veering toward EcoVersity

I'm heading to EcoVersity, a small permaculture institute in Santa Fe, New Mexico, to take a program in fundamentals of applied sustainability, called Earth Based Vocations Certificate. The first part of the program is ten weeks, which will take me to early June. Then later this year, probably in the fall, I will do the second part of the program - a self-initiated project for a couple months.

So I'm sure you're asking yourself what is going on here. For instance,

• What is permaculture? My normal northern knowledge noggin knows that it stands for "permanent culture," and is a system of thought for designing healthy, long lasting communities. Click here for more info.
• What is EcoVersity? Click here.
• Earth Based Vocations? Sounds crazy right. Click here.

I'm even taking the train from Philadelphia to Santa Fe, which is a 50 hour affair. But I have my own bedroom the first night so that should be sweet. I like the train. In North America it's quite slow, yes, as opposed to Europe. But it's comfortable, roomy, picturesque (and you see new places because the tracks usually don't follow roads) and friendly. Strange as it may seem, it's also the most energy-efficient means of transportation. So, since I have a day or two to spare, in the train I'll take care.