Ilana Marder-Eppstein

Ilana is passionate about environmental sustainability and the interactions between humans and nature . She is involved in urban farming programs in her community and Students Organized Against Racism, and was co-president of Interfaith Youth Core. Her goals for the year are to find liveliness even when things are difficult, to laugh and dance a lot, and to enjoy experiencing a new pace of life.

Teachings of a Little Calf

Ilana Marder-Eppstein

2014-03-27

Time seems to be moving in two directions and I feel lost in the middle. Today I have exactly one month left in my home stay. Four weeks. In the anticipation of another transition I feel caught. I pull time to slow the speed at which its moving, or in other ways, I push it...

Ojala {poem}

Ilana Marder-Eppstein

2014-02-23

Ojala You told me Ojala, God willing. God willing you would marry After the age of twenty. Sitting with our eighteen-year-old Toes playing in the dirt. Thinking of love. I didn’t understand Why you said Ojala. I didn’t understand The force behind marrying young. And the fear that comes with it. But God wasn’t willing....

Views on Sex

Ilana Marder-Eppstein

2014-02-03

Being my father’s daughter, I could not take my eyes off the screen, even though the movie was absolutely terrible. I was sitting in the back row of the coach bus, heading home from my Spanish class in the nearest city. Each Wednesday, I take a series of eight buses to get to and from my Spanish class in...

October with Quinoa {a poem}

Ilana Marder-Eppstein

2013-12-04

I am a bride Carrying a bouquet of dried Quinoa. My train of dust dances Behind bare-feet. Down the sloped aisle I walk towards the awaiting women Circled around a mound of bouquets The same as mine. I let my Quinoa fall on the pile Landing with the rattle of seeds. The last harvest of...

Stepping Back to Move Forward

Ilana Marder-Eppstein

2013-11-22

Lets talk about poop. Not mine, although I probably could talk about that for a good while as well. I am talking about cow patties, the kind that land with a splatter, and if you’re not careful, will fly on to your clean white shirt drying on the nearby clothesline. Here we have seven cows. Each morning I wake...

Weaving Connections

Ilana Marder-Eppstein

2013-10-10

I follow my papi to the Eucalyptus tree. My feet fumbling up the hill as I stagger through the loose dirt, a train of dust forming at my heels. There is no train at my dad’s feet, instead he moves easily, cutting through the sand and dirt. We stop at the base of the tree where the younger shoots are sprouting....

Transitions and Transformations

Ilana Marder-Eppstein

2013-10-02

I left home one month from today. Flew to the coast, a caterpillar with butterflies in her stomach, anticipating who and what I would find there. As the plane shuttled me from Chicago to San Francisco memories of home flooded me in a wave of emotions. The crunch of the leaves beneath my feet as I walked, lunch box in hand,...

The Beginning

Ilana Marder-Eppstein

2013-07-13

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog! My name is Ilana Marder-Eppstein, and I will be spending the next school year in Ecuador through the program Global Citizen Year. I grew up in Evanston, a town right outside of Chicago. Like most children, when I was young I spent my days finding new places to venture and play...