A lot of stories have piled up, so you can expect a long blog post this week.

I went to the Santa Cruz Lighthouse with two colleagues. This is located north of Santa Cruz and offers a great view of Monterey Bay. Many young people, fire breathers and other groups meet here in the evenings. The lighthouse dates back to 1870 and, like the lighthouse in Hudson, the keeper and his family lived in this lighthouse. He supported himself from the lighthouse garden and the livestock. A beautiful place, but one that also harbors risks. A sign warns that 100 people have drowned on the cliffs and beaches since 1965. Many deaths could have been avoided if people had stayed behind the barriers and away from the edges of the cliffs. A week before I arrived, a tragedy occurred here on the beaches at Pleasure Point. A couple from San Jose, aged 30 and 33, were caught by a wave on the rocks while trying to take a photo together and were pulled into the sea. Their wedding was about to take place soon, but both died that day. Sadly, the family found out that the woman was pregnant. The number on the warning sign is updated regularly, so you really should be aware of the dangers of the sea. 

On 13.10 the “2024 Monte Foundation Fireworks Extravaganza” took place on Capitola beach. The Capitola pier was recently reopened after being split in two during a major storm in January 2023. This was celebrated with a huge fireworks display! It went on for almost 20 minutes and was very impressive as the sound bounced off the buildings, creating a nice reverberation. A few colleagues and I brought food and had a picnic on the beach to enjoy the show. 

In the morning we always meet at 9:00 in the Hall, the houses report news and important dates, community events are announced and other special features of the day are reported. We also sing a song together. The other day we sang the song “Wayfarin Stranger”. That was an interesting experience, as I know the song mainly from the video game “Last of Us” (there is also a TV show with the same name). The game and the series are about a global virus caused by fungi. In fact, the story is based on a real fungus. The ophiocordyceps unilateralis normally grows on ants and manipulates their behavior. The fruiting bodies of the fungus consist of a wiry but flexible dark pigmented leg that grows directly from the back of the head of the dead ant. The fungal spores germinate on the exoskeleton of ants. After an infection period of three to six days, the insect moves to a place that offers optimal living conditions for the fungus and dies there. The fungus manipulates the ant so that it bites into various surfaces such as the undersides of leaves or bark. In the game, however, the virus also spreads to humans, whose behavior is then controlled by the fungi in order to spread the virus as zombies. So it was a little surreal to hear this song in the morning circle: https://youtu.be/LR-YpcqRMSk?si=1OESF7_0_-esMwAR

I went to the hairdresser for the first time on the west coast. At 35 dollars, it's just as expensive as on the east coast, but I had a very interesting conversation with the barber. He told me about his dog, his trips to Europe and gave me lots of recommendations for beautiful places in Santa Cruz. I now have a high and tight hairstyle. The hair on the sides and back of my head is cut very short (1.6mm), up to a punt at the temples. A sharp line separates the short cut sides from the top of the risur. The length of the top hair is 5mm. A beautiful new style that I really like. 

There was a cold going around our house so everyone got sick at one point and dropped out. I just had a runny nose and drank a cold tea and wore a warm wrap around my neck as a precaution, but was otherwise spared the illness. We put it down to my morning run, which certainly strengthens my immune system. 

One day we saw smoke rising from a house fire in the garden in the distance. At the moment it's the highest forest fire level here, the danger of forest fires is omnipresent. One day on a run, I passed a large fire department operation with ladder trucks, rescue vehicles and numerous firefighters. It looked like there was a fire in a garage under a house. 

A colleague gave me a great recipe to make good use of leftover rice. As a student, I would have liked it because it is very simple: cheese rice! You bake rice with cheese, add a little oil and egg for a nicer consistency, and you have a delicious dish! If you want to refine it, you can also add corn, ham and other ingredients. I wish I'd known that earlier! https://www.food.com/recipe/tomato-and-bacon-rice-quick-and-french-inspired-429811

One day we went to Starbucks with the SAGE group, our group for the older residents. I was surprised how many creative and sweet coffees they offer. I got myself a delicious mocha. I'm not a fan of coffee, but in Camphill Copake I started to drink mochas. If you would like to go to Santa Cruz, you should take a look at my “Santa Cruz Highlights” subpage. For example, you can find out which ice cream store is so good that even President Biden went there for ice cream. I've added some new highlights!

My colleagues have now found out my favorite place in Santa Cruz. When I have time, I like to sit in Abbot Square, where I can write for my blog and eat delicious food. Torches are lit in the evening, so you can sit here for hours in a T-shirt, even in cool temperatures. I have now discovered that a bar (Front & Cooper) has German beer on tap, which you can enjoy in the square. After drinking only Corona, Budweiser and Modelo for so many months, I was really looking forward to a Bavarian “Paulaner” beer. At 7 dollars, the price is also okay by American standards (9 dollars in the club for a 0.33 bottle of beer). A fantastic taste! 

