Life at the Q: Yak and Yak

Here are some nice pictures of an event we had last night at the Q: Yak and Yak with the most excellent Rob Williams. One of the great things about living at the Q this year has been interacting with the students, especially when it comes to cooking for them or eating with them (and I really need to post on that as well - I have a ton of posts that I plan to get caught up on in the summer, when I'm not working on Arabic or researching/writing or riding my bike). Rob is one of my oldest friends in Vermont (and, I think anyway, that I actually hired him here at Champlain). Among his many unique hobbies/talents (such as singing in the great local band Phineas Gage [phineasgagevt.blogspot.com] and playing a leading role in the Vermont secession movement; and I really should embed links to the appropriate webpages - another summer chore) is that of yak rancher (www.vermontyak.com). When the Russian students were in town last year their favorite trips was out to visit Rob's yaks. His yak business is expanding rapidly and his has customers all over, including his biggest buyer who lives in Florida. As a treat for the little Qsters, Rob came out last night and grilled out yak sausage (which was absolutely delicious). In addition to cooking, Rob also took the time to explain issues of sustainability and small business to the kids. We had a big turnout and the yak was a huge hit with the students, and we even managed to finish up before the deluge. Besides being a really great guy, Rob is also the quintessential Vermonter in that he is both delightfully quirky but also solidly authentic.