Ratna writes

Dear readers, As you may know, since last spring, I've been an intern with  Sense & Sustainability , a blog and podcast which offers "fresh perspectives on sustainable development." The goal of the site is to make cutting-edge research on all things sustainable accessible to communities of students, activists, scholars and generally interested readers across the internet. We've been hard at work this summer reimagining and redesigning the site -- the new S&S has the same goal, and now features a number of new ways for users to receive and interact with news and knowledge. Some of these include: A new layout that makes it easier to find the content you’re looking for; Reorganized content themes that better align with rapidly evolving sustainability issues; A new S&S “News Digest,” which attempts to keep you up to speed with the stories we’re covering on the site; New in-depth “Issue Series,” published periodically and focused around a particula...

A few of you have asked me why I haven't posted in so long, and the answer isn't some exciting project I've been doing, internet-free, for the past few months; this summer has just been a lazy and lackluster one compared to my past few. I came home for the summer with two goals -- to get in shape and to get my driver's license. I am glad to say I steadily and successfully crawled my way toward achieving both before leaving for school. Someone told me that it takes 90 days of consecutive exercise to produce a visible difference in one's body, and my time off happened to be a convenient 90 days. Apart from times when I was suffering from a stomach bug in Mexico, some off-season cough-and-colds at home, and my present state of back-in-excruciating-pain, I worked out every day of this summer, without fail, regardless of where I was. I figured that summer was the best time to build up some confidence in my level of fitness in the most unobtrusive way possible. My ro...

We had another hectic and enjoyable  fin de semana  this week, spending Sunday hitting up not one but two huge tourist spots in D.F. You can trace our route on the map below from Polanco (A) down to Xochimilco (B) for the day before an evening in Coyoacan (C). We've been wanting to explore both of these places since we set foot in the city, so it was ultra exciting to do them both in one day!! We made our way after a morning of smoothies and gymming first on the metro to Tasqueñas, a stop in the south of D.F., where our colleague Andy picked us up and drove us to our destination, collecting Rebeca on the way. Isabel and Jaume met us in the main square of Xochimilco , which Laura aptly describes as the Venice of Mexico. We were met at the dock by a host of hyper-colorful  traijineras , the flat boats which hold picnic tables for 14 to navigate the canals of Lake Xochimilco. Floating along on these boats is such a spectacle! Groups of friends sit snacking...

It's past midnight here but I really must write because Laura and I just got home from one of our most memorable nights in Mexico City and probably ever. We just dined with Jose "Pepe" Casis, our colleague from Centro Mario Molina, and Graciela Reyes Retana, his wife whom I happen to have met two years ago when I accompanied my dad to Mexico on a World Bank trip. The couple was recently married, and both of these brilliant people are moving to Ithaca, NY shortly to commence their PhD program in Natural Resources at Cornell University, courtesy the Fulbright scholarships they both won in the same field at the same time. As if this isn't incredible enough, these two are the most enjoyable people to be around imaginable. After a gloomy week of sickness and lack of productivity, I was falling out of my chair tonight because I literally could not stop laughing at Graciela's stories and Pepe's imitations. We all knew a lot about one another soon into the meal...

Today could not have been a more tiring or beautiful gym-tan-laundry day. Laura and I rolled out of bed late after a night of birthday festivities and got to work on some matters of housekeeping: laundry, groceries, and fruit-iodizing (produce has to be soaked in water with iodine here in Mexico to compensate for the less-than-ideal water quality). With our things in the dryer, Laura and I headed down to the gym, where we inched our way through the most tiring workout we've done since being here (the effects of last night were clearly tangible). We met at around 3pm with Louise; our amazingly kind, accomplished, and well-traveled French colleague; at Balderas Metro Station, having kept her waiting for over half an hour. Her patience was not in vain though, as while awaiting for us she found the grand open air library Biblioteca de México where we wandered on the way to Mercado Artesenal de la Ciudadela, a large market where Mexican handicrafts are sold. We all searched for g...

Our “ postre of the day” initiative got a bit out of hand today, as it is Laura’s birthday, and we have been doing nothing but celebrating since last night. After work yesterday, Laura checked out a nearby museum while I hit the gym, and then we both headed over to Isa’s place with Adriana for a night of rump-shaking and tiramisu-making. Isabel and Laura remained hard at work preparing Spanish cuisine while Adriana and I salsa-ed and meringue-ed to my favorite Latin American playlist (purveyed by the beautiful Colombiana Diana Morales). It was truly a lovely evening exchanging laughs, stories, and dance steps with some of the sweetest people I know. Back home, I waited until midnight to present Laura with what I thought was a Kinder Sorpresa, her favorite type of chocolate which is readily available in Mexico and not elsewhere. But to my horror, I had purchased several of these little chocolate eggs with surprise toys inside, but by the wrong brand. My first attempt at a birthday...

1. Postre of the Day Laura and I are determined to have tried every typical Mexican pastry from our local bakery by the end of our three-week trip. For this reason, we purchase one dessert a day to split and comment on -- but always with a pain au chocolat on reserve, just in case. Below, find our samples for today. 2. Meditation Mornings It has been awesome to learn that a number of members of the office practice meditation and yoga -- one of our colleagues, Daniela, even teaches a yoga class! Ariadna and I have decided to do a 15-minute meditation sesh in the conference room when we come in each morning: today was our first day, and it was swell. 3. My Suitcase Surprise Having clothes to wear again is just the cherry on top! I was more than prepared to be content with my one pair of office slacks and access to all of Laura's tops, but the arrival of my luggage has been like a birthday present: there are things that I don't remember packing and things that ...