Little Man

Here are photos of Mitchell in his school uniform. Can you believe our little boy looks so grown up? We're still getting used to this whole uniform thing. The black wool hat that he is wearing is worn only to and from school. Once he arrives in his classroom in the morning he removes it and won't put it back on until he leaves for the day. For outside play during the day there is a big white floppy hat; we'll save that for another photo. To make it even more confusing, he has a white "sports uniform" that he wears to school on Wednesday with white "runners" - also known as tennis shoes to you and me. He has two pair of runners, one that he will wear to school on Wednesday, and another that he keeps at school since he only wears the black shoes to and from school. Got it? And, this is the Summer uniform. The Winter uniform is completely different with long pants (although I'm hoping for comfort sake the socks will be shorter than the ones shown), a long sleeve shirt and a wool blazer. The first day of school is Wednesday, which happens to be sports day. As a cruel twist of fate, the boys are required to wear their white sports outfit and not this one. As a result his first day of school photos won't look like the ones above, so we took these a little early. I remember looking at the photos taken of my brother and I on our first day of school. I was wearing a hideous brown striped dress with a large brown satin bow. Topping off my ensemble was a yellow poncho. My brother had striped Toughskins and a long sleeve polyester shirt. I'm assuming it was polyester since we're talking about 1972. "How could she" used to run through my mind when trying to decide how my mother arrived at our outfits. I now understand that it was most likely her attempt of styling us into little fashionistas, so I've come to terms with it. But if Mitchell looks back at these photos (especially if we return to the US) as an adult, I have an exceptional explanation should be be thinking the same question. Tradition and regulation :)

Lake Macqaurie

a few weeks ago we went on a road trip. We haven't really been outside of Sydney so we just drove. About 90 miles North we stopped in the City of Lake Macquarie. Just as we were commenting that the town didn't seem to have have much going for it, we arrived at this magnificent lake - which just happens to be a big tourist draw. There were a group of pelicans near the lake, Mitchell of course wanted to move in for a better look. But after seeing them snap their bills a few times, we decided this was close enough.

I'm back - sort of

Finally - a new post. I haven't really been inspired to write anything. Chalk it up to post Holiday blues, a lousy job, and the realization that Mitchell is growing up. He starts kindergarten the week after next. We dressed him in his uniform a few days ago. The first reactions of "Oh my gosh - look at the tie - it's so cute!" quickly spiraled into melancholy, realizing that not only is he not a toddler, but he doesn't even qualify as a preschooler any more. So, rest assured, I'll have something new in the next few days. However, I just noticed that Don's sister Lisa commented on one of my posts. She's a fabulously talented songwriter and performer, and also happens to be one of the most awesome chicks I know. So, I wanted to give her website a shout out to people who haven't seen it. check it out!
http://www.lisafirestone.com/

WARNING - Bitter Chocolate is a political post

Don read my new post this morning and he thought that it might not belong on the Teresi Family OZ Blog. He was concerned that someone might click on expecting a lighthearted tale about our romp through a chocolateria, and instead be bombarded by my personal political views on Free Trade chocolate. So, if you have absolutely no interest in the subject, or think you might be offended, please skip the following post. He does have a point, and I considered deleting it. However, since it does sort of affect our life in OZ I'm keeping it for now.

Bitter Chocolate

I've never boycotted a product. I've guess I've never really felt it was an effective way to make a statement. After all, one single purchase isn't going to send a company into Chapter 11. I've boycotted a few stores, but that was usually short lived and only lasted until I really needed something from there again (damn you Walmart). However, today I made the decision to stop buying any chocolate unless it's "Free Trade". 70% of the cocoa beans used to make chocolate around the world come from West Africa. The Ivory Coast produces almost half of that alone. The International Labor Organization (ILO), part of the UN, estimates 284,000 child laborers work on cocoa farms, most of them in the Ivory Coast. "These are either involved in hazardous work, unprotected or unfree, or have been trafficked," says the ILO. Cocoa harvesting is treacherous work. Tough cocoa beans measuring 4-16 inches long are cut down from branches, opened with machetes, and scraped out. It takes about 400 cocoa pods to make one pound of chocolate (one 16-ounce bag of M&Ms). The big candy manufacturers cry that they are not responsible for these deplorable conditions and shouldn't be held responsible. But the $13 billion chocolate industry is heavily consolidated, and just two firms (Hershey's and M&M/Mars) control two-thirds of the US chocolate candy market. If they don't have the influence and ability to force change, who does?

The US Congress has pressured the big manufacturers, and in 2000 they actually signed the Cocoa Protocol. They agreed to start developing measures to eradicate child labor, and would be required to certify that their chocolate was slave free. However, the companies failed to meet their first deadline in 2005, and blew off the July 2008 deadline as well. How much more time do they need?

All of this is well documented. I'm not sure if I've been blind, or if this really hasn't been a big story. Was I one of the last to actually hear about this? For anyone doubting that this can really be taking place, here is a brief 2007 BBC article. Here is another in depth article, and here is a good website with more information.

So Goodbye Violet Crumble, farewell MaxiBons, it's been fun. I know that at some point I'll have to be more diligent and look at products like cookies and cakes. But I buy so much chocolate, that I feel this is an important first step. Some organizations say that boycotting chocolate from the big companies is counterproductive; it hurts the small farmers that are just trying to make a living. But I guess I feel strongly enough about this that I'm comfortable buying only Free Trade chocolate. Because unlike trying to hit Walmart where it hurts, I'm not so concerned about making a dent in Cadbury's pocket; I'm more concerned about choices that make a dent in my conscience.