Amanda James Daily

For now, a picture to illustrate my holiday internship:

An Oscar and a Farmer Statue of almost equal height on Barbara’s Coffee Table

The Empowerment Project produces and distributes its own documentary films and videos, and provides facilities, training and other support for independent producers, artists, activists and organizations working in video and other electronic media. Its purpose is to work towards democratizing access to the media, and to provide the resources necessary to put the power of media in the hands of individuals and organizations working to further important social, political and artistic purposes.

Read more about the Empowerment Project.

Listen to Maggie’s Farm – Bob Dylan mp3

That’s when I decided to expand my search of good ways to spend my time, and I remembered my friend once told me how she lived with a French family outside of Paris by responding to a listing on  HelpX.Net (It’s a good website for people who want to travel around for little money and have the opportunity to live with locals and get to really know a place, rather than just be a tourist. )

I was shocked to stumble across a journalism/ organic farm listing that advertised the opportunity to work with an Oscar-winning filmmaker on a farm in Carrboro, NC.  There’s no way I could’ve found this match if I’d been looking.

The next day, and the next day, I called the farm and volunteered to help out.  It took about 5 phone calls to convince them that I had no expectations, lots of free time, and I didn’t mind if they were about to leave the country, so I might be doing non-journalism work to help them get ready.

(More to come. Class for now…)

Welcome to North Carolina

Blisters from bass guitar made the plane ride unbearable but by the time I landed in North Carolina, I’d forgotten what it was like to have a finger not throbbing.  Plus, I had a whole new audience to share the news with, so I was excited that I had something to show for my hard work.

After the holiday festivities ended, including Moravian Love Feasts, a Happy Birthday Jesus Party, and several non-Jesus parties with friends from highschool, I needed a new way to spend my time besides relaxing on different couches in my house and spending too much money running unnecessary errands.

That’s when I starting researching WWOOF.org late one night. I wanted to find something fun and difficult to do that would make me feel exhausted by the end of the day, so I’d know I’d done all I could do in a day.  Plus, I’d been sitting in front of a computer for what felt like the past year, since I spent the summer interning and writing, instead of working outside, so organic farming seemed perfect.  I had saved up all the means to travel to Costa Rica to do it, but skepticism from e-mail responses with farm owners there had plunged the energy out of my pursuit…