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Green Business / Green Building / Primitive Skills Internship FAQ's
Alumni: Meet Previous Interns from Green University®
Questions:
What sort of house rules do you have?
Fortunately, we've never had issues we couldn't resolve amicably with our interns. The ground rules are pretty basic. We have a family atmosphere with children of all ages, plus we are mildly conservative ourselves, which translates to living healthy in mind and body:
- No smoking or drug use allowed.
- Consume alcohol exceedingly sparingly, or not at all.
- Use good, clean language at all times.
- Please minimize use of the Elpel family's personal space.
- Clean up your own messes.
- Recycle everything possible.
- Take your turn with every day chores like cooking and dishes.
As long as we are all reasonable, then we won't need a lot of rules!
Do I need to bring a car?
Our base of operations is in Silver Star, Montana, a small town of about 60 people. (Other people say there are only 30 people in town, but we include the out-lying suburbs and ranches.) Twin Bridges (10 miles away) has a population of maybe 300. Whitehall (16 miles the other way) has a population of about 2,500. You need to consider how long you can be comfortable in one spot with limited transportation. You might be okay on only a bicycle, but you might also feel trapped after a month or so.
Whether or not you bring your own wheels, at least a driver's license is highly recommended. Once in awhile you may be able to borrow one of our vehicles, or may be needed to transport something or someone from one place to another. Having a driver's license greatly simplifies logistics around here.
How much spending money should I bring?
How much spending money you will need depends mostly on your habits. How content are you with a no-frills lifestyle? If you have never experienced such a lifestyle before, then you can expect some severe cravings after a few weeks, for candy bars, pop or movies... sometimes just a desire to spend money on anything. The majority of your food will be provided, plus you may run up a $50/month tab in our little grocery store at our expense. Taking all of this into consideration, we still recommend bringing a minimum of $500 to make sure you have at least something for discretionary spending. More would be better.
Will I be able to earn an income during my stay?
That depends somewhat on your priorities, but at best, don't expect much. We do provide a shuttle service to local floaters on the river, so if you have a driver's license, then you can make a few dollars here and there shuttling vehicles. Otherwise, any money you earn would be dependent on having an easy-to-launch green business project, such as making and marketing garden baskets from rusty old barbwire. Most interns prefer learning more than earning while they are here.
Will I have access to a telephone and e-mail?
We do not yet have a separate phone line for the interns. However, you will be able to use the phone and internet services at Granny's Country Store as long as you don't abuse them. You will be able to check your e-mail and make calls with a calling card on certain days and hours each week, which will be determined as we go along.
What is the climate like?
Here in Montana the grass greens up in April and the trees leaf out in the last half of May. June is usually our monsoon season when it rains almost every day, except during drought years, which are frequent. The number of mosquitoes we have in July depends on how much flooding we have in June. They can be troublesome along the rivers, but usually not anywhere else. By late July the grass starts to dry out, unless we have a really wet year.
In normal years there are forest fires somewhere in the state in August, but they are usually far away. In drought years the fires seem to be everywhere, sometimes filling the valleys with thick, choking blankets of smoke for several days at a time.
The first killing frost comes in September. The leaves turn in October, and they are really spectacular along the rivers. Winter usually comes to stay in November and persists through December, January, February and March. Overall, our winters are mostly sunny and dry. The temperature may dip down to -20F to -30F a couple times each winter, but we can also have a warm spells with T-shirt weather right when you least expect it. January and February of 2005 were downright hot and dusty!
There are hints of green and some really nice days in March, yet just when you think spring is here, we often get some of the biggest blizzards of the winter! Around here, the wind blows more often than it doesn't.
We often get our heaviest snows in April, sometimes even in May, with at least one snowstorm (often several) during June, July, and August.
Will the experience live up to my expectations?
Many prospective interns come with a romanticized dream of living a simple life close to the earth. That's okay. Just keep in mind that our store is basically a convenience store on a busy highway where trucks rattle by day and night. Our own lifestyle is definitely not simple. Keep your expectations realistic, and you may discover opportunties you never even thought of.
What other considerations should I be thinking of?
- Do you like kids? Our kids may be all over you...
- Can you get along and live with people from different backgrounds and different values and varying social and political attitudes?
- Can you cope with people with different habits, such as night people, morning people, gregarious, quiet, tidy, or sloppy?
- Are you a self-starter? Can you motivate yourself without a leader to show you every step?
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