Service Learning: Week 2

The temperature was low but the sun was bright. Kate and I were noticeably tired as we drove once again to the West Philly site of Urban Tree Connection. When we got there we saw Raheem. He told us he jumped over the fence because Que had the key. Kate and I waited until Que arrived to get in the farm. Raheem is originally from California and moved to Philadelphia about 5 years ago. Talking to him was interesting because I had already heard about him. Last week Que told us that Raheem makes fun of him because of his height. Mark, a guy from my class, told us that the two had a funny dynamic. He was right. Que and Raheem studied together and started to work at UTC at the same time.

The first task of the day was to once again uproot arugula in the high tunnel. There are two and a half high tunnels in the farm, all of which they themselves constructed. I say a half because one of them is still missing the plastic that protects the vegetables from the weather and retains sunlight. It is significantly warmer inside. I took my coat off and continued to work. Raheem asked us where we were from. Kate said she was from North Jersey and told him I was from Puerto Rico. "You're from Puerto Rico? You're not Puerto Rican, I know Puerto Ricans!" I chuckled. I can't tell you how many times someone has been surprised when I tell them where I am from. "Straight from the island," I replied. After the arugula we uprooted lettuce and some weeds that were growing on the side. When we were done there was nothing left except garlic, which is in season. 

Since the day got warmer, we went outside and uprooted spinach and asparagus. The sounds of an urban farm are different than the sounds of a rural farm. We all enjoyed the old school radio station that one of the neighbor's was loudly listening to. The way I see it,  they're sharing the music not bothering us.  We discussed about the real estate around the area as I struggled to take the asparagus roots from the frozen dirt. 

I had never seen frozen dirt so close. To be honest, I had never thought about dirt being frozen. Why would I? Frozen dirt has never been relevant. I never had to shovel or move it. Which takes me to the final task-- shoveling the divisons of the new high tunnel. Since the tunnel doesn't have the plastic the dirt was frozen and my arms were hurting. I wondered how many calories I was burning. After we finished, we left. When I went to class that day I looked at the dirt around campus and wondered how frozen it was. 

Service Learning: Week 1 (for real)

It was a rainy morning, but at least the temperature was warm.
Kate, my service learning partner, picked me up around 9:40 and we drove to the West Philly site of Urban Tree Connection. The person in charge of the site is Que, a 23 year old short black man who studied landscape design in trade school. Our first task was to uproot arugula from the fall to prepare for spring. Luckily, the Arugula was indoors. The mild smell of arugula and compost filled my lungs. Que was surprised that me and Kate were English majors. He said that he was thinking of majoring in English if he went to college. We talked about our favorite writers and poets as we stripped the land from its product. It took us about an hour to finish.

Que asked, "You guys need a break/want a snack?" Me and Kate refused politely. It stopped raining yet the day was gray. He showed us the outside of the farm. We saw where the garlic, spinach and carrots are harvested. As we passed by the carrots he dug the ground with a piece of wood  and gave me a carrot. Can I eat this? He said something about small children being freaked out when he ate it from the ground. I broke the carrot in half and couldn't resist. I brushed the dirt off against my sweatshirt and ate a piece. It was the freshest carrot I have ever tasted. He said it had more flavor because the leaves of it didn't grow. He gave a carrot to Kate and she ate it as well. "I told you we were having snacks," said Que.


Our second task was to make the doors of the plant house sturdier. We unscrewed the edges and drilled in new nails. After a few nails I got he hang of it. It reminded me of the work I did on Appalachia my sophomore year. Before we knew it, it was 1pm and our three hours were done. I was surprised how quickly time passed.

I'm looking forward to the spring a lot more now. Maybe working the land will give me a new perspective of the seasons. I don't know what will be the main lesson I get from UTC; but, I do know that this is going to be a great way to start my week.

Service Learning: Week 1

The sirens of the firetrucks woke me up around 3am. The house across the street was blazing. I have never seen a fire so close. The house is under construction so there was no one inside. However, the image of suffocating was implemented in my mind. I had a bad dream when I went back to sleep. My pillow had the scent of my perfume as I woke up because I received a text. I had to wake up in an hour for my first day of service learning. I was upset that I didn't get a good sleep. The text message was from UrbanTree Connection's site manager. She said it was too cold to work and we didn't have to go. Now, I was disappointed. I couldn't go to service, but I was glad could sleep in.

When I woke up I researched more about UTC. According to their website they are a "nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that engages children and adults from some of Philadelphia's most disadvantaged neighborhoods in community-based, urban-greening projects." When I think of farming, I think about my great-uncle. When I was little he used to grow plantains in Rio Grande, a town about 45 minutes from San Juan. My grandmother says tio Lilo would've had an important job in agriculture in Puerto Rico; but he decided to move to New York City, as many people did in the 40's. He always tells stories about his jobs at different factories and claims he learned Italian.  My grandmother was the only one of her siblings that didn't permanently move to the states.  I always wonder what Lilo's life would've been like if he stayed in Puerto Rico.

Back to Service Learning. I'm excited to start this week. Hopefully my next post will be more eventful.