Group-led versus revolutionary change.

This post is terribly overdue. Following up on my series of articles about change and how to interact it, I’m here highlighting a theoretical conflict that goes back to the cold war (which, unfortunately, defined a LOT of how people who are older than 35 see the world). I point out that the conflict doesn’t really need to exist any more, and rather everyone doing their own part is okay.

Related posts:

My Life at Small Planet

Hello, (and sorry for not updating for a while):

Life has been hectic (setting up in Boston), but good. I have been on my bike to many different events, and a stellar mix of people/places/things to enjoy around the city. In this post I talk more about my former work, maybe you have heard about it, at the Small Planet Institute in Cambridge.

For quick updates about what we’re doing, follow @SmallPlanetInst on twitter. For the implications of some of the research I was doing for the book, read on dear reader:

>>Forestdance, MA!

The majority of this conference I cannot show you in pictures. The weekend was life-clarifying. Get out to the woods! go, Petersham, MA! http://forestdance.net/

Entering: Petersham, MA

Yes we CAN! Summer Intern Thoughts

Eddie is so happy to be back within internet range (*internet grasp?) to be able to share about wonderful experiences and thoughts. In particular, it was 2.5 months in CoopaBuena, Costa Rica, which lies about 30 kilometers from Panama on the South side. See background post: /~/a-different-perspective-participatory-action-research/. After the fact, I’ve not only grown in a lot of personal ways (next post, a good dual purpose of this blog) but have some sound advice for organizations, researchers, and extension agents who are looking to expand to this area.

If I were an Anthropologist…

I would probably come study Cartago

Originally passing through for motorcycle repair, gas, and to see the church, I ended up staying the night when I met a mechanic who offered me passage for the night. What I found was a pleasant city almost devoid of alcohol or bad influence.

My (intellectual) baggage was stolen!

I’ve been robbed, and I feel great.

The thieves took off with my bag when I had my back turned: I returned from the ticket counter to find my heart-felt green bag gone without a trace. I looked for a while that it may turn up again, but no luck. With it goes a mini laptop, 4 moleskine notebooks and datebook, a few packs of cards… etc. While nothing was too valuable, it means all of my record of being here has vanished without a trace. (And my glasses, which I do kinda need..)

After the tragedy though, I am left with an interesting sentiment. In the hazards of trying to understand everything I can here, I had gotten caught in my little books. They were a great reference for anything I needed, but now I am without the intellectual restraint- free. The eagle soars again, this time with a new worldview and only his wits to survive.

I challenge you to go for one day without one thing you take for granted. A blackberry, watch or car keys, even a ring. What’s left of the world is indeed refreshing and new again.
Look for more to come soon.
-Eddie Miller
Costa Rica
http://eddiemill.wordpress.com/

Culture Shock

“Bienvenidos a Costa Rica: paraíso ecológico para invertido y diversión.” So welcomed the customs sign on arrival in Costa Rica, my new tropical home.

Already my old kinship with this country is returning. The spectacular mountain views, tranquil field school, dense tropical rainforest and home gardeners grab and hold my attention. The town of Atenas where we are staying provides a close-knit community for locals while accomodating for large gringo tour groups seeking National Geographic’s famed “best climate in the world”. Indeed, the warm weather helps (70s and windy every day).

The first thing I notice this time around is the communications crevasse. Costa Ricans are not connected in the ways that we are, lacking high bandwidth internet and even cell phone service in some places. Lives simply aren’t as connected here to machines we have come to rely on. So far, underestimating this chaotic tendency has cost me an application for Echoing Green phase 2, a meeting with my farmer, and an amazing Forestdance festival in the South. It will take some adjusting and much advance planning to deal with this new reality.

Classes are great nonetheless, as I start Tropical Field Ecology, Sustainable Development Economics, Sociological Impacts of Tourism in Costa Rica, and Intro to Natural Resource management this week. I have already gotten to know all my professors, and the students are cool. It’s very close-knit. I see a lot of opportunity here to really expand my horizons.

Look for more updates soon. 2 weeks is the end of the honeymoon, now starts my real time exploring this beautiful country!

-Eddie Miller
BU ‘10
emiller@bu.edu

Http://eddiemill.wordpress.com/

The journey continues…

Starting in a few days, I will be leaving from here.

Going to a land untouched by the perils of hectic inner turmoil. From the land of privilege to the land of not enough but somehow, amazingly, contentedness. What could be a better way to spend this year? One’s life? Than to know that you are well on the path to work that will be a large part of the world. This semester puts me on par to become a master, entrepreneur, and farmer. Maybe I’ll arrive back and have funding money waiting for me. Maybe another calmer and happier year at BU before leaving. Grad school; or just assemble a team and go:: just following a path at this point, and not looking back. No matter what happens, I’m already well endowed with the resources for success.

I will be gone in total for 8 months– from February 2nd to August 31st– in Costa Rica, Central America and traveling the Andes mountains. My main method of transportation will be the motorcycle, and my main communications the internet. This is the combination of school program and farm internship through which I hope to find myself. Look for my return, I want to experience all your stories.

If you want to contact me, you can email at ::
eddiemill@gmail.com

I will also check facebook and this blog regularly, so a comment would really be a great help for me.
<http://eddiemill.wordpress.com/>
Thank you for your support that makes this possible. As I embark this week, you’ll be on my mind.

-Eddie Miller
Boston University
440.935.5434

10 Reasons any Driver can Understand WHY BIKE

10. Left turn on red
9. Mobility on and off road
8. Bikes can be used to generate electricity
7. The wind in your hair
6. $60-$80 a year to maintain
5. It’s sustainable aka doesn’t use gasoline
4. Don’t have to give anyone else rides
3. Messenger bags
2. Always free parking, always at location
1. I get to class faster.

Boston makes it easy to bike… why bike: http://bubikes.org

-Eddie Miller
http://eddiemill.wordpress.com/

Family, Community

A successful follow-through to the school year. Class high final grade in Development Econ, pretty sure I aced the Environmental Econ final, and Sustainable development finished nicely. Funnily, my Spanish literature class remains the only outlier, gave me a C+. Psh, I kinda cared… 3.5 not bad. Thanks to everyone that made it possible.

On the Oberlin front, trying to incite a riot with home friends. This mainly involves late night food runs, dance parties, and ultimate frisbee in the rain. Oberlin makes one appreciate the advantages of a small-town community, with local shops and local people. It’s exactly the feeling that’s missing from Boston University, where we subsist on large networks of acquaintances. It’s not without drawbacks, but I think that community is really worth working and fighting for. Our lives are a collective.

I’ll be returning to Boston to finish up some things Friday 12/26 and 27th, let me know if you are still around and are interested in a holiday meet-up. Mara and I will probably be hanging out with a car.

On the virtual front, my World of Warcraft character is so bomb. It will be a good distraction while prepping for Costa Rica (now on a 7-month planned trip February-August! More about this later).

-Eddie
http://eddiemill.wordpress.com/