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Goodall plants hope in Tucson

By David Mendez

Some were encouraged. Some called it inspiring. One likened it to “meeting Ghandi.”

More than anything else, the consensus of Jane Goodall’s lecture at Northwest Campus on April 28 was that there is reason to have hope for the world.

Hope was the chief theme of Goodall’s lecture, beginning with the weather.

The lecture, after all, was scheduled to be held outdoors. More than a few second-guesses were heard throughout the crowd, wondering why the college would choose to hold an event outdoors in mid-afternoon in late April.

Goodall alluded to the setting, mention her earlier prayers for clouds.

“As you can see, there are a few scattered out there, so I did what I could for you all,” she joked.

Goodall’s lecture also touched on themes of encouragement, and the effect it can have on the lives of young people. She also alluded to it when talking about her fledgling career, and later when discussing the Jane Goodall Foundation’s Roots and Shoots program.

Roots and Shoots, according to Goodall, is an organization that encourages youth, as well as people of all ages, to find ways to help animals, the environment and the human community.

The organization presses the idea that, like a seed whose shoots can break through brick walls, a young, properly nurtured movement can break through the problems of the world.

World problems that Goodall listed included deforestation, overpopulation and unsustainable living.

“If we’re the most technologically intellectual species, how are we destroying the only planet we’ve got?” Goodall asked. “We have compromised the future of our young people.”

At the close of her lecture, Goodall revealed her reason for hope: the indomitable human spirit.

“There are thousands, millions of social problems,” she said. “But I haven’t heard of a problem without a group of passionate, dedicated people, fighting for justice.”

Goodall then asked the audience questions.

“Can we save the planet? Is it too late? Will we do something to help this planet survive into the future?”

Their answers alone were reason enough to have hope for the future.

Photo by Ciro Mennella

Building bridges, breaking barriers: Henry Oyama oversees historical milestones

Story and photo by Steve Choice

Most people never make history once in their lives. Then there’s Henry “Hank” Oyama, who oversaw two watershed events and much more during his remarkable life.

Thanks in large part to Oyama, people of different races may now legally marry in Arizona. He also had a major hand in establishing bilingual education programs in the United States, both in the public school system and at the college level.

Far from resting on his laurels, the wise and gregarious elder statesman continues his lifelong commitment to the betterment of the Hispanic community.

Oyama is president-elect and a co-founder of Amigos de Pima Community College, an organization of community leaders and educators that awards scholarships to Spanish-speaking students through the PCC Foundation.

The group will hold its annual luncheon on Thursday, May 27, at 11:30 a.m. in the cafeteria at Desert Vista Campus to honor this year’s 14 scholarship recipients and their families.

Oyama, born in Tucson in 1926, is of Japanese descent. He grew up in a Mexican-American barrio on the south side of town, speaking only his mother’s native Spanish until he attended grade school.

Though she was born in Hawaii, Oyama’s mother grew up in Mexico, and the future scholar’s self-identification as part of the Latino community was born.

Even as a young boy, Oyama displayed personal drive. He manned a street corner during the Depression, hawking newspapers to passersby to help his family make ends meet. When he was 10, his mother bought him a bike and Oyama secured a full-fledged paper route.

“Oh, yes,” Oyama said with a laugh. “That bicycle was really a big thing for me. I was able to help my family even more with the route.”

Oyama’s surroundings changed drastically in 1942, as he and his family were sent to a Japanese-American internment camp at Poston, Ariz., for 16 months.

Far from being embittered at his country’s treatment, Oyama responded by joining the U.S. Army in 1945, as World War II entered its final stages.

The 19-year-old private’s linguistic skills were put to effective use as a counter-intelligence agent in Panama.

“We were keeping our eyes on Germans trying to sabotage the Panama Canal, but mainly we were tracking communists there,” Oyama said of his time in Central America. “That was at the dawn of the Cold War.”

Following WWII’s conclusion, Oyama attended the University of Arizona as an Air Force Reserve Officers’ Training Corps cadet.

He earned his Master of Arts in education in 1953. From there, he began his career as an educator at Pueblo High School, where he taught Spanish and history.

In 1959, Oyama did something no one had ever done before in Arizona: he attempted to marry outside his race. He and Mary Ann Jordan, a white woman, became the Arizona American Civil Liberties Union’s first clients.

Their legal challenge to a state statute banning interracial marriage eventually reached the Arizona Supreme Court. The state’s highest court declared the law unconstitutional, and Oyama and his young bride blazed a trail that many would follow.

