I felt that at Zaca, I got a lot of the things that I was originally expecting to get from coming to university at ucsc. I got learning at zaca that was not separated from meaning...the speakers and everyone there were constantly connecting the topics we were learning about to meaning. One did not have to wonder "why does this matter?" we were constantly telling ourselves and being told why it mattered. One did not need to ask "What does this matter to me?" we were constantly reminded of the relevance of the topics to all of us.
At zaca, the topics of the workshops, lectures etc. spilled outside of the boundaries set by the schedule. The conversations, ideas, questions continued on: late into the night and during our car trips home.

I just want to get out there how impressed I was by the educational space provided by the retreat and eslp in general. At a time when I have become quite cynical and disillusioned with the thousands of dollar education that I am supposed to be getting from this renowned institution, it is in the student-initiated realms that I have gotten the most. ---What does this tell us? What is the lesson to be learned?

MArley