I've Broken Free!!

The weather is gorgeous now, and working outside is a pleasure again. It got to 25 today, the sun was bright, and we worked in the shade by the lilac trees. On Saturday, I'll be leaving for Paris to visit my parents, just as I've been planning. Originally, I was going to come back on Sunday evening. But Sundays there's basically no transportation, so Hermine suggested I come back Monday. But Monday is a bank holiday so there won't be any buses then either (cabs are impossible to get on Sundays and holidays), so she said I could just come back on Tuesday evening. Then she realized that I'm leaving on Thursday morning, so I would only be here for qnother full day and it might not be worth it to come all the way back and leave again. At first I insisted that I would stay until Thursday, because I had agreed to stay until then. But then I started to think. Spending an extra day in Paris wouldn't hurt-- there's so muxh to see and the longer you stay, the better. I would also be able to spendmore time with my family. On Thursday, I could catch a metro straight to the train station that I have to leave from to get the the Chateau Monfreville. If I were leaving for Sacy le petit, I would have to pay 15 Euris for a cab to the nearest train station and take a train to Paris. Then I woul have to take a bus from the one Paris station to the one where my train leaves from. I talked to my mom about it over the phone, and she agreed it's probably not worth it. She also said that I don't owe Hermine anything-- I've been working hard the days that I have been here, and it was Herrmine who suggested that I just stay in Paris. So that's it. I had been counting down the days left at this place since the beginning, and now I'm leaving 5 days early.
Another WWOOFer came this evening-- a 22 year-old girl from New Zealand, and she's a sweatheart. After dinnerm Efie, Pete, and I were telling her all the things to do, not to do, the things to avoid and not say, etc. I think we scared her a little, but it's better that she knows everything ahead of time and not get yelled at. Pete and Effie leave on the 12th, and she'll be here by herself untili the 16th. She's a little nervous and she says she reall hates bugs (there are a lot here), but I know she'll get used to it-- if I can, anyone can. She just finished university, and she's going to be in France for a year. She was in Paris for 2 weeks at the beginning of her trip and tried to find a job. Unemployment is really high here, so she didn't have much success. She heard about WWOOFing from someone she met in Paris, and that's how she got involved.
We talked to her about the other places we're going to WWOOF, and she told us she had just come from a 6 week stay at the farm in Mayenne that the Aussies and I are both going to. She said that for work, because she didn't really want to work on the farm, she took care of the kids, did some housework, and cooked. I think I'll try working on the farm, because coming up with meals for 8 people every evening would not be too successful.