I bought a kebab near Abbot Square. If you've read my blog posts about my trips to New York City, you'll remember how much I love kebabs. While I was writing my master's thesis, I ate a lot of kebabs.  Not particularly healthy, but definitely one of my favorite dishes. In New York City, there are many “German Döner Kebab” stores where I think you can get really good kebabs. My colleagues weren't so convinced, but I jumped for joy in the Big Apple after six months without a kebab when I finally got a kebab again. So I was very excited about the kebab store in Santa Cruz (Arslans Turkish Street Food). Unfortunately, I was pretty disappointed. A kebab wrap with beef and lamb in lavash with lettuce, tomatoes, red cabbage, carrots, fries, Turkish spiced onions, fresh herbs, white and red sauce costs $14.50! A kebab plate even costs 20 dollars! Unfortunately, there is no kebab in a kebab bread like in Germany, only wraps. The wraps are big, but the taste doesn't even come close to the taste I know from Germany. Save your money and go to San Francisco instead, where there are certainly better kebab stores. 

A colleague of mine, who I know reads my blog, often takes us with him in the car in the evening and we enjoy the view of the ocean, have a snack or enjoy an ice cream after a long day at work. I am very grateful for his willingness to drive us around after work! I'm currently considering whether I want to get a driver's license here. It's very cheap compared to Germany. A driver's license costs 98 dollars, which includes a multiple-choice test in the Internet (which all my colleagues passed on the first attempt) and a practical 20-minute test, which most of my colleagues passed on the first attempt and only one on the second attempt. Since, unlike my colleagues, I don't have a driver's license in Germany, I would of course have to take driving lessons beforehand. These cost 150 dollars for 2 hours. The Americans say that it takes no more than 4 hours to prepare for the test. So I would pay a total of 400 dollars.  In Germany, I would have to take 12 hours of driving lessons (about 64 dollars each), three special drives (overland, highway, night drive) for 165 to 275 euros each, the theory test (24.99 euros) and the practical test (129.83 euros for registration, 150 euros per attempt). On average, learner drivers in Berlin pay 2718 euros for their driver's license! The only problem is the time. I only have one day off a week and I'm already stressed and tired often, so I'm happy just to do nothing on my Off-Day. So I don't have the energy to start this project at the moment. Maybe I'll get my driver's license in the future.

After seeing a spider (black widow) in the garden last week, we discovered a new animal this time. A snake! Fortunately not poisonous, as our work supervisor assured us. 

I really miss the animals from Triform. We had a lot of them: 30 cows (Brown Swiss, Shorthorn, Devon, Dexter), 13 pigs (Tamworth; 3 Sows, 1 Boar, 9 Piglets), 12 turkeys (Broad Breasted Bronze), 3 horses, 2 mini horses, 2 goats and a duck. We have a chicken coop in the garden, but no chickens have lived there for a year. I have built up an emotional relationship with the animals, but I don't feel this connection with the plants. Instead, I have gained another animal friend. Charlotte the cat lives in the Chrysallis house and I like to cuddle her when I see her there. 

This week I bought something for myself. Since I go running so often and like to watch movies in my room in the evening, I wanted to buy myself a real pair of headphones. As a teenager, I had the Skull Candy Crusher (2014), which are really good headphones that I discovered at the International Consumer Electronics Fair (IFA) in Berlin. The special thing about the headphones is that there is a control where you can adjust the bass. A battery in the headphones generates the bass, giving you the feeling of experiencing a live concert with a bass system. I no longer have this bombastic bass feeling with the new “Skullcandy Hesn ANC Crusher”, but the sound quality is much better than the old headphones and the bass is also much more powerful than with my AirPods, which I have been using since I arrived in New York. There is even active noise canceling. This means that there are microphones built into the headphones that pick up outside noise and filter it out. When I'm sitting in my room on my day off, running along a busy street or sitting on a bench in the city, I can block out the noise outside my room at the touch of a button and concentrate fully on my work or the movie. 

Every evening, we ask our residents about their highlights and document their activities for the day in our records. One day this week, two residents named their activity with me as their highlight of the day! I baked waffles with one of the residents on Saturday. With the other resident, I ran together in Lions Park in the afternoon to prepare him for the upcoming run in Monterey. That really moved me and I was very happy about this lovely feedback! I also cook on Mondays with an older resident who is one of the first residents in the Camphill. He is not the quickest kitchen helper, but we always have very interesting conversations, for example about Buddhism or the beginnings of the Camphill.

I went surfing for the first time this week! Of course, I didn't stand on the surfboard and ride the waves like in the movies, but first practiced getting on the surfboard in the water and keeping my balance while sitting. My colleague showed me how to progress bit by bit. At the beginning, it's a great feeling to sit on the surfboard, support yourself with your arms on the board and ride the waves. Another reason to get up so early to go surfing before work is the great atmosphere. The beach is empty, the first surfers are sitting on their boards waiting for the waves, the sun is rising in the distance and the birds are flying over our heads. It was great fun and I'm looking forward to continuing in the spring! The water was already very chilly despite the wetsuit, so we warmed up afterwards at Mr. Toots Coffeehouse in Capitola. They serve delicious coffee with a beautiful view of the sea.

