Full Moon Wild Women's Night

NOvemer 5th 2006
A night of laughter, food, Good company and bicycles!!!
As a second year student at Prescott College I had noticed there was something missing n my life. Life has been so chaotic & rushed with working, class, african dance and planning for my year long journey to New Zealand. I needed relaxation, more laughter, more potlucks more bicycles....MORE female energy in my life. It is so easy to get sucked into the everyday routine and to become oblivious to what your mind and body need. The only thing that has been keeping me balanced this semester has been the joy of African dance and the community that comes with this. My body was sore and mind in overload. I needed the simple things in life that we often take for granted...loose leaf tea, chocolate ice cream, a fire circle, story telling, the full moon and a the new community of beautiful cycling women. And i got just this on this celabratory evening of wild women and la luna. The most exciting part of the evening was when 12 out the 16 women bundled up in wool hats & mittens, headlamps and christmas lighted bicycles to embark on a howling journey through down town Prescott. Little did we know that our howles would interrupt the filming of some reality show. When we realized this we decided to add a little jazz to the scene and peddaled our way past the blockades in howels and laughter. Maybe we will be in the bloopers. An enchanted evening of wild women & critical mass.
I recommend if you havent had a women's gathering to do so. The collaborative of women and the full moon is most healing.

On this rainy eve...

Why hello everyone!!!
i write to you from the puddles!!! We just had a down poor that some were saying may turn into a flash flood. yikes! I suppose i should update from my last posting.
SUMMER
After just a week of potlucks and hiking with family and friends in good 'ol NH I was off on another adventure. I embarked on a two week cycling journey down the west coast of Ireland. I traveled with two dear friends of mine from NH- Tim & Owen. We camped on the Cliffs of Mohr surrounded by wild flowers and waking to the dew making its way through our sleeping bags. We explored quaint villages such as Doolin and Killarney National Park. These are just a few windows into our trip. We also picked up a bit of Gaelic and enjoyed some of the best Irish folk tunes...EVER! After this green adventure music and community spiraled throughout my summer. The most memorable of shows being Radiohead, beck, and Hot Buttered Rum. And let me tell you, if you want to hear some good energy bluegrass check out HBR. Not only are they beautiful musicians but they are environmentalists too. Their tour bus runs on veggie oil. They have even performed at the Orphium in Flagstaff. Hopefully they will be coming through again. Check them out at www.hotbutteredrum.net

From the beaches of Mexico to Snow covered cacti and the strokes

MEXICO...this spring break I had my first experience in the colorful Mexican culture with 4 lovely Prescotteers. WE drove 10 hours to Kino Bay where the college campus is located. We then drove to San Carlos and spent the rest of our days basking in the sun, kayaking the Sea of Cortez, horseback riding through the Sonoran Desert where we saw the remains of the Catch 22 set.We also had a scenic bike ride through teh fishing villages. WE camped out on thw white sand beaches and stuffed ourselves silly with authentic mexican food each night. Now we are back in Prescott and events are being cancelled , schools delayed due to a powder dust of snow. Some people are even too nervous to drive. i chuckle because I'm form NH and we were driving to schhol with the power out and multiple cars off road. On the other hand there are some excited comunity member that are making a festival out of the snow- snowmen, skiing, sledding and snow with maple syrup.
Tonihgt: we will be driving to Mesa to see THe Strokes. Woohoooo!!!!!

March Madness

March in Prescott, Arizona. It is gorgeous here...78 degrees. We kicked the month off with an art collective fundraiser for the Laboratory, the community art space. The mixed medias covered the walls, there were poetry readings, independent films, dances,3 talented bands and foooood. One group of artists danced around in a multi-colored maze of shirts. There were about 7 of them frolicking around the room with all of there shirts sewn together at the hands. Later on in the week the local info shop-the Catalyst- held a community vegetarian Bar-B-Q. There was a kickass bluegrass-punk band and a community bike ride. Just yesterday afternoon, myself and 3 other women joined Brian on Granite Mountain. He has set up a few weekends of trail work for the community, as a part of his senior project. Leaving there mountain covered in dirt, sweating, exhausted and feeling great! It feels so good giving back to mother nature and having the hikers pass by and really appreciating our work.
what's to come:
Spring Break!!!!
Next week students will be rushing to Kino Bay Mexico to bask in the sun, kayak, and enjoy a week of complete relaxation. Others will head to the coast to surf & paddle, climb at the Promised lands and Joshua Tree, skiing in Colorado, and relaxing in Prescott. When we return there will be a festival in celebration of Spring. The day will entail local musicians, the arts, trade and barter of jewelry, clothes,movies, books, music, and a gear swap. If you are interested in Prescott College check us out on our preview days. There will be free food .. ahhah, mmmmmm.
preview weekend:
March 25 & 26
April 22 & 23