“We had very well-prepared attorneys working for us,” Oyama said. “They all went on to great things in their lives.”

But Oyama wasn’t done helping shape society, as the ‘60s brought strident calls for civil rights.

In 1966, Oyama teamed with local colleagues Adalberto “Beto” Guerrero, María Urquides, Rosita Cota, Martina García de Durán-Cerda and Paul Streiff to publish a landmark study, “The Invisible Minority.”

The groundbreaking work, commissioned by the National Education Association, called for country-wide bilingual education programs. It also shed light on the psychological and educational realities of Spanish-speaking schoolchildren in the Southwest.

“We said ‘invisible’ because most people in the country thought of Latinos as almost a regional group,” Oyama said. “Unlike today, many Americans thought of Hispanics as part of a far-off group of people that had nothing to do with them.”

The study’s research focused on young Hispanics’ educational experiences in five southwestern states, and quickly caught the attention of Texas Sen. Ralph Yarborough. Yarborough spearheaded a congressional effort to enact federal legislation establishing and funding bilingual education programs.

Yarborough’s work came to fruition in 1968, when President Lyndon Johnson signed the Bilingual Education Act into law.

Oyama became director of the fledgling bilingual and international studies program at PCC in 1970. He rose through the PCC ranks as an administrator, attaining the position of associate vice president before retiring in 1992.

Even in retirement, Oyama furthers his vision of greater self-awareness in the Latino community.

He has received numerous awards honoring his contributions, including Pima County Man of the Year in 1993. A new Tucson elementary school was named for him in 2003.

PCC Chancellor Roy Flores called Oyama a “guiding force” who has helped more than 150 students receive scholarships through the Hispanic Student Endowment Fund.

“Amigos de Pima has raised more than $315,000 for the Hispanic Student Endowment Fund, ensuring that the College will be giving scholarships for many years to come,” Flores said.

Oyama’s life experiences have been as varied as they’ve been historical, but the educator’s goal isn’t to bring attention to himself.

“Well…things happen,” Oyama said of the events he’s been a part of. “I’ve just always wanted to do my part to build bridges in whatever I’ve done.”

Henry Oyama shares memories from a scrapbook at his Tucson home.

Tragedies can’t keep student down for long

By Kalee Vaughn

Change: to transform or convert. Throughout Travis Mohney’s life, change has been a recurring theme.

Mohney, 22, began his life on Aug. 1, 1987 in San Diego, Calif.  He was the first child for his parents.

“My parents may have been married and I may have been a planned child, but that doesn’t mean things were easy,” he said.

Both of Mohney’s parents were substance abusers. They were able to hide it from him during the early years of his life, but he eventually caught on.

His father decided to change his ways, which included filing for divorce and moving out of California.

In 2003, when Mohney was 15, he decided to go live with his father in Mississippi. His father had completely turned his life around and Mohney found that he had a new stepmom and two younger half-brothers.

The change Mohney saw in his father inspired him to invest more in his religious beliefs.  He began attending church regularly and even started playing guitar for the church’s Christian band.

However, life didn’t stay good. On April 7, 2004, Mohney’s father was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer.

“Devastated doesn’t begin to describe how I felt,” he said. “It was completely unexpected. The best memories I have are of my dad just being a dad.”

Five months later, on Sept. 7, Mohney’s father died.

The next year, Mohney experienced another unexpected blow: Hurricane Katrina. He, along with his stepmom and half-brothers, had to stay in the Biloxi Veteran’s Affairs Hospital for five days. He slept in an exam room until his uncle, Ken Jones, flew out from Arizona to get him.

Jones landed in Birmingham, Ala., and drove a rental car to pick up Mohney. On the way to Arizona, Mohney drove along the coast while his uncle, who is a professional photographer, took pictures of the damage.

Before the Coast Guard advised them to take a different route, they stopped at the cemetery where Mohney’s father is buried.

“There were boats stuck in the cemetery from when the water levels went down,” he said.  “That was the last time I saw my dad’s grave.”

Arriving in Arizona promised a fresh start for Mohney. He enrolled in Pima Community College and had his tuition waived because he was a Hurricane Katrina survivor. Things seemed to be looking up once again.

After three semesters at PCC, however, Mohney dropped out. He became friends with people who introduced him to a new way of thinking.

The devastation of his father’s death and of the hurricane had shaken him loose from his Christian beliefs, so he welcomed this new lifestyle. Unfortunately, it involved drug use.

Mohney spent several months holed up in his apartment, experimenting with drugs that his new friends provided.

