The Privilege of Being Able to Travel

I just came from the travel clinic where I received my 2nd Hepatitis A/B booster, giving me 90% immunity before my trip.  To date I have spent well over $800 just on my travel vaccines.  When I first responded to the email about this class and the associated trip, I jumped at the chance, but I honestly had no idea how expensive it would be.

The class was limited to 12 participants, I'm very blessed to be able to go, and I have a different understanding about how costly it is to travel internationally.  I'm aware that for subsequent trips I won't have to spend as much on vaccines (2 of my 4 give lifetime immunity), but it's still an expense that can make travel difficult.

I recognize that I've felt some irritation with some of my classmates at the amount of international traveling they've been able to do. People spend money on the things they want to do, and they budget accordingly, but while I've never been rich by any means, I've generally been fairly comfortable.  I've finally reached the point in my adulthood where I've been able to take a vacation every year, although always domestic, but it takes a fair amount of planning on my part.  It amazes me that there are people in my age range who routinely fly overseas, to multiple countries.  It honestly makes me wonder "how?"  I wouldn't say I am doing anything wrong, I absolutely love my life, but even when I had a job that paid very well, I'm not sure I felt I could afford an international trip.

Most people don't get opportunities like this South Africa trip.  A lot of people will never step foot out of their country, or even their state.  The factors that affect that aren't just financial, they're also social and educational.  There are people who don't see the value in travel, people who are unable to place value on something like travel when their everyday needs aren't met.  There are those who are afraid or unable to travel alone, who have factors in their lives that prevent them from getting passports.  I can't help but wonder how the world would be different if more people had experience outside of their "bubble;" if the various countries of the world were more than just documentaries, pictures in books and magazines, and locations on maps.

I'm thankful to the friends and family who helped me make this trip.  I couldn't have done it without them, and it is something I will never forget. I hope to be in the position soon to help others do the same.  Community is so important to me, and so necessary to help others learn and grow.  I may expound on topic later, when I've had some time to think more about what I want to say.

11 days to go!
Camielle

Countdown to Cape Town!!

In 23 days I will be embarking on my first trip to Africa!  My trip is a part of my Social Justice & Social Work in South Africa course at the University of Denver, a part of my Master of Social Work degree, and I am feeling a plethora of emotions.  To the best of my ability, I am going to blog about my experience here, starting with the countdown to my departure and the complex feelings I am experiencing.  I'm not 100% sure what my internet access will be once I am in Cape Town, so I will be journaling on paper as well in case I am unable to do so here.  This blog is going to be very honest, and I understand that may not always be comfortable for my readers.  As a Black woman, Social Worker and graduate student, matters of power, privilege, and oppression are always at the forefront of my mind, and I am going to face those issues during this trip in ways that I have not experienced before.  Cape Town, S. A., post-apartheid, remains a very segregated city, not just between Blacks and whites, but between Black and Colored people as well, a distinction I wasn't aware existed prior to this class.  I intend for this blog to be as authentic as possible, so while I am sure there will be fun, lighthearted posts (especially about food, I love to eat!), there will also be a great deal about my feelings as I travel to my destination, perceptions of my classmates who are also on this trip, and general impressions about the country, the culture, and the people.

You may be wondering why my feelings and emotions about this trip are so complex.  Of the 11 students taking this trip, I am the only Black student, and one of only two women of color.  I did not find this out until the first day of the class, when I learned that another Black woman in my cohort, with whom I have shared classes, would not be able to attend.  My initial reservations began during that first class, not only because there were so many faces that did not look like mine, but also because most of the class have led lives much more privileged than my own, especially financially.  I am the only person in my class that has not been off the continent of North America, while the majority of my classmates have traveled to 10+ countries.  I also have many classmates who have the financial means to stay in South Africa longer than the duration of the trip for leisure, while accumulating the funds to pay for this opportunity has taken a great deal of work, many calls and emails to my school's financial aid department, and the kindness of relatives and friends willing to donate to my cause.

I am pleased to have found camaraderie with the other woman of color on my trip, an Indigenous American woman with whom I have had classes and completed group work.  We have spoken about our upcoming trip a few times and she has expressed sentiments similar to my own.  We will be roommates on this trip, and I think we will both find solace in being able to create safe space for ourselves.  The Teaching Assistant for this trip is also a Black woman, and I have been fortunate enough to be able to meet with her 1:1 to express my frustrations and concerns.  She had a similar experience when she took this trip as a student a few years ago, so she understands where I'm coming from and I've found that validating.  I know I will need to process quite a bit over the next 3 weeks as well as once I'm in South Africa, especially since we will be together as a group the majority of the time.

