From Seattle to Zambia: Final Reflections

Over the next week we'll be posting wrap-up reflections from our summer interns. Today we bring you some final thoughts from Alice. She hit the ground running this spring, and we were so pleased to have her at Marra Farm before she departed for Zambia.  

It's been a whirlwind season for me at Marra Farm. You may recall my earlier reflections from the start of my internship in March, and it's hard to believe my time here is at an end – but onward and upward I go! I am about to depart for my Peace Corps service in Zambia, and although life is moving very fast right now, I know I'll never forget what I've learned from the good people at Lettuce Link.

I remember my first visit to the farm - Amelia and Mike and I pulled weeds in the greenhouses and planted bok choy seeds into dozens flats. Those seeds have  long since matured and been harvested by now. We planted something, we helped it grow, and it was given to someone to eat. That is the root of all the hard work that we do, and what I feel most privileged to have been a part of these past short months. 

Working at Marra Farm has been a dream – and not just because I get to eat farm-fresh strawberries every day!  I have learned incredible things from the people at Marra Farm. I provided a majority of the care to the plants in the greenhouses, ranging from weeding to planting to watering. This acclimated me to working with hot crops (as well as working in the heat!) and gave me the opportunity to learn about the needs of peppers, basil, and tomatoes.

I have a passion for working in the earth, and it has been so important to me to share it with others. Teaching kids how to garden and care for the earth, as well as to ask critical questions about why plants do the things they do, was a fantastic experience. 

And so, it's with a bit of melancholy that I leave the farm that I've grown to love over these months. I certainly won't forget the good times I've had here and the people I've met and befriended. I am certain that the many lessons I learned at Marra Farm will help me be as effective as possible in my new Zambian post.

Though I'm beginning a very challenging (but rewarding) chapter of my life, I know that I have a community rooting for me back in Seattle. So thank you, Marra Farm and Lettuce Link, for everything you've given me. I will see you in two years!

If you would like to follow Alice's Peace Corps adventures over the next two years, you can find her blogging at http://twoyearsinzambia.tumblr.com. We miss her already!