In October, I received an email from the Camphill California office. The staff had read my blog and were very happy about my reports about everyday life in the community and the academy. They offered me the opportunity to write an article for the newsletter. This reaches not only the people in the community, but also the families of the residents, donors and friends of the community. I had already written an article for Triform's newsletter (Week 25- 15.02.2024 - “How farm work at Triform is helping me grow as a teacher”) and I am excited to contribute an article for the newsletter here as well. 

Would you also like to receive the monthly Camphill California newsletter? Scroll down a bit and enter your email to receive the Newsletter and learn more about our community.

https://camphillca.org/

Below is the article as published in the newsletter.

My First Month at Camphill Academy California

Before I came to Camphill as a coworker, I studied teaching in Berlin and worked as a substitute teacher. I found it challenging to have up to three children with special needs in the classroom and to integrate them individually without the support of special education teachers. I realized that the university had done little to prepare me for working with people with disabilities and that I needed to gain this experience outside the university. At the same time, I thought back to my school days and asked myself, which teachers had a big influence on me? In most cases, it wasn't the teachers who took the direct route from school to university and back to school. I was influenced by teachers who dared to take detours. Who lived abroad and gained professional experience outside of school. Who brought with them what no university teaches: Life experience.

A week after I handed in my master's thesis, I flew to New York in August of 2023, where I spent a year volunteering at the Triform Camphill Community. Suddenly I was no longer a student, but a farmer caring for cows, pigs, horses, goats, chickens and turkeys. I loved the work and not only learned about disabilities, but also grew as a person and developed a new relationship to the nature around me. We grew and harvested most of the food ourselves, and the meat came from our animals. But what I missed most was the opportunity to take a step back and reflect on my experiences on an academic level. That's when I got the chance to study Inclusive Social Development with a concentration in Social Therapy at the Camphill Academy in California. Five days a week, I support our residents in the house and garden and one day I attend classes. I have been attending the academy for one month now and would like to give you an insight.

The classes are very small. In Berlin I sat in seminars with 35 and lectures with 200 students - here we are only five students! This creates a nice learning atmosphere and the opportunity to discuss questions and challenges together. Everything we learn is directly connected to the work we do in the community. While I was often far away from everyday school life during my teaching studies and had professors who last taught a school class in the 90s, our lecturers work with us in the community and have many years of experience working with disabled people.

Gleice Paulino da Silva taught us the “Inclusive Social Development” course. Here we were introduced to the basics of curative education by Karl König. We researched anthroposophical institutions from all over the world and what they offer. From Brazil and India to Africa, volunteers are committed to helping people who need our help. Despite many differences, all communities are united by common values and principles, which also characterize our work here in California.

The course “History, Pillars and Ideals of Camphill” was led by Katherine Lyles. Here we studied Karl König and the founding of Camphill. It was very surprising to me to see the living conditions in which people with disabilities were previously kept and how revolutionary Karl König's approaches were back then, We learned all about the Essentials, Pillars and Stars (Jan Comenius, Count Zinzendorf and Robert Owen) of Camphill. Now we know, for example, why Camphill relies on volunteers in addition to employees, or why we don't have television in our houses.

Seth Jordan taught the “Experiential Writing & Journaling” course. Here we learn the basics of academic writing and reflect on our use of language to prepare for upcoming written assignments.

Philipp Jacob leads the course “Music Exploration”, where we are preparing a concert with singing and instruments for the community. In this class we are joined by the short-term volunteers. It's a great team-building event where we grow closer as a group and learn to contribute our individual strengths to an overall work.

We have also planned our Professional Practica under the guidance of Willow Roberge. Here we will carry out a small project, both in one of our workshops and in the house. The aim is to support two residents in achieving their goals through a 1:1 collaboration. To do this, we have to think about their needs and goals and how we can support the residents until June. My two projects have now been decided and I'm looking forward to working intensively with the two residents over the coming months.

Many interesting courses await us in the future, such as observation classes, anthroposophical studies, speech, drama, eurythmy, communication and human biography.

I'm learning a lot here that will help me become a better teacher when I return to Germany. At the academy, in addition to learning about disabilities, I also learn new practical skills, different perspectives on education and creative methods that I can use in class. Working in the garden, I learn to lead a team, motivate the residents and identify the strengths and potential of each individual. I am very grateful for the opportunity to study here and support the residents on the way to their goals.

We have been encouraged to write a journal about the academy. This will allow us to consolidate what we have learned and, at the same time, give other people outside Camphill an insight into working with disabled people and the theory of social therapy. If you want to join me on my journey, you can visit my blog. There I publish a weekly report about life at Camphill California and my studies at the Camphill Academy:

https://www.damonruhlaender.de

-Damon Ruhländer - Academy First Year Student

Unfortunately, we had to say goodbye to a good colleague this week. She also moved into our house at the end of July, but originally only wanted to stay for three months. She grew up in Frankfurt, Germany and her family is from Afghanistan. She enjoyed the last three months so much that she would like to stay longer. Unfortunately, she cannot extend her visa from here, but has to go back to Germany and apply at the embassy. We are keeping our fingers crossed that everything goes well and are already looking forward to her return! She has brought a lot of joy to the house and has quickly made friends with all the residents. We all, both staff and residents, miss her very much!