I fully recognize how blessed I am to have this opportunity, and I am extremely excited for it. However, I also know that there are many things about this trip and spending 2 weeks in the close proximity of people with whom I am having difficulty relating that will test my patience and my ability to truly hold people in unconditional positive regard, something that is extremely important to me in my life and in my professional practice.

If you choose to follow my journey, I hope that you will give me grace.  These posts will likely be fairly raw, and you may sense emotions from me that are not always positive.  I am a student, and as such I am learning every day.  I am aware of my personal biases and my tendency toward reticence when I encounter people who I sense will require emotional labor I am not inclined to allow them.  The three classroom opportunities I have had as we prepare for this trip have shown me this will be the case with multiple of my classmates, and I am already working on myself and my reactions now, while I still have a few weeks before I meet them in person.  These posts are an assignment for my class, but more than that, they are a way for me to record my memories, challenges, and successes, and look back on the growth that I will certainly experience over the next month.

Adventure awaits!
Camielle

A Quick One.

Hey there! It has been a while. Does anyone else feel like that "Life comes at you fast" commercial? No? Just me? Ok, lol.

We've been busy over here, lots of potential in the pipeline, so hopefully I'll have good news to share soon! In the meantime, I'm gearing up for the gardening season and working on some simple things to help us save money!

Today is going to be a "busy at home" day.  I'm doing kitchen things, re-organizing and cooking mostly. This morning I'm freezing berries.

Blackberries and blueberries to be exact. I've been finding some great sales (these blackberries were $.77 at Aldi, so I thought I'd buy a bunch and freeze them for smoothies. Strawberries are currently 4 for $5 at Kroger today, so I'll be stopping buy later to get $10 worth to freeze.

Also today I'll be doing some pre-prep for my garden. I got my seeds yesterday!

*Drools.* I wonder how many thousands of dollars worth of produce I could get from all this? This is about $80 worth of seeds. Of course I'm not planting all of it this year, but quite a bit! My goal is for 52 different crops this year not counting my herbs. I'm also doing a few different types of fruit this year as well!

I may be back later with a recipe. I realized I never posted my favorite hash recipe, so I'll try to do that today!

What are you working on today? Are you meal-prepping perhaps, or doing some early spring cleaning? Have you started your seeds yet if you're a gardener? Let me know in the comments!

Camielle

Southwestern Eggrolls

Typically, I keep a lot of the same foods stocked in my kitchen. Unless I'm due for a shopping trip, I always have sweet potatoes, eggs, mushrooms, some sort of green leafy vegetable like spinach, kale, or Swiss chard (I grow the last two), ingredients for tacos, and multiple types of beans and grains.  Those ingredients go a long way in throwing a quick meal together!

You will also find ingredients that make Mexican- or Southwestern-inspired foods.  I've always enjoyed those flavors anyway, but, living with a vegetarian, I find that those flavors lend well to easy, meatless meals; I just sub black beans in his.  Taco Tuesday is an institution in our home, and I also occasionally throw together burritos and bowls inspired by a certain chain, and black bean burgers.  The flavor profile is always basically the same so I don't have to do a lot of thinking.

I've always been a fan of anything in wrapper or skin: egg rolls, spring rolls, potstickers won tons...it seems like a lot of my favorite foods come in some sort of package.  I've been wanting to try to make an eggroll with my favorite flavors, so I thought I'd give it a shot! 

Ingredients:

Egg Roll Wrappers (I used two packs)

Chicken Thighs (you can use chicken breasts as well)

1 can of black beans or about 1 cup of cooked beans

1 C of frozen corn, thawed

1 C frozen chopped spinach, thawed

1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper

1 jalapeño pepper, finely chopped

3 cloves of garlic (mine were large cloves, but feel free to use less or more to taste)

1/8 C chopped green onions 

1 pack taco seasoning (optional)

1/2 C shredded cheese (I used sharp cheddar)

Cumin

Chili powder

Cayenne pepper

Salt pepper

I tend to buy chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts because they're usually less expensive and more flavorful. I initially cooked three and then cooked the other two because I didn't think I had enough. Salt and pepper them on both sides and cook them in a little olive oil on medium heat. Once they're finished, dice them into small pieces and put them back in the pan with your taco seasoning. Follow the directions on the back of your taco seasoning; some use 2/3c of water, but mine only required 1/2c.