It finally got so out of control that he thought he might have severely damaged his brain. That night, he knew that he was done with drugs forever and quit cold turkey.

He is now attending PCC again, studying photography. He plans on transferring to Northern Arizona University and hopes to start his own photography business.

“I saw my dad turn his life around,” he said, “and I knew I could do the same.”

Travis Mohney

Photo by Abigail Oberg

Preschool helps children succeed, supervisor says

Story and photo by Samantha Munsey

In a room full of small chairs and storybooks, Torina Garcia resembles Mary Poppins.

Garcia has been supervisor of the Early Childhood Development Center at Pima Community College’s West Campus for almost nine years and has seen children and families grow before her eyes.

Originally from New Mexico, Garcia graduated with a degree in early childhood development from PCC and began teaching preschool at different childhood centers throughout Tucson.

“I’ve worked with the babies, toddlers and infants,” Garcia said. “But when I moved up to preschool, I really liked the kids. They were just my age group.”

Now, a typical day for Garcia is making sure everything at the Center runs smoothly.

From regulating meals given to children to supervising professional development for the staff, Garcia is the person behind the scenes who ensures that both children and parents are being provided for properly. She even fills in as a teacher from time to time if she is short-staffed.

“When a teacher is sick and we are unable to find a sub, I usually step in to teach for the day,” Garcia said.

The Center can care for up to 25 children ages 3-5, with mornings being the busiest part of the day. Garcia rewards children who make it through the entire two-year program with a little celebration in their honor.

“It’s always really hard for me towards the end of May when we have to see some of the kids go,” Garcia said. “We have a graduation, and give them a cap and gown and little diplomas.”

She believes the ECD program provides building blocks for a good education and socialization because children are familiar with the atmosphere when they start school.

“When these kids go into kindergarten, they have no problem behaving in a classroom and getting along with children,” Garcia said.

She sent her own children to preschool as a result of this belief. They are now teenagers, but she still sees the benefit of them attending.

“Sometimes I run into my kids’ friends who were in my preschool and, for the most part, all of them are doing really well,” Garcia said. “I like to think I had a part in that.”

Garcia and her staff recently obtained state certification and accreditation for the ECD center. The certification will allow the Center to receive grants and funding.

“It was awesome,” Garcia said. “We scored over 100 percent. I’m really proud of my staff.”

When Garcia looks back on all of her years as a supervisor and educator, she is happy to discover she still values the well-being and growth of children most of all.

“I love children,” Garcia said. “Above everything, they are the ones who know how to keep a person grounded.”

Torina Garcia spends time with a preschooler.

War sparks Marine’s personal turnaround

Story and photo by Liza Porter

Bryan Bates enlisted in the Marine Corps right out of high school. He served in both Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, for a total of 15 months.

A self-professed “wild child,” Bates rides a Harley Davidson to school. Arrested several times as a teenager, he got in trouble in the Marines as well, usually while drinking.

Bates smoked while he talked, his tall, thin body perched on the edge of a cement bench outside the Santa Catalina building on West Campus. He wore Levi’s, a white shirt and black Converse shoes.

The Arizona sky glowed a deep blue. Several times the sound of a helicopter almost drowned out his voice, as if he were still in a war zone. He didn’t flinch.

“Starting school has calmed me down. Made me see that the time to raise hell is over.” He smiled. “And, you know, get on with my future.”

Near the end of his enlistment, Bates was transferred to another unit and got in trouble again. His commanding officer intervened and Bates got an honorable discharge.

“He’s the reason why I’m going to school right now,” Bates said. “He told me ‘you’re getting this, I want you to do something with your life. Don’t join the Border Patrol … don’t be a cop.’

“He’s, like, ‘go to college.’” Bates added. “He told me that and so I kind of took his advice. I owe it to him, you know.”

He also attributed his personal turnaround to his experiences during the two wars.

“To really function in that environment, you have to have a good level of compassion and a good level of violence,” Bates said. “You’ve got to be balanced.”

In Iraq in 2006, his unit helped turn the city of Haditha around after 24 civilians were killed by Marines in 2005 in one of the most controversial actions of the war.

“You can’t really tell what kind of person you are until you’ve seen the best and the worst,” Bates said. “And I’ve been able to tell that, you know, I’m not a bad person, and so that helps me care for people better.”

Bates wants to go back to the Middle East, this time as a photojournalist.

One thing that bothered Bates during the war was that Marines had to watch their backs when journalists were around.

“I think sometimes a reporter doesn’t truly understand what’s going on,” Bates said. “They can mix up the facts. And I think having the perspective, from somebody that’s been there and done that already, I can tell the story with more truth.”

