meisa's lagoon

the other nite, i had my first true berkeley experience. i read a book awhile ago, tender at the bone: growing up at the table by ruth reichl, where the author described her experiences living in a hippie commune in berkeley. i had a very vivid image in my mind of her commune life and on tuesday nite, that imagery came to life.

one of khalid's coworkers invited us to a weekly potluck she hosts, and we decided to explore and see what it was all about. i felt a little weird at first because i didn't want to be the only one walking into a party where everyone else knew each other and i knew no one. but then we walked in and just started chatting with random people..."oh, how do you know amber [host of party]?" we asked. "i don't know her. yeah, i don't know anyone who lives here. i came with a friend who knows someone who knows someone who lives here" over and over again, everyone we spoke to had the same response. so at least i wasn't alone. oh yeah, that and everyone was named david. bizarro.

we explored amber's garden where they grow a million types of vegetables, raise chickens for eggs and meat, and have the beginnings of a rabbit farm which they will use for food. the fish they fried that evening, they had caught the nite before, they baked their own bread every day, made their own yogurt weekly, had an entire wall of canned goods that they canned themselves, and sewed their own everything.

for the most part, although it's not really my style, i thought it was pretty cool. But the whole environment did feel a little dirty. maybe if she hadn't mentioned their rat problem...