Eco Trip

What's the rush? Paula, a South African environmentalist, and I were talking about how people always had this desire for 'more' and they can't seem to stop and take a rest at this super fast paced world. They're like zombies.

Last March, I was walking with two foreigners, one is Irish, the other is Paula. The sun was setting at the right side of Mt Arayat - cool breeze carried the big owl over the ecovillage.

John, the Irish guy, was talking about the death of his grandfather and how he had a vision that one day he'll pass away at the top of Mt Arayat while looking over the village he built.

He is a designer practicing permaculture and you can see below the layout of the village last January.

So I took the time last Saturday for this Environmental Trip organized by our school's student government (this was the first time I actually "cared" about what they're doing)

and I was expecting a bit more from CELL (Center for Ecozoic Living and Learning). By the way, the organizers of the trip were all awesome and friendly:D

When I toured our "headquarters" or center in Nueva Ecija, I was on a kayak personally being toured by one of the owners.

When I toured CELL, ants bit my legs and the landscape seemed very chaotic.

I was expecting more beauty, and there wasn't much. Even the chicken agrees with me here.

It wasn't that bad. I mean, the facilitators were funny.

But I attended this series of seminars/talks by Fr. John Leydon (did I get the spelling right?) so their talk on the New Story of Creation and Permaculture made me fall asleep.

Good thing I was with my freshmen friends so we just played table tennis during the break.

No one knew how to play table tennis so we got rid of the table and it became a micro version of lawn tennis! :))

Everybody was a bit tired around 2pm

so instead of doing some earth care, which is like the main point of why we went there,

we just went home.

What made it memorable was not the place or the inputs they gave us, but the people I was with! It was fun hanging out with you guys again!:D

By the way, one of the organizers, Carlie, gave a beautiful prayer at the end of the session. It was moving - something about rest and stopping to admire beauty. And that I think is what I need most especially when college graduation is fast approaching and requirements seem to pile up quick.