A PCC photojournalism class gave Bates the “bug” to be a journalist.

“The teacher had been preaching to us to ‘always carry your camera on you’ and I was about to leave the house without the camera.” He decided to bring it with him.

As Bates drove down the road that day, he saw a boy standing outside of a motorcycle shop with a sign that said, “Lemons Sold Here.”

“I pulled over and I went and talked to the kid a bit and I snapped a picture of him.”

The boy’s bike had blown up after just a few hundred miles on the odometer, and the shop wasn’t going to fix it.

“What stood out for me is, when I took the picture, my hands were shaking,” Bates said. He felt the adrenalin rush that comes while doing something you know is right for you. It reminded him of his time in the Middle East.

“I miss being over there,” Bates said. “I don’t miss the bad things, I miss the good things. The sense that I was doing something important … was addicting.

“In war, there’s a lot of gray areas,” he added. “It’s made me a better person, it’s made me a more compassionate person, being in war.”

Bryan Bates relaxes with a smoke during a break between classes.

Online Extra: New Pima Paws club helps animals

Story, photo and videos by Narciso Villarreal

The newly formed Pima Paws Club at Pima Community College wants you to take the first step in making a difference in the welfare of all animals by joining its club.

“This group is not limited to just dogs and cats,” club organizer Heather Bradley said. “It is a place where like-minded people can meet to exchange ideas, resources and contacts. All you need is a respect for life and belief in animal welfare.”

The club will begin by serving as an educational resource and by holding informational presentations for each student group at West Campus, Bradley said. The club hopes to expand to the other five PCC campuses.

Bradley rescues animals and does as much as she can, depending on her living situation. She currently cares for three rescued cats named Bentley, Champa and Simba.

One of the club’s goals is to create a means of communication for students attending PCC and the University of Arizona, and for the Tucson community in general.

When people can no longer care for their pets, the club will inform people about options available. Residents who leave for the summer or other extended lengths of time need to know there are resources to help them with the care of their pets while they are gone.

“Abandoning your animals is neglect and cruelty,” Bradley said. “They would experience severe pain and hunger. We would rather have you seek help from the resources that we have so that they don’t have to suffer unnecessarily.”

People can contribute to the well-being of all animals by clipping coupons for pet-related products and providing them to the club, Bradley said. She also encourages people to purchase “cruelty-free” products in general.

For more information, contact Bradley at 979-6142 or e-mail hbradley1@mail.pima.edu.

Other ways to help include setting your Internet home page to theanimalrescuesite.com and clicking on the “Click Here to Give – It’s FREE!” link. With each click, sponsors will donate food for rescued animals.

The Animal Rescue site has several links for purchasing animal food and other items. The site also lets visitors earn money for animal charities by playing games.

Duke, a rescued basset hound, competes at the Canine Classic.

Other Web sites dedicated to helping animals include:
•    aspca.org
•    hopeanimalshelter.net
•    casadelosgatos.org
•    thenokillnation.com
•    alleycat.org
•    thenaturalcat.net
•    naturaldogblog.com

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MARIE’S MUNCHIES: Mimi’s Café

Review and photo by Marie Rodriguez

The designers responsible for creating the atmosphere at Mimi’s Café certainly worked hard at creating a French ambiance.

Four impressive seating areas inside keep with the theme yet each have a different look. Mock shop window awnings align the walls and hang over the bar. Outside, benches surround blooming flowers.

Mimi’s proudly boasts an “All Day Fresh Café” that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner all day. They also include a “Fresh and Fit” menu available after 11 a.m.

Being a breakfast aficionado, I ask for the breakfast menu at any time of day. The fresh-squeezed juice, muffin and potatoes that come with each Mimi’s selection call to my stomach and wallet.

Breakfast choices range in price from about $7 to $9, while lunch and dinner can be around $11 to $13.

My choice was the Santa Fe Omelet. Jalapenos, cilantro, tomato, onion, and pepper jack cheese covered in chipotle sauce eggs, here I come.

The omelet arrived at the table looking scrawny with a side of sliced tomatoes. It seemed nice and healthy but where was my heavy breakfast full of hearty eggs and potatoes?

This omelet reminded me of the pre-scrambled eggs that I deem questionable in the grocery store. Fluffy and light is not how I wanted to describe my eggs, which were supposed to sustain my full day and a nap.

After a quick investigation with the waitress, we discovered I received the right plate, just the one from the light and healthy part of the menu. She quickly apologized and brought me a new plate with an omelet twice as big and gushing with melted cheese.

