on how trying to be happy all the time can be really hard! 

That was as short of a post as I could write  - just too many great books! Happy reading! 

A wonderful summer for books (aren’t they all?) Pt I

Now this post about my adventures through the pages this summer won’t be nearly as good as the incredible lit blog my brilliant friend Chris writes (that you should all check out here) but I’ll do my best to share some of my favourite reads over the past few months!

Ok first off, I read a surprisingly large list of fiction this summer, large being relative to the little I do usually. Not much for fiction usually, but I guess summer days are perfect for finding yourself in another world right?

Daughter of Fortune by Isabelle Allende. This woman mesmerized me with her TED talk, so I had to pick up her novels when I was at the used book store. She did not disappoint. A nice mix of history with her portrayal of the gold rush in California, personal relationships, and lives lived with limits – stories of a Chinese man captured and brought to America and the main character a woman who leads an interesting childhood only to make her young adulthood just as fascinating. Unlike any book I have read lately!

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins Have you read these yet? No? Do it. Seriously, everyone needs some young adult fiction in their lives and this is the one you need right now. Haven’t read the next two yet but will be getting on it soon. Devoured the action packed pages in a day. It's fast, fun, smart, and just a plain old good read. Also got my teacher heart excited with ideas about cool assignments students could do related to the book –anyone else? No? Ok… on to the next then…

Cry the Beloved Country by Alan Paton Re-read this one again this summer, it’s my second favourite book (after To Kill A Mockingbird). A novel written by someone who must be a poet, it reads so beautifully. It’s also real-life kind of fiction which is my favourite. It portrays life during apartheid in South Africa. Quote - 'Cry, the beloved country, for the unborn child that is the inheritor of our fear. Let him not love the earth too deeply. Let him not laugh too gladly when the water runs through his fingers, nor stand too silent when the setting sun makes red the veld with fire. Let him not be too moved when the birds of his land are singing, nor give too much of his heart to a mountain or a valley. For fear will rob him of all if he gives too much. 

Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut. After a very long time of people recommending Vonnegut for me, I finally took it out of the library and was not disappointed. Satirical look at the Western (particularly American) way of life, Vonnegut basically explains life and the day to day workings of people as if the reader is from outer space and has never heard of America. For example “Viet Nam was a country where America was trying to make people stop being communists by dropping bombs on them". Great for anyone who enjoys a good laugh at the typical western lifestyle.

Other fiction that I enjoyed but won’t get into: The Help by Kathryn Stockett,  Choke by Chuck Palahniuk (author of Fight Club) and Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy.

This post was originally massive, so I'm doing in two parts, ending Part I here. Next post will be all my non fiction!  

Gardening: The Verdict

Today is my last full day in Canada before I take off for Belize until January  - so I had to harvest the last of my garden, even though some of the carrots could have used a little more time.

Either way, it all turned out great! I had fun gardening, it was definitely a confidence booster about my gardening abilities. The last time I gardened, Kelsi and I were maybe 12 and we tried to plant flowers in a dead patch of ground next to my play house, but it was completely shaded by a) the play house and b) all the trees around it. It didn't seem to occur to us that sunflowers wouldn't grow without sun! So that was less than successful so I was a bit hesitant this year but wanted to try anyway.

And it worked out! Here's what I got (along with lots of pretty flowers all throughout the summer, including these white and purple ones that I will definitely plant again. They bloomed 4 times between May and August!)

 Tomatoes! 

These were ready first because I bought them already growing from the greenhouse in town. They were delicious but unfortunately I wasted a lot because I didn't get around to making salsa in time. Definitely worth buying already growing since I'm new to the gardening thing and they were pretty easy to keep alive. Just lots and lots of water since it's a big plant. Anyone have experience with those hanging ones from the TV? I wonder if those are good too..

 Sunflowers!


I only grew two, one in each pot, and they are beautiful! Next time I would love to plant a ton of these in the ground all along a fence. Just need to get my own yard...

Sunflowers are my favourite flower in the world and it made me so happy to see these bloom.

 Onions! 


