I am quite surprised with the amount of people who have turned down housing this year. My original waitlist position was 1132, a position which really isn’t supposed to get housing, and here I am with my first choice of Vanier again (although I suppose the other accommodations are more popular with older students anyway).

I’ve been turning it over in my mind whether to accept or reject it since 1:30 this morning when I received the email. I have until June 9th to decide, but I’m already leaning quite strongly in one direction…

On an unrelated note, I went to bed at 4 this morning, or maybe later. The birds were chirping, anyway, which was a psychological obstacle for me since my bright orange alarm clock is the sound of birds chirping. I still managed to get in 6 hours though. How ironic to think that on Friday I will be getting up at 4 (or earlier) to go to Dieppe for our “mid-term trip” (more like end-of-term). The workload in the last two weeks is a little insane. I had an essay due today, and still have an oral presentation and a drama performance for tomorrow, an essay due Sunday (but which I will work on all Thursday because we’re in Dieppe Friday and Saturday), an Economics portfolio and an exam on Tuesday (the portfolio I will work on Sunday, revising for the exam on Monday), and another essay on Wednesday which I think we must beg for an extension to Thursday if only for some breathing space. Well, that’s what the work is like at the end of term — most people had very little work the first three to four weeks they were here.

I shall sing praises about the trips we’ve been having at some later date.

Farming brings to mind the beginnings of human settlements. Ancient, in other words. “Common”. Waking up at 4 am. Hard work. Dirt. Lots of it.  And if, like me, you studied history at any point in your life, lots of half-starved, ignorant peasants.

In my mind, there were only two kinds of farms: the traditional, subsistence farms, and industrial ones.

One of the best things UBC has done for me is to have the UBC Farm. That was my first experience of learning outside the classroom, here. I went to visit it last August as part of my ASSIST (now Jump Start) orientation. For anyone who has ever thought like me, or who just wants a new experience, I really encourage you to go to the Farm.

It’s not in the least bit dirty or foul-smelling, two of my initial fears. The only animals there are chickens and they are very well-behaved. Legend has it that the manager of the farm knows all the chickens by their birthdates. The chickens are there to remove grubs; they’re an organic solution to pest problems. The entire Farm is organic and it’s wonderfully green in the summer.

There is also a Mayan garden, tragically called “Mayans in Exile”. It’s run by two Mayans who left their home. They talked to us about their history and their garden. It’s a grievous story, and you come to admire them so much.

We had different “stations” when we visited and had people talk not just about the Farm, but also of politics and the environment and all the wider issues. The manager, in particular, seems to be on top of everything. My complete ignorance on these topics made me realise how completely naive I was to think that farming isn’t as “intelligent” as other white-collar jobs. The only thing I was right about is that it takes a lot of hard work to be a good farmer — but so does everything. I learned more by going to the Farm than anything I’d learned in “class” at the orientation. Even now, none of my classes draw across so many disciplines to talk about real-world problems and possible solutions as the staff at the Farm did.

The UBC Farm is the only one of its kind in the city of Vancouver. In the summer, there are fresh-produce markets. There are volunteer programmes available, and educational classes for the young. Some courses at UBC are designed to include the hands-on experience and work that you can only get from going to a farm. It is very much a student-driven initiative to maintain the valuable experiences you get from going there, and it’s also a part of the community.

Were the UBC Farm to disappear, there will really be no other opportunity to create a new one again, yet that’s the very real possibility right now. Basically the university is considering to have housing built there. I don’t even know if it’s the university building housing there, or if they’re planning on selling it to a redevelopment company. Although I would like to have housing, I’m not willing to sacrifice the Farm for it.

Before you decide to go along with having housing built there, or even before you decide to side with me and keep the Farm, find out more about it yourself. Visit their website. Get in contact with Friends of the Farm. Most of all, go there in person. Go without expectations. It’s winter; I haven’t seen it and I daresay it’s not as green and lush as the height of summer. Don’t listen to my raving or you might be disappointed. I come from a very non-farming community and the only farms I’d been to before really were the subsistence onces I talk about with so much distaste. Go for a field trip. It’s definitely something different to do on a weekday.

You know, I actually had a point when I switched on my laptop and decided to blog. My backlog of emails distracted me and I have now forgotten what that point was.

The bright side of my fish-like memory is that I can flatter myself into thinking it was a most inspiring, intelligent and witty topic, and what a pity I can’t share it with you!

A few people have come up to me to console me on my lack of housing next year. Thank you to those of you who did. It’s nice to be thought of! I’m quite cheered up now, though; I woke up yesterday morning with happy thoughts of being able to invite people over for special events. I’ll have more space to put all my belongings and finally get to experience the commuter student’s side of the story.

AND I CAN HAVE GOOD RICE AGAIN.

In the meantime, we’re hitting the crazy season of school again. While all my midterms are after Reading Week (most likely all on the same day; one is not confirmed yet), I have a paper due per week. This doesn’t include the postings I’m meant to do for two classes, one of which I’m severely behind on. Apart from feeling concerned about having a lot to catch up on, I’m actually really glad that school is keeping me busy in ways that I like. I had way too much free time last term. Point: I kept a running tally of how many squirrels I saw each day on my way to and from classes. Being behind means that I am hitting that point when I stop trying to be an absolute perfectionist and simply try to be the best I can be within reason. That means getting my much-desired adequate amounts of sleep. Life’s not perfect.

I guess this post found a point after all, though I assure you it is still not as inspiring, intelligent or witty as the one it lost.

P.S. Is anyone else loving the lengthening days with later sunsets?