If you're a little more organized than I am, prep the rest of your ingredients ahead of time, if not, you can prep while your chicken is cooking.

A quick word about the beans: I typically use dry black beans but I used these because I happened to have them. I rinse  any canned beans at least 3 times, and I didn't salt the filling since the beans were canned.

Preheat your oven to 400°. Mix the rest of your ingredients in a bowl. I used a table spoon to fill the egg roll wrappers. Don't over fill them, or you'll risk tearing the wrappers.

The directions for how to fill the wrappers were on the back of the package. It's really simple; place the wrapper diagonally, fold up the bottom corner over the filling, fold in the side corners, and then use a little water on your finger to wet the last corner and roll the wrapper up.  Keep the wrappers seam side down.

Since the King isn't a meat eater, I used half of my filling before adding the chicken to roll a dozen vegetarian rolls.  I mixed most of the chicken into what was left. In retrospect, I could have used 4 chicken thighs.

I decided to bake my eggrolls instead of frying them, so I lined two cookie sheets with aluminum foil and drizzled both with olive oil. When I put the eggrolls on the cookie sheets, I rolled them over in the olive oil to coat them. Bake them for 15-20 minutes. I baked them for 10, flipped them, and then baked them an additional 10 minutes.

As an afterthought I decided to throw together a dipping sauce using things I already had in the fridge.  I had half a 24 oz tub of Greek yogurt and I mixed in two ripe, mashed avocados, the juice from half a lime, a pinch of kosher salt, about 5 dashes of hot sauce, and some finely chopped cilantro.  It was a good, quick little sauce!

I'm pleased with my first run at Southwestern style Eggrolls. I'll definitely make them again!  I hope you try them out and enjoy them!

Until next time!

Camielle

What's on your list?

Are you one of those people who can keep an endless to-do list in your head and rarely forget things? If so, it must be nice! Don't get me wrong, I have a great memory, but like a lot of us, I often take on too much, which makes it difficult to remember everything.

I love lists and make them frequently.  You will see them appear here often.  I find that I'm much more organized mentally if I have a list of my tasks, and while I do sometimes use my phone or tablet, I still typically handwrite my lists. I try not to make them too long (except for grocery lists) because I don't want to be overwhelmed by everything I want/need to do.  As I work on my personal organization, I'm learning to create more manageable goals for myself, especially since I'm always doing multiple things at once!

My DIY list is a goal for this year. I have a lot of furniture that I received second-hand, either as gifts or as thrifty finds, it's all in great shape, but nearly everything needs updated.  I've decided to make my most noble effort at making all these pieces more reflective of my personal style.

I'm not promising to do these in order, as some projects are quicker and less expensive than others, but the 1st item on the list is the one I intend to tackle first. It's a simple spray paint project that won't take a lot of time.  If the weather is good, I may get to it this week!

Are you planning to tackle any DIY this year? Are you a novice (like me, lol) or are you a seasoned pro?  Tell me about your plans! I'd love to hear them!

See you soon!

Camielle

Welcome!

I'm so pleased you decided to stop by! This blog is dedicated to the hobbies that make my life meaningful. My name is Camielle and I live in Cincinnati, OH. I'm a fledgling gardener/future homesteader, an avid cook, and a DIY enthusiast. I also love a bargain and prefer to repurpose as much as I can instead of buying things new. I have a semi-vegetarian old man (who I typically refer to as my King), and we're both striving to live healthier lifestyles. I also have a 3-yr old niece who is a frequent visitor, and I advise a youth group full of teenagers.

I live a very busy lifestyle, but I love all of my hobbies and they truly enrich my life and provide me with many creative outlets. I have wonderful friends who inquire about the things that I do, an encourage my many passions. I thought I'd compile everything here for easy access. My intention is to chronicle my recipes, crafts, DIY adventures, budgeting tips, and gardening.  I have a lot planned for this year, possibly too much, lol, but it's going to be fun! I hope you stick around. If you see something you like or you have a question, please comment and let me know you're here.  Thanks for joining me, I hope you enjoy the ride!

Camielle