Twice the fillings and three times the cheese promised an exciting meal to come.

The only disappointment was the side potatoes. Mimi’s red potatoes are flavored nicely but that doesn’t matter if they’re not fully cooked.

I’ll chalk it up to them bringing the plate out in a hurry at 1 p.m., when most restaurants aren’t even thinking of breakfast.

The lunch and dinner menus are just as stuffed with endless choices. Seasonal features ensure empty bellies even greater opportunities.

Mimi’s isn’t snobby, with only French food options. It also serves choices like Jambalaya and an Asian salad.

This restaurant, which has two locations in Tucson, is appetizing both tastefully and visually. It’s worth a trip and a good long look over the menu. Upon leaving, a meal option for next time will already be in mind.

FYI

Address/phone:

4420 N. Oracle Road/ 690-9544

120 S. Wilmot Road/ 747-7273

Web site: Mimiscafe.com

Army service opens path to United States

By Samantha Munsey

Pima Community College student Ammar Alsamawy, 27, is earning a master’s degree in veterinary science, has one brother and one sister, likes to ice sculpt in his spare time and enjoys adventures to Mount Lemmon.

But, the most interesting fact about Alsamawy is that he was born and raised in a country very different from the United States.

Alsamawy, who has lived in Tucson since last summer, is originally from Baghdad, Iraq, a place most of us recognize from television and the news as being a site for war.

In Iraq, Alsamawy tried to lead a normal life as a veterinarian to local farm animals in his neighborhood.

“I mostly took care of large animals. Dogs, cats, cows, and chickens,” Alsamawy said. “Everything except horses.”

While following his usual work routine in September 2007, Alsamawy found himself caught in the middle of a Sunni and Shiite conflict. He was kidnapped and threatened with his life before being released.

“I was terrified, I thought I was going to die,” Alsamawy said.

Realizing the instability of his country and being concerned about safety for himself and his family, Alsamawy signed up for the U.S. Army.

“People who are from Iraq can get a special migration visa if they serve in the Army more than a year, so I did it,” Alsamawy said.

While in the Army, he worked as an interpreter for more than two years. During this period, he was able to learn English.

After completing his time, Alsamawy moved from Iraq with his family to the United States. He is currently residing in Tucson with his cousin, who also served in the U.S. Army in order to obtain a visa.

He is grateful to be out of Iraq and its ongoing turmoil of war and religious conflict. “My family is safer in Tucson,” Alsamawy said.

Since moving to Tucson, Alsamawy has had his fair share of culture shock, especially when it comes to everyday tasks.

“Completely different way of living,” Alsamawy said. “I didn’t even make my own food until I moved here.”

He was equally surprised to discover the weather in Tucson is much cooler and less humid than in Iraq.

Alsamawy enrolled in an English as a Second Language class at PCC, where he is working to perfect his English speaking skills and discover new things about American culture.

“I learn something new every day,” Alsamawy said.

His advice for people who are new to the United States: take any job that is available, work hard and try new things.

Ammar Alsamawy - Aztec Press photo by Gabi Pina

Iraqi student seeks peace and a new beginning

By Christine Woodrich

Ali Aljanabi left Baghdad, Iraq, last summer in hope of finding peace and a new beginning in the United States.

Growing up in Baghdad, Aljanabi had a happy childhood despite the constant war. He had a loving and supportive family, but with the country’s latest war, everything changed.

The peace and stability he knew as a child were gone. Instead of looking toward a bright future, Aljanabi’s family was simply looking for safety.

At this point, Aljanabi decided it was time to leave his home country for the United States in order to start life anew.

“United States was my goal because of the freedom and country of opportunity,” Aljanabi said.

In Baghdad, Aljanabi worked in information technology for an American company named BearingPoint. As a student at Pima Community College, he hopes to further his knowledge of computers and develop more IT skills.

But first, he says, he needs to better his English.

“Everyone thinks I’m Mexican!” Aljanabi said, as he described the typical greetings he receives from Latinos. “I cannot speak Spanish.”

However, Aljanabi did graduate with a bachelor’s degree in French studies from Al-Mustansiriya University in Baghdad. In his English as a Second Language class, he is working on becoming trilingual.

Aljanabi said he is enjoying his first semester at Pima and that Tucson reminds him of home.

“I like it, it’s like Baghdad,” he said, in reference to the broad cultural backgrounds of both cities.

But the cultural differences between Baghdad and Tucson are indeed vast.