To say goodbye, my Bavarian colleague prepared her a German meal: Spätzle! It was delicious and my colleague was very happy about the surprise. 

We played “Apples to Apples” with the residents. I've already introduced the game on the blog, it's basically a family-friendly “Cards against Humanities”. By using pictures instead of text, it's also very accessible for people with disabilities and often made everyone laugh. The object is to choose the best picture from your cards for a word drawn (“Beautiful”, “Creepy”, “Hot”). The person who drew the word judges which picture they liked best. You have to think about whether you are laughing at absurd things or whether you are being objective and really choosing the best picture. A great game! To say goodbye, we made a campfire with marshmallows in a safe environment. Here we all said goodbye to our colleague and played “Werewolf”. In the game, some players are werewolves, others are villagers, some with special roles. The villagers wake up after each night, often with casualties, and have to work together to find out who is secretly a werewolf. 

On Saturday we had an “Intensive” day, a day where we had an extra day full of seminars, just like in a block seminar at university. We prepared the “All Souls” festival together as a class, where the residents and coworkers honor deceased friends and relatives. For lunch, we ordered from Pretty Good Advice. This is a vegetarian restaurant that serves breakfast sandwiches, vegetarian burgers, salads, soups and vegan soft serve ice cream. I'm often skeptical about vegetarian burgers, but the burger was super tasty and I hardly noticed that it wasn't meat. I was told that behind the small chain with two stores is a star chef who has built up the restaurant alongside his work as a business. You can really tell that this is not fast food from an assembly line, but that a lot of work is put into the individual burgers.

Little Caesars, the third largest pizza chain in the USA behind Pizza Hut and Dominos, is not an insider tip. I wanted to try the place out and was very surprised! Here in the USA, prices are often much higher than in Germany, and as caregivers we don't have a big budget either, so we often look closely at how much food we get for our money. Quality is important, but if we pay 25 dollars for a meal and it doesn't even fill us up, it's not worth it. Little Caesars has a large selection of delicious pizzas (thin, crispy pizza; normal pizza with a pretzel crust; thick Chicago style pizza) which all cost only around 10 dollars and are so big that I could live on one pizza for two days and even my two colleagues couldn't finish the Chicaco style pizza. If you only have a small budget but want to eat your fill, you should stop by here. The place is not far from the beach, so you can grab a pizza and eat it in the picnic area with a view of the sea or directly on the beach.

One evening we went to the MeloMelo Kava Bar. I wanted to try the drink “Kava”, which my colleagues recommended to me. Kava is traditionally consumed in the Western Pacific region, e.g. in Polynesia, Vanuatu, Melanesia and parts of Micronesia and Australia.  Traditionally, fresh or dried parts of the kava root are infused with water. The rhizome of the Piperis methystici rhizoma is usually ground into a fine powder or crushed in a mortar. If the whole plant is used and kneaded during production, the kava drink later also contains a saliva-promoting enzyme. It is offered in various forms in the store, for example with water or milk; I ordered it as hot chocolate with kava. It is drunk in half a coconut shell. It reduces anxiety and tension, has an analgesic effect, relaxes and reduces restlessness and leads to slight euphoria. Kava is not a drug, but a normal drink. Unfortunately, I didn't like it at all. I'm generally very relaxed by nature, so I tend to look for things that make me less tired and more talkative, such as drinks with caffeine or caffeine tablets. Anyone looking for a drink with these effects should give it a try, but I'll leave it at one cup. Instead, there was an open stage where people could sing and make music with their instruments. A group of young women played the guitar and sang beautifully, which definitely made the visit worthwhile.

I learned something about the history of Camphill. The founders came from the Beaver Run Camphill school and wanted to set up a new Camphill in Santa Cruz. Originally, they had a large contiguous area in mind, like those found in Beaver Run, Copake and Triform. However, the Regional Center, the authority responsible for the care of the disabled, did not like this idea. They wanted the homes to be spread throughout the community so that people would not only stay in the community but be integrated into the surrounding society. Therefore, houses in the neighborhood were gradually bought up so that the eight houses are a little scattered on five different plots of land. We have 21 residents and two residents who only come on weekdays. There is no farm here like in other Camphills due to the expensive land, but residents are encouraged to look for work in nearby companies. We have residents who work in a Home Depot, a pizza store or a Hawaiian BBQ restaurant. I live in ISHI, the first licensed home at Camphill. Licensed means that there are special rules and guidelines that have to be adhered to in order to receive support from the state. For example, I am not allowed to have overnight guests in my room without them having paid 70 dollars and made an appointment for a fingerprint and security check. As nice as it is to live rent-free at work, I find this a bit restrictive. Despite the state funding, Camphill is dependent on donations. 

It is also interesting to take a look at the finances, which have been published in a brochure. The figures relate to the period from 01.07.2022 to 30.06.2023.

