Well, mes amis, I have officially made it to Colorado. I don't actually have a contact for my new job yet (and work starts on Monday), which I'm sure you can imagine is a bit stressful, but I have keys to the new school and have set up my classroom. I think that it looks like of awesome, especially since the school is old and has been painted all sorts of funky colours and on my first day there, I had to get rid of 3 closets worth of curriculum from the 1970s-1980s. I've posted a few photos to my teaching blog, in the case that you happen to be interested in seeing it (and also I just want to show off a bit).
On the flip side, I've been trying to find my way around my new town and the surrounding areas. After the novella I wrote on Monday about my last few days in the desert and the backstory about how I got there, I won't get all that into it again here. Suffice it to say that this is the first time that I've moved somewhere alone and without someone else at the other end. Luckily, thanks to the help of several Facebook friends whom I haven't seen or spoken to in at least a decade who have come out of the woodwork, and honestly, to some of you readers, my anxiety level is still relatively low.
I have quickly found that Colorado is an incredibly eco-friendly place to live. The people with whom I've crossed paths so far have all been incredibly friendly, personable, and open to having a bit of a chat, which I love. While my mum was still here, we ended up visiting several restaurants in town and all of the take away boxes have been those fun plant-based compostable boxes, which is a little thing, but has made me incredibly happy. One of the places in town also gave us plant-based straws, which I still declined, but really appreciated. The server and I got to have a brief conversation about plant-based straws and sea turtles. That conversation alone kind of had me feeling like I've finally found a place where the general population can relate to me and to my ideals.
Anyway, I got to spend the afternoon up in Boulder, which is a gorgeous town, but has awful parking. I had lunch at an independently-owned restaurant (with compostable take-away containers) with a dude that I met in the airport in Vegas when I flew out to go apartment hunting in June. I hit up a consignment shop and earned back a few dollars (moving is SO expensive) and stopped at a local art center on the way home. They have a really cool sculpture garden that I'd love to have a picnic in when I make a few more friends, but for now, it made a lovely backdrop and was an ideal place to show off some groovy handmade jewelry. The folks over at Purpose Jewelry were kind enough to send me their Honor earrings. These are handmade and fair trade and even came with a card upon which the wonderful woman who made these earrings signed her name. It's personal touches like that that really help me to feel connected to the world... even if the person who made these gems is on the other side of the world. Also, knowing that all of the artisans who are employed by Purpose have escaped human trafficking really makes me want to do more to reach out.
... I guess right now, I'm just in a phase where making connections with humans has become super important! In any case, these earrings are absolutely gorgeous, I love that I can put a name to them, and greatly appreciate that 100% of proceeds are donated to International Sanctuary to help more women escape human trafficking. I know that I take my freedom for granted and having the ability to help other women gain their freedom back is absolutely paramount.
What's sustainable about this outfit?
: the earrings are handmade and fair trade
: the necklace was handmade by my dad
: the bracelets are handmade
: the rings are handmade from repurposed metals
: the blouse was thrifted
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