My future time in Italy

A few years ago I came across this thing called WWOOFing, which stands for World-Wide Organization of Organic Farmers or Willing Workers of Organic Farms. You subscribe to the country's WWOOFing organization, they send you a list of farms that take part in the program, you contact the farm you want to go to, and then you make your way there (on your own dime) and work 5-6 days a week in exchange for food and shelter.

Italia, known for great fashion and beautiful people, is also the birthplace of the Slow Food Movement (think opposite of fast food- local, organic and healthy). With it's mediterranean climate comes thousands of hectares of vineyards, olives, chestnuts and so much more good food. The country has over 300 farms in the WWOOFing program, so I decided to subscribe.

The painting on my wall that inspired me to go to Italy is located in a region in the southern Alps on Lake Como. There is only one farm on Lake Como that takes WWOOFers, it is in the small town of Colico and is about 45 mins north of Milan. This farm is the first stop of my visit to Italy, which I will stay at until the end of November. I will make my way down south for the winter stopping to sight see along the way.

Being a part of this program really offers some incredible experiences to learn organic/sustainable agriculture both small and large scale; it offers travelers a chance to see more of the world with less money; and most importantly it really gives people a chance to be immersed in a different culture through the eyes of the locals.

I look forward to sharing my future travels with you and I hope that you find some inspiration to do what you've always wanted to do but haven't yet...

Your not alive until you start living.
Carpe Diem.

"What's with all the traveling?"

As I explained before, I have ended some major things in my life like college and the Army. In February I started the application process for the Peace Corps. I was nominated in May for the Pacific Islands (Fiji, Samoa, Kiribati, Micronesia, Palau, Tonga, Vanuatu) as an Environmental Educator to leave in May 2009. The commitment is 27 months and I won't get my invitation until the end of this year for the specific island and date. So that leaves me with 8 months to do whatever I want to do. Since I don't have any commitments in my life right now I have decided that traveling the world, learning new things to be more sustainable, meeting new people and cultures, and exploring who I am was what I really wanted and needed to do.

Right now I reside in Seattle with my sister Aubrey; on the 23rd I will make my way to Jacksonville, Florida to hang with my sister Tiffany and to meet her fiance Mike; on the 2nd of October I will head up north to New York to visit my uncle, grandma and hopefully some cousins I haven't seen for awhile; and lastly I will head to Europe and make my way to Italy until next spring.

Stay tuned for my next blog to hear about what I'm going to be doing in Italy....

Question of the day (please answer in the comment section): What is your favorite place you've traveled to and why? If you haven't traveled much, then tell me about the place you have always had a desire to go to.

Monell(left) and my sister Aub (Right) having a drink with me at the oldest saloon in Seattle.

In the beginning...

It was hazy day in early July; I was sitting on a train, leaving a funeral, when this sensation came over me. It was my inner voice calling out to me or it was my soul reaching for an outlet to tell me my real needs. I got out my computer and begin to write. What I discovered was that I was sad, dissatisfied with where my life was going and what my soul screamed out to me was just what I had been looking for. She said “April, my dear, go find yourself. Go discover a part of you that needs to be unveiled. Follow your heart, embark on a journey and leave this place.”

The signs came to me and I realized that I needed to travel for a bit. My soul, my inner self, had been suffocated, tortured and held down for too long. I needed to breathe, scream and roam this world freely without a single finger holding me back.

One night I looked upon my wall and stared into a painting that had entranced me for so long. The answer was there, I needed not to look any further. The painting said to me “go to Italy”. Go to Italy, eat, find joy, experience life, roam freely and nourish your soul.

So now I sit here overlooking Lake Union in my sisters North Seattle condo feeling excited, worried, strong and alive because this is where my journey begins.