Income 

80% Program fees: $2,418,502

13% Unrestricted donations: 401,379 $

4% Fundraising event: 131,884 $

2% Restricted donations: $74,782

Unrestricted donations

42% Foundations: $169,700

34% Individual Donors: $135,579

24% Grants: $96,100

Expenses

51% Staff, Volunteer and Student Support: $1,278,600

27% Real Estate, Automobile and Interest: $668,916

11% House Expenses: $278,005

9% Administration: 215,522 $

2% Cultural and Educational: $50,017

Cultural & Educational

33% Cultural Expanses: $16,698

24% Academy Program Support: $11,934

18% Prescott College Fees (partner university): $8,810

13% Academy Fees: $6,500

12% Art Program and Supplies: $6,075 

This week was the busiest week since I arrived. There were three big events in a row: Halloween, Family and Friends Day and All Souls Day.

On Sunday, my off-day, the house went out to get pumpkins for everyone. During the week, all the houses got together to carve spooky pumpkins. We coworkers helped all the residents to create their pumpkins. Great fun! One resident loves making dolls and made a creepy skeleton doll that hangs in a window. It's also fun to walk around the neighborhood, unlike in Germany, a lot more people decorate their houses here. Many skeletons, zombies and pumpkins adorn the houses and front gardens in Soquel. I also saw a car that had been redesigned for Halloween. It looks as if a corpse has been strapped to the roof in a trash bag, a leg is hanging out of the bloody trunk and there is a crime scene tape around the car. 

Afterwards, we drove to a party organized by “Shared Adventures”. This is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life of people with disabilities. They do this by organizing recreational activities to promote personal growth, development and self-confidence.  At the Vintage Faith Church in Santa Cruz, the organization organized a Halloween dance to which many different facilities for people with disabilities in the region were invited. It was a great idea as it allowed the residents to socialize with other disabled people. There was a DJ, dancing, a make-up table and delicious snacks. I saw lots of fantastic and creative costumes. My personal highlight was a dog dressed as a lion. The residents showed a lot more confidence in costume and came out of their shell more because they were someone else here. One resident, who moves very slowly, even did press-ups and breakdancing on the floor, which surprised us all. It's nice to see what costumes do to people. 

On Halloween, we organized a big party at our Camphill. I set up and dismantled the party and prepared the karaoke. We redesigned the hall with great attention to detail to match Halloween. The founder of the Camphill even said that, in her opinion, the party was one of the best Halloween parties she had ever experienced in the Camphill. We have put together an extensive program:

• Spooky dinner (spaghetti pumpkin vomit, spider web brownies, vegetable face sticks, witch fingers, bloody pizza).

• A spooky tale

• An enchanting costume parade (with a prize for the scariest and most creative costume) 

• A Camphill murder mystery (a secret murderer had to kill (pinch) as many participants as possible, at the end the survivors had to decide who was the murderer among them) 

• An thrilling monster dance (led by the afternoon dance group, of which I am a member) 

• Haunted karaoke (organized by me with spooky Halloween songs)

In the evening I went to Santa Cruz with my colleagues. There was a big Halloween party on the main street, the whole town was in costume. One of my colleagues was dressed up as the Free State of Bavaria and attracted the attention of all the Germans, so we met lots of exchange students from Germany. We immediately networked so that we could celebrate together in the future.

After Halloween, the next big event was already on the agenda. On Family and Friends Day, all parents, family members and friends of the residents were invited to take a look at Camphill and exchange ideas with other parents. In the morning, our garden crew set up the tables and chairs outside and laid the tables. The kitchen crew cooked a wonderful soup. At lunchtime, the families arrived and were welcomed by us with two concerts. We academy students and the volunteers have been rehearsing the song “Wake Me Up” by Avicii for the last few weeks. The volunteers who can play an instrument played the music and I sang the song with others.  Anyone who would like to see a video of our performance is welcome to contact me, it was really lovely. All the new volunteers were introduced to the parents, parents even came up to me and asked me if I was the one who always ran with the residents. I was very happy about their appreciation! Afterwards, a mixed group of volunteers and residents performed a song. After the two performances, the families went outside and we served the soup. for dessert we had very tasty cupcakes. After the meal, the parents were informed about Camphill's plans and worked in small groups on various aspects of Camphill life. They were then shown around and were able to get to know their children's work areas, such as the garden and the weaving workshop. In contrast to Triform, there was no joint work here, where the parents worked side by side with their children. I really liked that in Triform, because we had so many helping hands, larger projects could be finished. I worked on the farm crew at the time, where we laid a path with wood chips from the farm to the nearby Farmview house. The disabled people, together with their parents, shoveled wood chips into the wheelbarrows and then pushed them together to the drop-off location. Many of the parents were lawyers and business people who came in fancy cars and suits and experienced what it means to work on the farm. Parents often underestimate their children. They always want to give their children a helping hand and this is the first time they have seen how independently the residents work on the farm and how much experience they have gained over time. It was incredible to see how proud the parents were! I missed that here, and I suspect it also has to do with the age of the parents. While in Triform it was mainly young adults between 18 and 26, here it is mainly middle-aged and older adults, so the parents are also of retirement age. Nevertheless, it would be nice to create an opportunity for parents to watch their children at work. I would also have been happy to have more opportunities to get to know the parents better. For example, workshops where parents and coworkers can work together on topics in small groups and exchange ideas.

