Blue Mountain Bliss
“May the grace of God be with you always in your heart,
May you know the truth inside you from the start,
May you find the strength to know you are part of something beautiful.”
~ Alexi Murdoch
I attended a Steiner school growing up, an experience that has undoubtedly helped to shape my future educational goals and may be a clue to answering the question nagging my every rucksack weighted step “Why can’t I shake this travel bug???” The permission to be curious about the world around me and to continue to ask questions and search for answers was instilled in my Steiner education from a young age. This curiosity is THE reason I find myself now, typing away perched on a ladder, overlooking the beautiful blue mountains at the KindleHill Steiner school in Wentworth Falls! I have spent a remarkable two weeks here volunteering with the HelpX program to build a new school, and never have I been so far from my home and felt so very much at home in this welcoming and eclectic community.
The KindleHill school is using a unique cobb construction technique that I have been thrilled to be a part of, waking up early to mix materials, shovel cob, climb ladders and render walls. My evenings are spent in the workshop accommodation eating meals lovingly prepared by dedicated parents and translating jokes between the other volunteers representing five different nationalities. On weekends I wander into nearby Katoomba by train for the world’s BEST coffee and pastry from cafe Zuppa, and to chat it up with some colorful locals, before I take off on a bushwalk into some breathtaking territory. Yep, life is pretty sweet at the moment.
My constant struggle with moving from place to place has rung true blue here in that I am constantly saying good-bye to somewhere or someone and I always have that feeling that my heart will never repair itself. But it does regenerate and I am able to hold on to fond memories of all these wonderful places and the people who inhabit them and feel so unbelievably blessed to have been part of their lives for even a short while. Thank you thank you thank you to the KindleHill school for your love, generosity, openness to volunteers from far reaches of the earth and for your dedication to educating this generation in such a meaningful way.
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Hey, I work with the CheapOair travel blog (cheapoair.typepad.com) and we’re interested in having you guest blog for us. Please contact me if you’re interested. Thanks! Aldo.