Tuesday, March 16, 2010

New Blog for a New Adventure

Today I started school at an herbal medicine program at the California School of Herbal Studies.

Why the title "Old Song Resung"? It's the original title of a poem by Yeats, Down By the Salley Gardens, and was subsequently set to music. It's a favorite song of mine, and as I was listening to it one day a while back, it struck me as a phrase particularly relevant to herbal medicine. Herbs are the original medicine. Herbal medicine is about finding harmony, and now we use herbs in coordination with modern/western medicine. Herbal medicine these days is an old song that is being resung.
School was great today; I'm really excited to be at this school, with really great teachers and students. But seeing as anyone reading this is friends and family, let me start with the adventures leading up to today.Last Thursday (my birthday, incidentally), I drove with my good friend Michelle from Salt Lake, across Nevada, through some crazy driving in Reno, some intense driving in the Sierra's, and some beautiful spring weather in Sacramento, to get to Santa Rosa. Friday it rained all day :P, but I got some free furniture, which is handy, right?
Saturday, Michelle and I drove to San Francisco for the day. (Parking tip: Golden Gateway Garage only $3 all day long!) We walked around little Italy, and spent a lot of the afternoon in Chinatown.Alcatraz is scary.

Seeing their herbal medicine shops is an experience - learning TCM will be interesting! We walked around the wharf, and drove to a bakery called Paulette - a bakery just for macarons. A-maz-ing! We might have bought one of every flavor (15 macarons total) ;)
Sunday as we got in the car to drive to church, my car died. Thus ended the fun part of "the move". But with lots of help from lots of wonderful people (most of all my Dad, thanks Dad!), I got my car back all fixed up today.
Not so lucky that my car died. Lucky that it broke down at my apartment!

I'm starting to feel settled, and I can't wait to share all the great things I learn at herb school!
Here's a preview:
Medicine Making
Growing Plant Medicine
Week camping trip
Firemaking and Cordage
Aromatic Medicine
Herb Walks
Seaweed
Medicine Show



6 comments:

  1. I'm so glad you are getting settled in. Thanks for sending out this blog. I am so looking forward to reading about what you are doing. No holding back!

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  2. Ditto to what Lena said. I can't wait to hear all about Herb school and life in California and on the farm. We'll all miss you but this is such a great experience to have. I'm jealous of your herbal medicine classes. That sounds so interesting.

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  3. Excited to follow your adventures, Christi! It's crazy how we wound up on such similar paths. Come visit if you're ever in the midwest...

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  4. Hooray for finally being in California, doing what you really want to do!! I can't wait to hear about all your fun experiences. :)

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  5. mmmm i am so excited for you! forgive me though if my favorite photo was of the MACARONS! can't wait to follow your herbal adventures!

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  6. so cool, christy!! i was wondering where you'd gone. now look at me, good ol' stalker :) <3 <3 <3 will you be in cali all summer tooo?

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