Off to Ecuador

I’m still figuring out the Deep Green thing, so I’ll post more about that when I get a chance to sort out my thoughts and write them down in a coherent fashion. I’ve been sort of preoccupied with the minor fact that I’M LEAVING FOR ECUADOR IN TWO DAYS. That’s like, really soon. So this is going to be my official goodbye entry. Of course, I’ll be updating in Ecuador a ton too.

I’ll be in Ecuador for four months on a study abroad program. The first two weeks, I’m working on a permaculture farm and wildlife refuge called the Hacienda Ilitio. I’ll spend two weeks taking care of animals, building fences, planting crops and doing a bunch of other manual labor that I’m not in shape to do at sea level, much less at 10,500 feet above sea level. This farm thing is not part of the program, so I get to travel there by myself, which involves finding a bus in Quito that goes to a fairly rural remote area and not getting lost somewhere in between. If I manage to survive two weeks without getting altitude sickness, starving to death (food is not provided) or acquiring an intestinal parasite, then I move on to the actual study abroad experience.

My study abroad program is focused on “comparative ecology and conservation”, which is a fancy way of saying that we get to go to a diverse group of gorgeous places, including the Galapagos Islands, and learn about how they’re being systematically destroyed and (maybe) how we can slow or stop that process. Naturally, I’ll be busy depressing everyone by pointing out that problems of degradation are systemic and necessary components of a larger industrial capitalist system, and that if we want to meaningfully address conservation, we should probably reconsider some of the systems that make it impossible.

Per usual, my biggest problem with packing has been deciding which books to bring. In general, I try to bring books that will enhance my experience in the country I’m going to. Part of this involves not bringing anything that’s likely to shake up the status quo in my brain too much. Illuminating or entertaining is fine, but anything that’s going to make me completely change my dietary habits or convince me overnight that the only way to fix the world is to start a violent revolution is generally out. Except that right now, I’m in the middle of reading a bunch of introductory anarchist books, which is sort of at odds with my usual rules. My final picks for the semester are:

2666—Roberto Bolano

Year 501: The Conquest Continues—Noam Chomsky

Of Love and Shadows—Isabel Allende

Post-Scarcity Anarchism—Murray Bookchin

Social Ecology and Communalism—Murray Bookchin

A  Neotropical Companion (required for the program)

Animal Factory—David Kirby

Anarchosyndicalism—Rudolf Rocker (I got a Spanish copy, so this is totally legit)

I have a bunch of Kindle books too, including some stuff by Emma Goldman and Peter Kropotkin. Plus a book about humor in Hitler’s Germany, which is going to be awesome. I think I’ll have a good amount to read, but not so much that I get overwhelmed and forget to experience Ecuador and learn from non-text sources.

I might post before I leave about some environmental/philosophical stuff, but if not, then I will see you all (my lovely loyal readers) in Ecuador!