Johanna's pics

Hey Permies!!!

Well I just came back from the laundry room in the basement where I was standing with two other people from the house... one of them had put his jacket into the washing machine (nothing else) but for some reason it hadn't been spin-dried. So he pressed the button for spin-dry again and the time indicated was 15 mins. Ok so we were standing in front of the washing machine and did washing machine drum meditation... Ooom Shanti... After 15 mins the machine still hadn't started the actual spinning but just stopped. The owner of the jacket grabbed the dripping wet garment furiously and tossed it into the tumble dryer, turning on the hottest programme. In this time he'd probably have hand-washed at least three jackets of this kind was he living in India! :)

So, as one of the last PDC attendants (I think?) I have returned to the "minority world" and done my first trips to the supermarket again... It's pretty amazing to think how we probably eat food from at least five different countries a day... some products don't even say where they are from.

Sometimes I feel strange about being and thinking the way I am / do. I wonder if the "majority" in the West must not be right with their progressive thinking. But then I think it's not about right or wrong. It's just about doing what feels right for yourself and letting others do what feels right for them.

I also had to think of what Rico had said about Indian food... it's just different bacteria, not necessarily "bad" ones... in fact my stomach is struggling with the food here now! I got quite used to the "dahi" in India even though I had been vegan before... now I'm realizing that the yoghurt here tastes far more sour than dahi and also that my stomach reacts with soreness to it. So I googled about the topic and found out that dahi is far more fermented than our yoghurt so it has hardly any lactose left in it (in fact 80 % of people in India are lactose-intolerant!). Our yoghurt, however, is heated far earlier so the bacterial cultures are destroyed. This makes the yoghurt more durable but also influences the texture... so additives have to be added. In fact, when I read the additives added to any food product I'd prefer the "natural bacteria" in India to that...

I'm staying with my cousin in Copenhagen right now in order to visit the campus of the agricultural university in Sweden from here where I'm planning to do my master's in agroecology. I already contacted some of the present students through Couchsurfing and they told me it's just six guys in this year, but they are incredibly enthusiastic and welcoming... So it might in fact be the right thing for "university fugitive" me ;)

What about you guys? I'd love to hear from you... I heard a little bit from Mark... how are your and Simon's permaculture plans going? I met Sujatha in Mumbai so I know how she's doing as well... How about all the others of you? Looking forward to hearing from you, even just a short comment would be great... take your time... I did so too ;)

Until then - many permie hugs from me to all of you!!!