Hot Hot Heat and Hard Hard Work

The smell of aloe vera on my skin, the itchy bug bites, tiny scratches and deep sunburn, the Pyrenees Mountains as my backyard, the cool river as my swimming pool, the 5 hour work day in 100⁰ weather then the 11 hour break, the feeling of being healthy, pure and exhausted; that is the farm. That does about sum it up. Farming doesn’t sound too bad eh? Well don’t be fooled as I was, farming is hard, hard work. I am thankful I don’t rely on this type of work to support myself and laugh that I chose to do this for fun. It really is beautiful here and I am learning a lot about agriculture and myself so that makes this all worth it. Plus, the people are different, interesting and very nice. So let’s get down to business shall we? The animals: 4 dogs and 30 cats. The wildlife: frogs, flies, dragonflies, butterflies. (Not too many crawly things actually, just a lot of flies) The food: Mostly all vegan and delicious. The living quarters: A caravan for Abby and I. The work: Pulling up potatoes, planting beans, raking grass, weeding the garden, oh yeah and clearing out a forest to make room for olive plants. The people: 4 other WWOOFers from the states, Australia and Brittan. I am currently suffering from sunburn and culture shock. They are both intense, but switching from urban to extreme rural life is definitely more of a challenge. The heat is also hard to adapt to too, but I think my body and skin are happy to get a good dose of vitamin D, I just need to drink my body weight in water otherwise I’ll faint. I started seeing spots this morning while weeding-not a good sign. Don’t worry mom- I frequently take water breaks throughout the day. While working I can only thing of a spot I found in the river. It’s at the base on a small waterfall that splashes on my back. It cools and cleans me off after a hard day’s work. I love it! Every afternoon is a Siesta: people nap, read, write and engorge massive amounts of water- not too bad, really. My poor body must wonder what’s happening to it: it’s covered with bites from who knows what, it’s burned and scratched everywhere and using muscles it hardly ever does. Like I said though- it’s all worth it in the end. I am out here having an experience that not all people get to have and one that I might never be able to have again. I will become stronger (and tanner) in mind and body (though tanner only in body) and more open I think. Day two done, 12 more to go.