Andi's Adventures

My time in the Tramuntana mountains of Mallorca was incredible. I did a training about guiding people in solo experiences in nature, essentially how to facilitate a space and event that brings a group of people together in nature, help them connect with the land and to themselves, send them off into nature for hours or days at a time, and then when they come back helping them process their experience together with other supportive participants. It was fun and challenging and restorative and exhausting, all at the same time. I hadn't signed up to be trained in how to do it, I just wanted to do the guided solo experiences, but now I have this nice experience in my tool belt so I can introduce other people to it later! Solo experiences can be used in a bunch of different frameworks: adventure/nature therapy, outdoor education, rites of passage, ecopsychology, or spiritual practices. In adventure therapy, solo experiences is about using land & nature as part of the therapeutic pr...

Hi everyone, I spent the previous 10 (11? Idk) days in Barcelona, learning about Spanish and Catalan culture and history, and meeting with some awesome adventure therapy practitioners. Enjoyed tapas, sangria, paella, flamenco shows, museums, architecture, and making friends from people I met at the Picasso museum and a city tour. La Basilica de la Sagrada Familia was incredible to gaze upon, and walking around Park Güell was lots of fun, and I love the colorful mosaics. I really wish I knew Spanish. And Catalan. I probably should write more about all the observations I made and things I learned but I've already journaled about it all and I'm not in the reflective mindset right now, so that's all the reflection you're going to get from me today! Hopefully the pictures make up for a bit of it. I wanted to write an update before I start my solo nature training tomorrow morning at the Lluc Monastery in Mallorca. The streets of Barcelona are old and narrow and beaut...

Hey it's me! Andi! (I wrote this yesterday but was having trouble posting the pictures, so  I'm actually in Barcelona now! Just pretend I'm still in Doha when you read this) I'm sitting in the Al Maha lounge at Hamad International Airport in Doha, Qatar during my 10-hour layover from NZ to Spain. My flight here was 15 hours long and I expected it to be way worse than it was, luckily I ended up sleeping for most of it. Next step: a 7-hour flight to Barcelona. Here are some of my thoughts about the rest of my time in New Zealand. In keeping with the theme of my time in New Zealand, my body decided to get sick one more time before leaving, so I've been on antibiotics for a whole new bout of strep throat! For anyone not keeping track, that means I spent about 75% of my time in NZ recovering from an illness. Even so, I had a great time. I just hope this curse doesn't follow me to Barcelona. My experience in NZ was filled with hikes along the coast, caving, fo...

Hello friends, I spent a week and a half on the North Island of New Zealand- traveling to Rotorua and exploring the thermal pools and redwood forest, visiting a Māori village, wine tastings at various vineyards and hitchhiking on Waiheke Island, forest bathing in the Auckland Domain Park and visiting the art gallery. I really enjoyed my time on the North Island when I wasn't in Auckland- the grey city life just isn't for me. After traveling to many cities so far this year, I've come to realize that every city is basically the same no matter where you are. There are often great parks, restaurants, museums, etc. and I'm sure that when you live in a certain city the uniqueness of your own city emerges and is more important to daily life than when you're simply visiting. It's nice to have people to connect with in certain cities because then it seems a bit more personal than visiting it by yourself. But most of my traveling is solo so when I do get to spend time e...

Howdy folks, Yesterday I bade farewell to Australia. My last 3 weeks there involved returning to Mullum for the HNAT reunion, visiting the Blue Mountains to hike and interview people, and then spending time in Sydney. I can't believe 1/4 of my year is finished. Australia was amazing, I loved it there and I love all the people and places I came to know. You bet I'll be back! My time in NZ was off to a rocky start, because as soon as I got off the plane I realized I was quite ill and needed to get treatment but it was like 10 pm and so nothing but a hospital would be open. After crying to a poor bus station attendant, I got to ride in a police car to a hospital about 20 minutes away. Then I hung out in the emergency room for the entire night and was finally seen by a doctor at about 6 am. It was not fun, especially when I had my huge backpack with me and had to lug it around the hospital amid lots of weird looks. The doctors and nurses were very kind and were doing their best...

Hi everyone! As I'm writing this, I've just officially turned 23 in the US but I'm almost done with my birthday here in Australia! I had a really great day, thanks to a surprise birthday pie, beautiful weather, great conversations, and a delicious dinner where I managed to convince the waiter to give me free tiramisu! Thank you all for the birthday wishes (: My trusty green journal and I, where I write my notes and thoughts down each day. Trying to figure out where to eat, a decision I do NOT take lightly.  The last few weeks have been nothing short of wonderful. I spent some time in Byron Bay, which is a stereotypical surfer town. It was really interesting but not really my style, although my impression of it may be biased because of some really annoying people staying at the hostel I was in. Then I went to Brisbane and met with someone who is working on her Ph.D. about urban agriculture and greenspaces, which was really interesting to learn more about...

It's been a while since my last blog update, I've been quite busy! After the AABAT Forum, I traveled to Mullumbimby with the director of Human Nature and I lived in a caravan on his property for about a week and a half before the expedition. I had barely any phone service while there, so I spent lots of time reading and drinking tea, which was delightful(: Although once I opened a cabinet in the kitchen area of the caravan and saw a HUGE spider, I'm talking the size of my hand. I surprisingly haven't encountered many terrifying bugs/creatures in Australia even though that's one of the things it's known for, but this spider made me want to burn the whole place down. But, seeing as I didn't have another place to live, I merely closed the cabinet door and never opened it again, praying that it wouldn't come out and kill me in my sleep. Andy's family was so kind to me and welcoming, and I really enjoyed and appreciated spending time with all of them. O...