flower
Activities, Interests, Family & Culture
Stacie L. Hibino
[hibino at acm dot org]
[Passion Flower (August 2003) © Stacie Hibino, all rights reserved]

Overview

This section is divided into the following subsections:

Academic Activities and Interests

Current activities and interests include:

Previous activities include:

Extracurricular Activities and Interests

Volunteer Work

Volunteering is a great way to meet new people, learn new things, and get involved in the community. Most of all, though, it's a great way to lend a hand and help out. :-) I have volunteered for a few organizations; here's a little about a couple of the organizations and my experiences.

Habitat for Humanity

Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit organization that builds low income housing for people in need (some folks associate it with former president Jimmy Carter who has done a lot of work with them). Families for whom the house is being built (who are very frequently single mothers with several children) must apply to the organization. If accepted, the home-owners-to-be participate in some of the actual building of the house. They also pay for the house -- only all of the labor is volunteer (there are general contractors who oversee the building), so they only have to pay for the cost of the materials.

KaBOOM!

KaBOOM! is a national organization that brings volunteers together to build save and accessible playgrounds. When I volunteered, I helped to build a playground in a day for a Chicago neighborhood. They were very organized and it was very cool to see the playground come together so quickly!

Family

My father is a produce farmer (green onions, lettuce, broccoli, celery, etc.) in the Salinas Valley. He does not own or raise any livestock, though, so I did not live on a farm, wake up to a crowing rooster, milk cows, nor collect eggs from chickens when I was growing up. Most USA produce (e.g., bag lettuce and salads, etc.) comes right out of the Salinas Valley -- read the corresponding labels at your local grocery store and see for yourself!

Here's some California produce trivia: Salinas (also known as Steinbeck country) is the lettuce capital of the world, Gilroy is the garlic capital of the world, and Castroville is the artichoke capital of the world.

I was cruising the net one night and was pleasantly surprised to find some farming links, including Foxy Vegetables (always a great choice). Here are a few of the links I've found:

Culture

As a third generation Japanese-American born and raised in California, I'm proud to say that (while a pure Californian) I still celebrate some Japanese traditions with my family. Below are some of the interesting links I've found on Japanese culture and food.

General Links on Japanese Culture

Japanese Food

General:

Specific Items:


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last updated 02/15/2006, hibino at acm dot org