I feel very lucky right now that I'm in a position to travel as much as I have been. I end up going someone else once a month, on average--not bad considering I'm in school. I think that's a benefit of being a midwesterner on the east coast; everything seems so much closer, relative to before. Next month I'll travel to both NYC and MN (NYC the first weekend in Nov, MN for Thanksgiving), and Dec I'll go to MN, Jan I have a conference in Cambridge, MA and may stop by NYC as well (especially since it will be winter break). That, on top of all the people I know who have traveled and share their experiences with me, make me feel like I have the whole world covered. Hearing the stories and being able to compare them seems to trigger something in me, some sort of understanding. Such as, "Oh! this thing I always took for granted, can actually be quite different than I imagined," or, "This is the same in a place so different? We really are the same in some fundamental way." So, so lucky.

I know a few people linked with Brooklyn community gardens and I want to check out that scene and any other ag-related things there, possibly this winter. We shall see... that's the big thing about my school, I guess. Lots of connections, opportunities for networking.