“Thinking in Iraq is different,” Aljanabi said, as are social relations. He explained that in Iraq’s family-oriented culture, people do not date. They only get married, and they generally live with the husband’s parents well into adulthood.

“I want to change my life, try something new,” Aljanabi said of moving to the United States.

“We have a very bad regime,” he said. “Always there is war.”

Aljanabi encourages the U.S. Army’s involvement in the reconstruction of the Iraqi government. He said that Iraq’s army lacks the soldiers, weapons and experience necessary to control the country’s fundamentalists.

He anticipates that the Iraqi army and police force should be able to manage the country in about a year, and hopes to move back home once everything has calmed down.

“I came here to find peace,” Aljanabi said.

Ali Aljanabi - Aztec Press photo by Gabi Pina

ASK GABI: Quit looking for love

By Gabi Piña

I’ve always been fascinated by our society. I love talking to strangers who will give me any insight into their lives. Lately, I’ve been paying attention to the relationships people maintain with their partners.

It’s absurd that a person can claim to be in love with someone while still being flirtatious towards others. I’m no expert, but if that’s occurring I don’t think you’re in love.

If you’re committed to someone and you find yourself flirting with others, odds are you’re not ready to be in a relationship.

I am one of many walking amongst the vast sea of people who have never been in love. Yet, I’m pretty sure feelings that strong should be reserved for someone who means the world to you.

People complain about love on a daily basis. No one is at fault but us. We throw around the word as if it were spare change. It seems that people are so desperate to feel some form of affection that they’re willing to settle for less than they deserve.

Settling will definitely not make you happy. It will not make love magically appear out of thin air. This is reality, not some sort of fairy tale. Don’t spend your life looking for that special someone. Live and enjoy life to the fullest.

When the time is right and when you’re least expecting it, Cupid will pay you a visit. It will come to you in a form that you’ve never believed possible. At least that’s what I hear.

Signing off, Gabi

If you’d like advice on something, please e-mail ‘Ask Gabi’ at aztecpress.com or post your comment online.

Depression: Don’t listen to ‘Fat Voice’

Illustration by Isabel Cardenas

Editor’s note: This is the final story in a four-part series portraying one woman’s personal experience of depression, with a bit of advice thrown in.

By Liza Porter

The Fat Voice is back. I hadn’t heard it in years, until the other day when I heard it say: “Don’t eat that. You’re too fat.”

That voice is part of my depression.

I’ll bet I’ve gained and lost several hundred pounds during my life. And that’s probably a low estimate.

Ever since I was a child, I’ve used food to help me deal with my depression. Binging on sweets made me feel better, for a while.

Dieting and starving, especially over a period of days or weeks or months, also felt good. There’s a high that comes with denying yourself sustenance. Just ask the yogis in India.

So, food has been a mood changer for me.

Even now, pushing 54, I’m known to “use” sugar and caffeine to get me through bad days.

When I was younger, I obsessed on my body and everything that went into my mouth.

I’d start on a diet, usually on a Monday, and stick with it for a week or so, if that long. I’d lose maybe five pounds and then “cheat” on my diet because I was always so—grrrr—hungry. Pretty soon, I’d start binging again.

Craving food and denying myself became an addiction.

Sometimes I’d binge and vomit every night when I got home from work or school. That became its own sort of addiction.

I even used to exercise compulsively. For a while in my early 20s, I swam so hard every day that standing up from a sitting position was painful.

When I deprived myself of food or exercised too much, I thought the world was a better place. I was on top of everything. I’d set a goal. I was following through, my stomach felt flatter, my insides were hollowed out. I could feel the weight stripping off my “fat” body.

The problem was, I wasn’t even fat! During most of the time I spent on diets, on the compulsive binging and vomiting, I didn’t even need to lose weight. My view of myself in the mirror was warped. The bathroom scale ran my life.

The National Institute of Mental Health’s guide for eating disorders says one in five women struggle with an eating disorder or disordered eating.

That’s 20 percent of women who are right now obsessing about food, about their body weight, about their looks.

With me, it was a full-time addiction. If I multiply all the years I spent dieting and binging—well, I don’t want to! It’s too much of a waste to think about.

We are supposed to eat to fuel our bodies so we can do what we need to do in the world. Eating is supposed be a pleasure, not some shameful, secret activity.

We are not meant to worry about every little thing that goes into our mouths. Or go exercise for two hours because we ate a donut.

And yet 70 million people worldwide have eating disorders. Thirty-five percent of “normal dieters” (whatever that is) progress to pathological dieting.