During a visit to the University of Santa Cruz, we met a philosophy student. I did my Bachelor and Master of Education in philosophy myself, so I was very interested in studying philosophy here at the university. She invited us to an event in her apartment where philosophy students were discussing the topic “Philosophy of Death”. We were delighted to be invited and met lots of nice students with whom we talked about death and student life in Santa Cruz. On the way home, we ate delicious ice cream. 

When I visited a bakery, I was surprised: an Iron Sourdough loaf costs a whopping 16 dollars! I miss the German bakeries where you don't pay 8 dollars for a pretzel. However, I saw a “crookie” here for the first time. This is a mixture of cookie and croissant. With 8 dollars, it's also quite expensive, but I really want to try this mixture. One morning I visited “Zeldas”, a restaurant on the beach in Capitola. Here I had delicious French toast with a beautiful view of Montery Bay and was watched by lots of birds who would have loved to share the food with me. One day I went hiking again with residents in the “Land of Meddicine Buddha”. I've been here quite often now, but I still really enjoy the peace and quiet of the forest. The residents I walk with don't talk much either, so for once we are really walking in complete silence. Life at Camphill can be very loud: Residents shouting their demands through the corridors, kitchen machines making noise, the smoke extractor running, the lawn being mowed outside, the washing machine running, someone vacuuming and three residents shouting questions at you at the same time. I tend to simply block out the sound when there's too much noise, which helped me a lot to keep calm at my previous work at school. That's why I really enjoy being able to enjoy two hours of silence here in the forest.

The next day we continued with the next holiday. As this holiday has a much more serious mood, we had to take down the Halloween decorations everywhere. On All Souls Day, we honored the friends and relatives of residents and staff who have passed on in the past. The festival was planned entirely by my academy class, so we did a lot of research into the festival and its background beforehand. The big challenge was to break new ground and implement our own ideas, but also to respect the long-standing traditions and expectations of the residents. We spent a whole day setting up, and during the lunch break we ordered delicious food from “Pretty Good Advice”. It's a vegetarian restaurant that serves fantastic burgers that you can hardly tell aren't real meat. You can find out more about the place on the “Santa Cruz Highlights” subpage. The colleagues from the nearby building looked out of the window in amazement when they saw our feast of burgers and fries. 

We have laid a large spiral of cloths in the hall. In the center is a large lit candle. The entrance to the spiral is marked with two large bouquets of flowers that we have put together in our garden. There are many candles at the entrance. Before entering the hall, the residents and staff were informed about the procedure. Everyone then entered the hall in silence and took their seats. Then the door was closed, which gave me the signal to recite my chosen poem. I chose the poem “Blue Butterfly” by Hermann Hesse.

Flügelt ein kleiner blauer

Falter vom Wind geweht,

Ein perlmutterner Schauer,

Glitzert, flimmert, vergeht.

So mit Augenblicksblinken,

So im Vorüberwehn

Sah ich das Glück mir winken,

Glitzern, flimmern, vergehn.

A little blue butterfly is

Sailing, blown by the wind,

A mother-of-pearl shiver,

Sparkles, shimmers, vanishes.

Thus with momentary gleaming,

Thus in wafting past,

I saw happiness beckoning me,

Sparkling, shimmering, vanishing.

After reciting the poem, I walked to the table where the candles were. Two of my classmates lit the candles there and handed them over. I walked through the spiral with my candle and put it down at the end of the spiral. We were allowed to dedicate the candle to a person who had recently died. I dedicated the candle to Alexandra Leonzini. Like me, she was active in the International Students of History Association, where I met her at several events and seminars. She taught music at the University of Cambridge and was about to finish her dissertation when she died in August:

https://ishainternational.wordpress.com/2024/08/29/alexandra-leonzini-isha-will-miss-you/?fbclid=IwY2xjawGWwsNleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHXoPXz_lKujBIZDFcZmuJMviNMze3VrKn9SxmmK-g7NnhbiTAMJ1bXOxBA_aem_8OMqAVKzR8-F7aJHTlroFw

A great person who I wish I had gotten to know even better. It reminded me that death comes unexpectedly and we should enjoy each day as if it were our last. We cannot and should not trust that we will be able to realize all of our life's wishes when we retire. Instead, we should live in the here and now and make the most of the time we have on earth. 

After me, my Hungarian and American colleagues recited a poem in their national language and placed a candle. Then, one by one, the residents and other colleagues also took a candle and remembered their deceased loved ones, thus illuminating the spiral. An altar stood in front of the hall, on which pictures of the deceased were placed and loaves of bread baked by the houses were placed as offerings. It was a very respectful atmosphere and many of the residents took the opportunity to thank their deceased relatives. It was very emotional for me, even though I already knew the festival from Triform. At Triform, we held this ceremony outside by a spiral of stones and banished the names of the deceased. I even lost a few tears last year as it was very emotional. We got a lot of positive feedback as a class, people liked the new elements we added to the familiar tradition. 