Onions are probably one of my top 3 favourite vegetables I'd say - most things I cook have onions in them. And these were such a treat! I grew 3 per pot, which seemed to be the limit. They were so tasty in a curry I made, and then on nachos! Not going to lie, I definitely was eating some raw while I was cooking, they were that good.

Carrots!


These are just mini because I planted them in a short, long type container, so I got the mini versions. And they were just yummy! One of my favourite memories of my childhood is eating carrot's out of Kelsi's dad's garden. Pull out the carrot, wash it off with the hose, and chow down - best way to eat a carrot. Still tastes faintly like earth but always crisp and awesome. YUM! I pulled these right before we took off to drive to Edmonton, so they made a great car snack.





Things that didn't work:
-Squash.  I tried to grow two butternut squash plants, but they shriveled in the crazy heat we had in June. We didn't get rain for about a month and it was just too hot for them. Their poor little leaves curled in and died. Will try again next time and remember to shade them a little sometimes!
-Jalepeno. Ha ha, this was a long shot anyway. One tiny jalepeno plant - needed more attention than I gave it.

Dreams for future gardening adventures
- Bigger! I figure for the amount of work watering an extra dozen plants, I will definitely be making a bigger garden next time. Obviously it depends on my home,yard, balcony situation but this is the dream section right?
- Squash, potatoes and zucchini. More veggies are always a good thing!
- More wildflowers. I have a dream of a yard full of wild, local grasses and flowers - one day...
- Greenhouse so I can start plants while it's still cold in this canadian spring

So all in all, great experiences with gardening this year! Looking forward to trying it again soon!

What do teachers make ...

As the "happiest time of the year..." back to school commercials start to pop up on tv again (didn't we just leave?!) it's time for me to get ready to go back to class too - but in a totally different role this semester! This time I'm the teacher! For the next four months I get to hang out with a group of elementary school students in Punta Gorda, Belize!

I've done a total of about 10 weeks of teaching so far, grade 5 English and Math (the latter of which I had to pretend didn't almost kill me when I was in grade 5) and grade 7,8,11 Social Studies. But this time I get to start with the students, I get to be there with them until Christmas, in our own classroom, and do it my way the whole time. I. AM. SO. EXCITED. Seriously.

I have really enjoyed my two practicum semesters so far, but when you're there for such a short time you don't get to connect as much with the students as you would like. Don't get me wrong, some days, that last period (a double, 80 minute period might I add) of Japanese history with 13 year olds felt like it would never end. But overall, in and out in 6 weeks was fast, and just really doesn't give you a chance to see the students grow and learn the way you know they can and will.

And the way they grow is the reason I want to work with youth. I do want to teach, although not necessarily right after grad, but mostly I just want to be part of the education and growth of youth. Yes, "Youth are the Future" and all that jazz, but really - I love young people because most of them are so open to learning, to being good people and good friends. I love the opportunity that being an educator presents. An educator, and they come in many a form, can be there to show students the good in the world, to show them what great strides are already being made in medicine, social services, poverty reduction, conflict resolution... They get to show students what they get to be a part of!

This does mean that we must take on the great responsibility of providing balanced presentations of facts that include the injustices of the world. They need to learn about things like poverty in their communities and around the world, they need to learn that children their own age are sold by their families to work as slaves and that governments and corporations aren't always looking out for the greatest needs in society.They need to learn that the world is full of kindness and joy but also of hardship, cruelty and pain. Thankfully though, students also get to learn that they can do something about the bad parts, right now.

I was blessed to have great teachers, parents, mentors and school and community leaders, who were creative, joyful, and socially conscious. They showed me how I can learn new things all the time just by reading a new book, talking to people, figuring it out on my own... They opened my eyes to the hard parts of life - poverty, neglect, inequality. And they showed me how to be compassionate and how to take action.

So teachers (read: school teachers, parents, coaches, youth group leaders, and everyone else who influences youth) make a heck of a lot of difference. I hope to be one of those ones who makes a POSITIVE difference. Looking forward to getting another chance this September.

To close - here are two links.

The first is a link to my travel blog where I will share my adventures from Punta Gorda!

The second is a link to the ever heartwarming "What Do Teachers Make" video by Taylor Mail.