The American Journal of Psychiatry reported that a young woman with anorexia is 12 times more likely to die than other women her age without the disease.

Time Magazine stated that 80 percent of all children have been on a diet by the time they have reached the fourth grade.

These are some horrible statistics. That last one makes me want to scream! Children ages 8 and 9 dieting!

Anorexia is a killer disease. I am lucky to be alive.

And none of this obsessing over food and body ever helped my depression. Feeling better lasted for a few hours, if that.

I hereby refuse to listen to the Fat Voice. I’m disgusted with it. Sure, all the compulsion and obsession probably got me through some tough times I might otherwise have used for something worse (like drugs or dangerous decisions) to get through.

And maybe I’ll forgive the part of me that wasted all that time, some day. Be a little gentler with that young girl inside me.

But today I’m pissed about it.

This is what I say to counteract the Fat Voice: I’m OK the way I am. A little overweight. Trying to eat healthily. Exercising regularly, sometimes. Trying to accept myself the way I am.

If you have problems with food, please ask for help. Anorexia is a serious illness. And your eating disorder might be masking chronic depression.

You are not alone.

See below for some places that can help with eating disorders:

• SAMHC Behavioral Health Services, 622-6000, 2502 N. Dodge Blvd., Tucson, AZ 85716-2675, www.samhc.com.
• Overeaters Anonymous, www.oa.org.
• Mirasol Eating Disorder Treatment Center for Women, (888)520-1700, www.mirasol.net.

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Community Food Bank offers home gardening workshops

Story and photo by Sierra J. Russell

If you enjoy garden-grown vegetables and don’t mind getting your hands a little dirty, the Community Food Bank has you covered.

The Community Food Resource Center is offering a series of free home gardening workshops throughout the spring and fall. Classes are open to everyone interested in improving their gardening skills.

Melissa Mundt, food production and education coordinator, said the workshops attract all types of people.

“For example, currently we have a participant who is deaf and, with the help of Pima Community College, we were able to arrange for sign language interpretation,” she said.

The workshops also cater to the schedule of busy parents.

“With advance notice, we offer childcare during the workshops,” Mundt said, “thanks to volunteers with childcare experience such as retired teachers.”

The spring schedule includes workshops offered on Friday and Saturday mornings. Topics include how to work with compost, how to choose an ideal garden site and how to keep plants healthy.

A variety of specialty workshops are also offered during the week.

“We offer extra classes in various locations for people with limited transportation,” Mundt said.

Specialty workshop topics include growing fruit trees, cooking locally grown foods, using solar ovens, harvesting rainwater, saving seeds and making herbal medicines.

Tony Bruno, the “poultry guru” of Community Food Bank, gives tips on how to care for chickens, and Chris Mazaralla teaches how to compost with worms.

By meeting a few requirements, you can become a member of the Community Food Resource Center Gardening Program. This allows access to compost, seeds and plants.

Members are also involved in helping work on the personal gardens of people in need of physical assistance.

“We are the Food Bank, so our main focus is on things you can eat,” Mundt said. “Flowers are important, and help bring pollinators.”

As if to demonstrate her point, a hummingbird hovered nearby for a few seconds while we were sitting in the garden. Mundt looked at my red shirt and said, “I think he wants to drink your shirt.”

The tiny creature quickly flitted back towards the rows of lettuce.

Melissa Mundt stands at the entrance to the Community Food Bank’s demonstration garden.

FYI

Upcoming classes:
•    Soil and Compost: Saturday, April 10, 9-11 a.m.
•    Site Design: Saturday, April 24, 9-11 a.m.
•    Planting a Healthy Garden: Friday, March 26, and Saturday, May 8, 9-11 a.m.
Specialty workshops:
•    Rainwater Harvesting: Tuesday, March 30, 9-11 a.m.
•    Simply Cooking: Thursday, April 15, 1-3 p.m.
•    How to Build a Solar Oven: Saturday, April 17, noon-4 p.m.
•    Herbal Medicine Making: Monday, April 26, 9-11 a.m.

To obtain more information about the gardening workshops or any other programs offered by the Community Food Bank, contact Melissa Mundt at 622-0525 ext. 263 or  mmundt@communityfoodbank.org, or Luis Herrera at 622-0525 ext. 264 or  lherrera@communityfoodbank.org.

MARIE’S MUNCHIES: Guadalajara Grill

Review and photos by Marie Rodriguez

Everybody has gone to a Mexican restaurant and tried a salsa they thought was too spicy, too chunky, too mild, too… something. At Guadalajara Grill, the salsa is made fresh tableside.

