From Anna S.:

Boulder Colorado is possibly the crunchiest town on earth. Our journey continued with a tour of Wild Oats Supermarket, which was actually really enjoyable. We learned all about fair trade and tried some free sample of organic foods. Our discussion leaders explained how food can be made environmentally friendly and what the differences are between their selection and other supermarkets. We enjoyed a healthy lunch at Wild Oats and used recyclable corn containers to carry our food around.

After we ate, we traveled down the road to Naropa University, the only Buddhist University in the country. Our tour leader Jessie May, showed us around the school and explained how the school uses traditional teaching methods along with inner-thinking, to have peace within ones mind.

While at the school, a teacher, Steven Taylor, who writes about the punk movement, gave us a lesson about Beat Poetry. He discussed the 1950’s and people like Jack Kerouac, Alan Ginsberg, and Ann Waldman, and how they changed societal beliefs by helping to end segregation and being the frontrunners for Rock and Roll. Steven had been a guitar player for Ginsberg for 20 years, before becoming a teacher.

We went to downtown Boulder and walked along Pearl Street and did some window-shopping. We sat down for dinner at a cool pub and had some of the best burgers ever. After dinner, Billy surprised us, with tickets to Fahrenheit 9/11. We were thrilled to be able to watch a bit of history, but we critically analyzed the movie and had a great discussion. We got back on the bus, and got ready for our drive to Utah. See you tomorrow.

Etgar 36 girls at the Wild Oats market

Learning about organic farming at Wild Oats

Etgar 36 at Naropa University

Steven Taylor, Director of Writing Program at Naropa, speaking about the history of the beatniks, literature, jazz and punk music