Food and Community Submissions 2024
On a Hike, 2024
The Nopal (cactus) comes from the Nahuatl word nohpalli. In Mexico it is a common ingredient in numerous dishes. The nopal pads can be eaten raw or cooked. Also edible of the nopal is the fruit, tuna (prickly pear). Nopales are generally sold fresh, cleaned of spines, and commonly used in Mexican cuisine in dishes such as huevos con nopales (egg with nopal), tacos de nopales or in salads with tomato, onion, and queso panela (panela cheese). I disliked eating nopales as a child, but LOVE them as an adult. Be sure to try them next time you visit Mexico.
Kos, Greece, June 2024
Kos is the home of Hippocrates, father of medicine; the island is full of beautiful ruins and archaeological sites.
Paris, France, 2024
Picture of other students from America having dinner at our studio apartment.
Costa Rica, June 2023, Photo 1
This photo is from a Global Leadership adventure trip I went on in the summer of 2023 to Casta Rica that focused on environmental stewardship. We volunteered for Guanacaste water center where we planted trees and learned how their community reaches their sustainability goals. These photos are from our volunteer days where we planted trees with the help of the organization owners Maria and Alberto.
Costa Rica, June 2023, Photo 2
This photo is from a Global Leadership adventure trip I went on in the summer of 2023 to Casta Rica that focused on environmental stewardship. We volunteered for Guanacaste water center where we planted trees and learned how their community reaches their sustainability goals. These photos are from our volunteer days where we planted trees with the help of the organization owners Maria and Alberto.
Costa Rica, June 2023, Photo 3
This photo is from a Global leadership adventure trip I went on in summer 2023 to Costa Rica that was focused on environmental stewardship. During this trip we were volunteering for the Guanacaste Water Center. On this day we visited an elementary school and got to work the students and help plant trees around their school and prepare compost for their schools garden. This picture is of my friends on the trip and I with a few students from the school, these girls were so sweet. This trip will always have a special place in my heart and I was always be thankful for this experience.
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Summer 2024
Amazing Vietnamese food with amazing people.
Seoul, South Korea, Spring 2024
In Korea, I learned a lot of people my age take photos called MZ shots where it is taken on top of our heads and we don't look at the camera. A usual go-to pose is a peace-sign. In this photo, my friends and I took an MZ shot of ourselves and our food!
Cape Town, South Africa, January 2023
In 2023 I was blessed to receive the opportunity to travel to South Africa along with 10 other peers from my highschool, to engage in acts of service within underserved communities within Cape Town and Johannesburg. While I was not originally close with many of my peers, through our lang and hard days working together we grew bonds with eachother that can never be broken, and I will forever have the country and the people of SOuth Africa to thank for that.
Yokohama, Japan, Fall 2024
I brought my compact digital camera on this trip in an attempt to catch some grainier photos to capture the “Japanese aesthetic.” I think I ended up doing a pretty good job of it as well (of these respective areas, at least, not of the whole country).
Czechia, April 2024
Every step in a folk dance, every note in a traditional song, is a tribute to the generations who kept these customs alive.
Czechia, March 2024
The cutest Easter treat on the table.
Guanacaste, Costa Rica, Nov. 2024, Photo 1
This photo is of my dear friend Maria. She has this incredible essence that animals are innately drawn to. In this picture specifically, we had the opportunity to go with our holistic health class to a farm in Miravalles, Guanacaste here in Costa Rica. We not only learned but immersed ourselves firsthand in the practice of “alternative medicine”. We learned to utilize the earth, our bodies, and our minds to bring nourishment to every aspect of our wellbeing. While at the farm, I saw Maria connecting with the goats behind the fence and I could immediately tell that they having a moment. It seemed as if these two beings were spiritually reciprocating a sort of mutual respect and love for each other, as the goat closed its eyes and bowed its head towards Maria’s. I believe they recognized something in each other and felt belonging in one another.
Guanacaste, Costa Rica, Nov. 2024, Photo 2
This is also at the farm, however it was taken when we were deeper in the rainforest. We had done an exercise where we had partnered up, one person with their eyes completely closed, relying solely on their senses and trust for their partner. The other guiding the blinded partner down a trail while ensuring their safety and paying attention to their bodily state. We ended the trail at this enormous ceba tree, standing over 280 feet tall and encompassing over half on the pathway. It was breathtaking. We had all sat in a circle while our director facilitated vibrational cantations from a metallic bowl, our eyes closed and our spirits restless. We could feel the power of the ancient tree through its roots, through its veins, even through the soft, greens, slightly-slimy moss that adorned itself on the tree’s fingertips. In that moment of physical touch with the tree, I felt a familiarity (that seems to be a common theme on this trip) that did not require any previous experience. The essence of the rainforest: the water pitter-patting down on my back and the gentle sound of the riverflow, was taking care of me. I was not a tourist nor a loony guest hugging a tree for fun in the rainforest. I was a belonging of nature and being in tune with the Ceba Tree and honestly, the lush natural tranquility of Costa Rica helped me realize that.
Modena, June 2024
Finding home in fresh berries.
Jeonju, Korea, 2022
Chomp Chomp