Roadtripping on the Coast of Cali - Post 1

While there are those who cherish raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, I hold recycling on street corners and composting in restaurants in special favor.  As I become more and more steeped in food reform as a result of my current line of work, I am feeling captivated and intensely concerned about food waste and sustainability.  The whole recycling bit goes way back...since I was very young, if green bins were nowhere to be found, I would haul stacks of paper with me until I found an appropriate home for them. Unsurprisingly, I thought Al Gore was THE man.  More recently, on a trip to India, I was struck by a simple act of recycling - while visiting my mother's village, when I couldn't find the "dustbin" after lunch, I handed my plate to the servant and watched as he tossed the chicken bones and inedible stems of spices in the backyard.  Of course!  Was I ever a fool.  There was no sophisticated system of garbage disposal there.  Return what comes from the land to the land.  If you choose to bring in products wrapped in the likes of plastic from the city, then take it with you on your way out or risk "soiling" the pristine land - this observation made my own footprint so easy to understand.

Seeing the World, One Food Market at a Time

If you ever doubt that romance is alive, just read and re-read this kind, thoughtful, creative & innocent request posted on goodfoodjobs.com.  This man is keenly aware that he eats to live while his girlfriend lives to eat, acknowledges their differences and then figures out how he can still make her happy.  Just so sweet.

It inspired me to share some pictures from the fantastic food markets I've visited: Borough Market in London with hubz and Meera (easily our favorite venue on the whole trip); Old Port Farmers Market in Quebec City where hubby and I celebrated our 2 year anno; and, Jean-Talon Market in Montreal.  It was also a gentle reminder of how lucky I am for the many kindred spirits in my life.  And in case you are wondering - in the spirit of paying it forward - of course I am applying for the position of "foodie friend" - in fact I'm using this blog post as my submission!

No Hay Wi-Fi!?

Punta Arenas, Chile

I just don't get it.  When I was practically at the end of the earth, a stone's throw away from Antarctica, I was able to connect to free wi-fi and even FaceTime with my family from the airport.  On the other hand, when I'm traveling in the US, a lot of major airports only offer the kind of wi-fi that you have to pay for.  That's not the kind of wi-fi I like.

I was at a restaurant in NYC last night and the password to their wi-fi account was listed on the menu.  This really kind of struck me and I found myself wondering why Internet access is made so easy in places where we should engage in socializing i.e. restaurants and why there are barriers in places where we are often "flying solo" (ahah pun intended!).  I'm a social butterfly and have been known to make a friend or two at the airport, but more often than not, I'm doing my own thing when I'm there.  As I patiently wait in the boarding area (aka find a spot next to the gate entrance where I can hover and prepare to shove people out of the way so I don't get stuck checking my rollerboard!), I feel compelled to seem like I'm doing something important rather than just staring off into space.  I'm always wishing that I didn't have to ruin my already poor eyesight by squinting at my 4G-enabled phone while my shiny laptop tells me that Safari can not display the page.

On a slight tangent, I absolutely think American society, as friendly and outgoing as we are, has lost sight of the value of socializing in person for the benefit of our health and intellectual wellness.  I plead guilty.  Since reality says we are reliant on digital communication though, I do hope that airports and other places in America catch the complimentary wi-fi bug that has already reached the ends of the earth, but I also hope we can do a better job of knowing the time and place to use it.

Read this blog post my sis recently wrote called "Right There, but Unavailable".