A nice lady comes to your table with a cart full of goodies. She has different peppers and spices and asks how spicy you would like your salsa. The end result tastes like something my grandma would make fresh (that’s a very good thing).

The prices for entrees could be steep for an average college student. A plate ranges from about $12 up to $19. On a budget, appetizers are a student’s best bet. They fill you up and don’t come with the standard beans and rice fillers.

Why do I call the beans and rice fillers? When they don’t yield high amounts of flavor on their own, they become fillers.

Unfortunately, Guadalajara Grill’s rice tasted like I could’ve made it (that means it’s not like grandma’s).

Fortunately, there are other things for the Grill to brag about besides the tasteless rice. Tortillas are made fresh in their kitchen daily.

The menu also allows for cost-conscious customers to save on daily lunch specials. These plates range from about $9 to $11 and include fish tacos, fajitas and even lobster.

Fish tacos at the Grill certainly are worth going for. These tacos are stuffed with tasty, crunchy shrimp that jump ship as you eat.

Marisol Gandarilla, left, and Maria Ramirez take reservations at Guadalajara Grill.

Visit the restaurant weekdays between 3-6 p.m. and you are in for some happy hours. The Grill’s happy hour consists of a $3 house margarita that is big enough to last you through a meal. They also serve $2.50 draft beers and take $2 off any tequila flight and selected appetizers.

If you’re in the mood for a nice dinner, this may not be the place to go. If you’re out for a couple of drinks and some appetizers to share with friends, this is a good place to visit.

Salsa is made fresh to order at your table.

FYI

Guadalajara Grill

Address: 1220 E. Prince Road

Phone: 323-1022

Hours: Daily, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Web site: ggrill.com

CouchSurfing.org

CouchSurfing.org brings travelers together

By Steve Choice

Couch surfing has gone international. The time-honored tradition of college students, road trippers and the generally cost-conscious has gotten out its passport and hit the information superhighway.

CouchSurfing.org is a non-profit organization that brings people together from all over the globe.

Members register on the site, post profiles and seek out travel or hosting opportunities with fellow members. The hosts then receive the new friends in their home, or at least show them around their city.

Torie Klocko, an avid couch surfer and University of Arizona junior, embodies the spirit of the group. With her passion for other cultures, couch surfing in Arizona is a natural fit for her.

“I really love CouchSurfing,” the French and German major says. “It presents so many amazing opportunities to connect with really interesting people from all over the world.”

Klocko is deeply involved with the area “CS” community, and plays a big role in keeping the local group lively.

“We pretty much do something fun together at least once a week,” she says. “They aren’t meetings so much as meet-ups. We go out to eat or go to cafes, meet up for salsa nights, play volleyball or just do whatever brings us together.”

Members are diverse, she adds. “It’s cool because there are people of all ages, and from all over. But everyone basically has one thing in common, which is an interest in other people.”

A self-described “foodie,” Klocko relates a story about a recent CS night out at Char’s, a Thai restaurant on Tucson’s east side.

“We had such a blast that night,” Klocko says. “There were maybe 10 people there: a couple from Colorado, a couple of people who had just moved to Tucson, this guy Scott from Sahuarita who was there with his two adorable kids, and Keith, who I met at a salsa night. It was a good mix. We just sat down, pretty much talked and enjoyed some really good Thai food.”

While Klocko is extremely active with the local internationalist community, she has also experienced the other side of the coin abroad.

“I just love to travel,” she says. “I’ve couch surfed in England, France, Spain and Germany, besides a lot of places in the U.S. I’ve met such great people along the way, and CouchSurfing has been an incredible way to make connections everywhere.”

Klocko sees fellow participants as people who are adventurous and open-minded, and who embrace the group’s ethos of breaking down cultural barriers.

“Couch surfers aren’t tourists, they’re travelers,” she says. “You have to be open to strangers, and have an interest in humanity. There are so many amazing places to experience and cool people to meet out there. The main thing is it’s supposed to be fun, and it really is.”

Keith Henry, an engineer living in Tucson, showed his adventurous spirit in 2007 when he set out from his hometown of Atlanta to San Antonio to hang with a new-found friend. He ended up staying long enough to become a high school math instructor and get his teacher certification.

“Yeah, CS definitely worked out really well for me that time,” Henry says with a laugh. “I went for a short trip and ended up moving there for a year.”

Whether it’s in the great cities of Europe, a block from the beach in Rio or right here in Tucson, couch surfers are opening their homes and lives to each other. Nowadays the best way to see the world may be to stay on the couch.