Backcountry Skiing & Avalanche Training

Why hello there,

I just returned from a month long adventure in the mountains of Idaho. The class consisted of myself, 8 Prescotteers and 2 instructors. we toured from yurt to hut and lived simply with everything on our backs. we even had a few winter camping nights where we built quinzhees(snow shelter like an igloo). The mountains were beautiful-the Sawtooths, Pioneers, Boulders and White Clouds. One yurt stands at 8900ft, secluded from the life in the valleys. it was here that 5 lakes surrounded us and the gray wolves, elk, snow shoe hares roamed. our instructor Francie spotted some mountain lion tracks just 50 ft from the yurt, which lead to a kill...an elk. Can you get any more experiential than this?
each day we awoke to a woodstove fire, hot brew and whatever the cook crew has prepared for breakfast. After breakfast we all had to do our parts whether it was clean up, chopping wood, snow collection for H2O or tending to the fire. then we would strap our skins on and head out for a glorious day in the powder. on our day tours we were"mastering" the tele turn (with a few face plants in between) and studying avalanches. we dug pits, identified terrain, snow packs, map navigation, winter adaptation skills , winter ecology, beacon searches/avy scenarios, and lots more. i was with an amazing crew too. most nights we would be exhausted after skiing all day, finishing up chores, and student presentations so wet supported one another in massage.
When we were in Hailey Idaho we met some locals who told us that it is the most snow they have had in 50 years and the coldest it has been in 10 years. which made for great and safe skiing, but not the best conditions for the avalanche curriculum. we only spotted one slab avalanche the entire month. After a month of simplicity in winterwonderland we were certified in level 1 Avalanche Awareness for backcountry skiers. i highly recommend taking this class if you are interested in Adventure Education. Or id\f you are reading this and want to do this with friends/ family or solo be in touch with Joe & Francie St. Onge. they are the two enthusiastic owners of Sun Valley Trekking. Check out their website. http://www.svtrek.com/winter/education.html

Great News! Raina Rose will be returning to Prescott in April to put on another amazing performance. Speaking of performances we have had four amazing shows in the past five days. The first being the art show with beautiful paintings, photographs, still life and even a dress up box model. She had a treasure chest full of belly dancing bells, fur(not real of course) coats, make up/body paint, tape, bubble wrap and wacky thingermabobs. She had a sign that read
"dress me up and then pose me." She was a big hit at the show. After the art show the comedy group did stand up, improv., monologues, and skits. I was laughing so hard that my laugh was in silent mode. on saturday evening the African Inspired dance class put on a colorful show. they had made their own costumes-orange, red, yellow, bright blues and greens with tribal make up accentuating their smiles and energy. they danced to a tribal drum circle; one guy was drumming so hard he put a whole in the drum! Towards the end of the show one of the dancers did a solo...to Michael Jackson's "Beat it." When the show had finished the dancers went into the audience inviting the crowd th join them to the African beats. it was the most beautiful dance performance i had ever been to. Lastly, the dance & improv. class danced to the 5 rhythms and put on a poetic performance. We have a strong dance community here in Prescott and everyone is welcome. Tuesday evenings we have a free African dance jam with a drum circle known as Village Life- so check it out!
Happy Holidays!!!!!!!

cHAOS IN NEW ORLEANS

We (myself and 13 other PC students) arrived back in town late Sunday evening, after spending our Thanksgiving break in New Orleans helping with the relief. This week long adventure was nationally known as the roadtrip for relief. And changed the lives of hundreds of volunteers and community members. It is hard to share my experience with others because I'm still processing the madness of it all. We worked with volunteers who had traveled from as far as Canada and organizations such as Code Pink, Common Ground Collective, Animal Rescue and The Rainbow Kitchen. Most of our time was spent gutting out houses which required protection from head to toe. We geared up in white suits with hoods; gloves, rubber boots, gloves, goggles, and respirators. And still people broke out in mold rash. It never ceases to amaze me how corrupt the Gov. really is. The police have been on a power trip accusing and throwing in jail innocent people, writing outrageous tickets for double parking, and harassing the volunteers; not to mention the other "things" they do that I cant talk about. It has been three months since the levee break brought dervastation to New Orleans and there's still so much to do. The lower 9th ward which was hit the hardest has seen the least attention and is in the most need. There are children walking the toxic streets in slipper socks bc they lost EVERYTHING. When I was working in the distribution center i overheard a little girl asking her gram, "When will New Orleans be fixed?"
They need people now! When the Tsunami relief effort reached its 3 month mark they were farther along then New Orleans, and they are a poor country. The differnece being COMMUNITY EFFORT. I strongy encourage all of yuou to help ourt community. It is a life changing experience. Some may be concerned with the price but it doesn't cost much at all. Once your there and plugged in you have a place to sleep and food is distributed. Just bring boots and a sleeping bag. For 14 of us to drive out it cost about $900 which we fund raised. Get donations from your community and help with the relief. A great organization to plug into is Common Ground Collective. If you have any questions or need more info. on organizations to get involved with feel free to email me.
bballa@prescott.edu