In the garden, my work leader explained to me what mycelia are. It is a root-like structure of a fungus that consists of a mass of branched, thread-like hyphae. The intertwined white threads can form a small colony that is invisible to our eyes, but can also extend over thousands of hectares. A fungus absorbs nutrients from the environment through the mycelium. First, the hyphae excrete enzymes into the food source. This breaks down the biological polymers into smaller units such as monomers. The monomers are then absorbed into the mycelium by facilitated diffusion. Mycelia are of great importance for the ecosystem due to their decomposition of plant material. They contribute to the organic content of the soil and release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere as they grow. Mycelia increase the efficiency of water and nutrient uptake of most plants and give them resistance to some plant pathogens. Mycelium is an important food source for many soil invertebrates. Mycelium contributes to the health, nutrient uptake and growth of many plants. I didn't realize how important these fungal networks are to the ecosystem! 

Before I started to volunteer at the Camphill Community Triform in August 2023, I never had any contact with horses. Every day on the farm I started work by feeding Smokey in the stable and walking him to the field. With his loving character, peaceful behavior and endless patience in his work with the disabled, the horse of my colleague and good friend Shirley has become a close companion over the year. He showed me what great animals horses are. For years, Smokey has supported children and young adults with disabilities in the Camphill School Beaver Run as well in Triform, and gave them countless unforgettable moments. He helped them to develop core strength, self-confidence, discipline, empathy, trust and courage.

🐎 Wherever your final journey takes you Smokey, we will never forget you ❤️

The last few weeks have been marked by countless articles and many discussions about the upcoming presidential election.

I have been politically active since I did my school internship with the Bundestag member Prof. Dr. Peter Dankert in 2013. You can read a newspaper article about my internship here:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B8zItBNnqA0/

Many different parties are represented in my family, but we have always managed to talk to each other and be open to other political positions. I joined the SPD on the last day of my internship. The SPD was founded in 1875 as the Socialist Workers' Party of Germany and renamed the Social Democratic Party of Germany in 1890. It is one of the oldest and largest parties in Germany. After the NSDAP came to power, the SPD was the only party in the Reichstag (the Federal Parliament of Germany) to vote against the Enabling Act of 1933. From a socialist workers' party, it transformed into a social democratic people's party by the time of the Godesberg Program. Democratic socialism is described as an "order of economy, state and society in which the civil, political, social and economic basic rights are guaranteed for all people, all people can lead a life without exploitation, oppression and violence, i.e. in social and human security" and as a "vision of a free, just and solidarity-based society", the "realization" of which is emphasized as a "permanent task". "Social democracy" serves as the "principle of action". The basic values ​​of democratic socialism are freedom, justice and solidarity. The coordinated social market economy should be strengthened, an effective welfare state should secure people's needs and European unification should be deepened. The main reason for my joining the party is that the SPD, like no other party, is committed to educational justice and improving opportunities for children. My parents and grandparents did not go to university, and as a "first generation student" (formerly known as a "working class child"), I have become aware in many places of how many advantages children from academic families enjoy. I have been involved in initiatives such as "Are you the first?" and "FirstGen" at Humboldt University and have supported other first generation students as a mentor so that they can find a good entry into the academic world and the job market without support from their parents and associated networks. I sat in the student parliament of Humboldt University in Berlin for two years and actively supported those students who are in the minority at the university and who drop out of their studies more often than students from academic families. The SPD and the youth organization Jusos are most active in this area, so I feel very comfortable here. There have been times when I have met young politicians from the "The Left" and "The Greens" parties and was impressed by how committed they are to environmental and social policy. Times when I doubted the SPD, which often had to make compromises in the coalition with the CDU or FDP and thus could not live up to its own expectations. Nevertheless, I always saw the SPD as having the greatest potential to improve people's situation. I have also always met people here who share my values ​​and political convictions and give their all every day, both at local, state and federal level.

Most of my party friends supported Bernie Sanders. Bernie Sanders describes his political orientation as "democratic socialism" and sees a hybrid of market economy and social benefits provided by the state as desirable, which brings him close to German social democracy. He withdrew his presidential candidacy in 2020 after finishing far behind his Democratic colleague Joe Biden. In Triform we watched with much disappointment as Biden faced Trump on June 27, 2024, where he delivered a catastrophic performance. A month later, Kamala Harris took over as presidential candidate with governor and ex-teacher Tim Walz as vice presidential candidate. It was very exciting to follow the election campaign in the USA, but unfortunately it quickly became clear to all of us that Kamala Harris would have a very hard time winning against Donald Trump. Especially when she was asked by ABC News if she would have done anything differently than Joe Biden. She replied: "There is not a thing that comes to mind in terms of—and I’ve been a part of most of the decisions that have had impact, the work that we have done". So she would not have decided anything differently - but she must have been aware that Joe Biden has lost so much support over time that she would have to build up her own profile and reposition herself. When Elon Musk started to support Trump, who, despite the whole Twitter disaster, is still very popular with young people in the USA and Germany and stands for innovation, inventiveness and success, it became clear that it would be a very close call. My colleague and I watched the vote counting live on CNN and Fox News and we saw how far behind Harris was behind Trump. Donald Trump is now president. What does that mean for Camphill? I have spoken to various people and heard very different opinions. Some say it makes no difference at all, as California is still firmly in the hands of the Democrats and the decisive decisions are made in the California State Senate in Sacramento. Others said that many of the funds for Camphill come directly or indirectly from federal funds, although Trump would likely result in cuts in the welfare state and thus also in cuts in funding for people with disabilities and thus also for Camphill. All of this is difficult to assess, as Trump's inauguration will not take place until January 20, 2025. He will also not make many decisions alone, but rather the Senate and the House of Representatives. We are all very excited to see what will happen and how it will affect camphill. 

