construyendo!!!

Ahh! Nearing the month mark for my time on Granja Pintado. Things have been intense in many ways. Every day more and more volunteers show up from the US, Spain, France, and Argentina as we prepare to recieve over 200 people for the building workshop Bioconstruyendo. Every day is a time blur of work in the garden, on the building sights, hikes around the valley and the river, yoga, amazing meals, and music music music. There´s a girl from Alaska who plays Irish tunes on the fiddle and we´ve been having ceilis every night after dinner. I´m starting to get to the point where I feel really established and comfortable with my role on the farm and starting to form deeper friendships with all sorts of people. Things with Carolina are up and down. Some wonderful moments, some painful fights, but growing as people and feeling so grateful for this beautiful place, grateful to be alive and feel a whole range of emotions.
Last weekend we rented bikes and went to the nearest Mapuche community. The Mapuche are an umbrella group of indigenous groups that are the indigenous peoples of the south of Argentina and Chile and have a wonderful cosmovision involving each persons´personal spirit, Nehuen, and a strong connection with the forest spirits of this blessed land. Unfortunately, in Argentina they are hardly recognized and continue to struggle for land access. What´s more, the community we visited was one of many altered by evangelical christianity. The families have their own land and a decent quality of life, but the cost has been almost a complete loss of their culture since, after all, evangelicals view their traditional songs, rituals, and sports as witchcraft and barbarity. It was heartbreaking to talk to the elder leader whose eyes were very sad and took an interest in what we had to say about solidarity with other groups here, but you had the sense that he felt trapped by the teachings of the outsiders who came and built the church and helped them keep their land.
On a joyful note, we have made friends with a remarkable Mapuche woman, Moira Millán, who will be spending time with us on the farm during Bioconstruyendo. The other day she told us the history of the valley, which was a place of refuge from the Argentine army until the late 1880s when a spy named Perito Moreno learned the secret portals of the valley and the army came and massacred the inhabitants. She sand a song and told us to remember the spirits that are still present at our side in the valley as we do our best to restore and protect the land. Needless to say, having her here is a wonderful, inspiring presence.
Other than that, things are well. Hard work, delicious food. A glorious mix of emotions here. My plans are also now wide open. I´ll probably return to Mendoza for a while with Caro in a few wees, but I also would like to cross over and spend some time in the south of Chile. News keeps coming in about my future. I´ve been accepted in the masters program at North Carolina Chapel Hill and nominated for a full ride scholarship, so it´s entirely possibly I will be there in August. I´m waiting to hear from Fulbright, from UT-Austin, from Ohio State, but I´m also excited about the wokshop because a ton of people are coming from all over, from farms, ngos, etc. and who knows what connections I might get there.
Ahhh, so it´s good to be alive, to be young, to have adventures, to feel excitement, heartbreak, brotherhood, and spend my days working the earth.
Hope all is well in Missouri. Enjoy the snow, haha!!