What I did not realize: people with disabilities of course also have the right to vote here! I was very curious to see how Camphill manages to inform residents neutrally and enable them to participate in the election. All residents who wanted to participate in the election were invited to the hall. The residents all received their ballots by mail. The ballots were not only about the election of the future president and vice president, but also the senator for the US Senate, the senator for the 17th district, the representative for the 30th district and 12 petitions. Some of the petitions were very interesting, such as whether the minimum wage should be raised to $17 or whether prison inmates should continue to be forced to work. A staff member read out all of the questions on the ballot and used the Cal Matters website to present arguments for and against each question and describe the impact on the state budget. The website also lists organizations that support or oppose the petition, which provides additional guidance. I sat next to a resident and helped him find the right question. But the residents made the decision. I am very impressed with how much our Camphill has supported residents in supporting their right to vote. Some residents had problems filling out the form correctly, for example because they could not make correct crosses. These residents were taken to the polling station where they could make their decisions on a touch screen without invalidating their ballot due to scribbles caused by motoric difficulties.

On St. Martin's Day we met in the hall and heard the story of the saint. Martin was born in 316 AD and served as a Roman soldier. In the winter he rode past a freezing beggar who he felt sorry for. He cut his cloak in half with his sword and gave the beggar half. That night the beggar appeared in Martin's dreams and revealed himself to be Jesus Christ. He converted to Christianity, founded a monastery and became very popular with the people. When the residents of the city of Tours wanted to appoint him bishop, he refused and hid in a stable. But he was betrayed by the chattering of geese, persuaded and appointed bishop in 372 AD. In Triform we had a beautiful performance in the field where the residents wore beautiful clothes, led a horse and acted out the events. Afterwards there was a performance by a choir and at the end we let sky lanterns fly. Here in California we heard the story and crafted lanterns. We didn't let them fly into the air, but instead - fitting to the coastal location - put them in the water. We lit the candles and put the lanterns in the pool, where they were carried across the pool by the wind. A great sight!

I grew up with a dog, her name was Glorie. When my mother came home from the hospital with me, she held me out to the dog to sniff. I was now a new member of the family and our dog was supposed to protect me as such. She did that for many years from then on. When my dog ​​died at the age of 14, I was very sad. I am still grateful to Glorie today, when I was sad she was the first to recognize it and gave me a lot of love and strength. After that I always wanted to get a dog, but both at school and later at university I never had the predictable daily routine that you should have to keep a dog. Once I have a permanent, regular job, I will definitely get a dog. But only when I really have the time to look after him properly. Here in Santa Cruz you come across dogs on every corner - dog lovers will feel very comfortable. From numerous cars, happy dogs look out through open windows, from windows and balconies dogs watch the hustle and bustle on the streets and on the beaches dogs chase the many birds and jump into the sea to get their balls. Every time I see a dog here, I immediately get in a good mood!

After I recently saw a Crookie in the "Adorable French Bakery" bakery, I was able to try it out for the first time. At $8, it's quite expensive, but I was glad to have tried it at least once. It looks like a donut with hard chocolate in the middle. It alternates between croissant dough and biscuit pieces, which are very tasty together. Nevertheless, I will probably stick with just one Crookie - it's simply too expensive for more.

On my day off on Sunday, I now regularly practice for taking part in a marathon. For this I often run a half marathon on Sundays from Camphill to the Wharf in Santa Cruz and back (24km). It takes me about 2 hours and 25 minutes, my goal is to be at least 5 minutes faster here. Last time I decided to run the filming locations from the movie "Us". I already reported on the film evening with my colleagues and our impressions in week 7. The three filming locations are no more than 10 minutes' walk from each other, so if you are visiting Santa Cruz and liked the film, you should stop by here.

1) Beach scene / Hall of mirrors

The place where the hall of mirrors is in the film is actually just sand. It is on the beach next to the boardwalk behind the Ferris wheel with the carousel next to it. I stood exactly where the secret entrance is and imagined what could be lurking under my feet...

https://maps.app.goo.gl/7nmNa6EZtEkVeaaG7

2) Ambulance

When the family arrives in Santa Cruz, they are stopped by the police as paramedics are loading an injured person with a sign in their hand into the ambulance. The scene was filmed in front of the house at 201 Riverside Ave with a view of the entrance to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/hFoazUC2FZjUYaZt6

3) Burning car

The scene where the family is stopped in their car by the doppelganger was filmed in front of the house at 1181 E Cliff Dr. Here you also have a great view of Seabright State Beach.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/SFSbe578QANyWGpf7

The run and the visit to the filming locations was a lot of fun.