WWOOFing in France

Winding down the trip

2006-06-18T12:06:00.000-06:00

Over the last couple of days, most of the work I'm doing consists of washing dishes and picking fruit. Thrilling, I know. I have done a couple of different things, including bottling and labelling some of the wine Estelle makes (crazy kinds like sparkling grapefruit, raspberry, lemon, and quince). Pierre-Yves makes white cheese with his cows milk, and I strained a batch and put it into containers. Other than that, the work is pretty monotonous, and time is going by pretty slowly. However, 2 somewhat interesting things have happened. On Friday, the DaVnici Code was playing in Lamastre, and Estelle dropped me off at the theatre, and arranged for someone that lives in Nozières to give me a ride home. (She thought she would be too scared to watch it). It was in French, of course, without subtitles, but I understood most of it. What was interestingwas the so called "theatre": it's really a big room that they use as a hall for wedding ceremonies and any other gathering, but they had set up chairs and there was a big white screen hanging on one wall.
Yesterday was the Fête de cerises (cherry party, or celebration), and they invited a whole bunch of friends to the farm and had a big hoe down. This was most literally a hoe down-- there was food, wine and dancing in the barn. On of the men had brought his accordian, and he played tradition French songs and taught everyone the dances. It really was your stereotypical idea of a French hoe down. Because the party went so late, we camped out at the farm. They have built a small covered structure out of wood-- I really don't know what else to call it-- it has a roof, but no walls, with a ground level and an upper level. It's not big, but there's enough room for 4 people to sleep on the top level. They laid out mattresses there, and I slept on the ground level in the hammock. At first when they told me I was sleeping in the hammock, I thought, oh God my back is never going to forgive me and I'm barely going to sleep. But Estelle showed me that to properly sleep in a hammock, you lay down at t 45° angle. That way you can control how taught you want the hammock, and you're ultimately laying flat. It was actually really comfortable, and the next day after breakfast (my day off), I layed in the hammock and read for a couple of hours. I had really wanted to spend my day off sight seeing and doing the whole tourist thing, but there's really nothing close to the farm or the town. For me to really get anywhere, Estelle or Pierre-Yves would have to drive me to Lamastre and I'd have to take a long bus ride to wherever I want to go. I figured this was just too much hassel, and I spent my day of rest mostly resting, and I hiked back to the house in the late afternoon.
Another thing worth noting is that I have my day of departure set. I was planning on staying at least 2 weeks here-- that would get me to the 24th of June. But the flights are really booked from that time on, so the best I can do is stay until th 21st. On Wednesday I'm going to get the train to Lyon, spend a few hours sightseeing there, and get a cheap flight to London. Unfortunately, I don't have time to sightsee around London like I had wanted to, because I'm going to try and catch the first flight out the next morning.

Baking in the sun

2006-06-14T09:32:00.000-06:00

Yesterday morning I went with Estelle to the weekly market in Lamastre, a town about 20 minutes away. The town is bigger then Nozières (which has 30 people), but it's still not massive, so I was expecting a market with maybe only 10 or 15 vendors. But the stalls went on and on, and just when I thought I had reached the end, I would turn a corner, and there would be a whole other street of vendors. I spent about an hour and a half walking around the market and exploring the town, and we went back to Nozières for lunch. We spent the rest of the afternoon at the farm, and I picked strawberries and weeded the strawberry patch, baking under the sun. I forgot to bring my hat (just as I had yesterday), and when we left the farm I had a massive headache and felt even more exhausted then I had yesterday. Even after resting for an hour and drinking a litre of water, I still felt like absolute crap, and I began to wonder whether I had a mild case of sunstroke. I looked up on the net the syptoms: exhaustion, headache, extreme thirst, fever...these were the symptoms of a very mild case of sunstroke, which I confirmed I definetely had. I drank a lot more water, went to bed early with a cold wash-cloth on my forehead, and slept for 10 hours. I felt much better this morning despite the fact that I woke up in a cold sweat and I still had a hint of my headache left. Today I remembered to bring my hat and extra water.

Hi Ho Cherry-o

2006-06-12T12:30:00.000-06:00

This weekend was pretty lax-- it wasn't really off for me, and yet I didn't do much work either. Estelle was away all weekend working a market in another town, so she didn't have a chance to explain things to me about the garden The 2 boys weren't in school, so Pierre-Yves was pretty preoccupied with them. Saturday I went with him to the farm, and I now have it sorted out why on earth they would live 4km from their farm where they have to work everyday: They're buildinga house there, and their house in Nozières is just temporary until it's finished. The barn is less than a year old-- when they bought the farm a few years ago, it was just land and cherry trees. At the farm, I helped him clean the cherry press (they don't sell the cherries, they make juice and sell it), pasturize some juice, and milk the cows (they only have 4).
Sunday morning, I woke up with w determination to get the place somewhat clean-- I started with the worst part of the house: the bathroom. I'll spare you the details, but I'll just say that it took me about an hour and a half, and I didn't do all that thourough of a job, because I'm not a maid. When I came down around 11am, Pierre-Yves had already started cleaning the kitchen. I was a little impressed and somewhat relieved, and immediately started to help him. We did a very thourough job, and it's quite livable now.
This morning we drove about 15 minutes to the farm, and Estelle gave me a tour of the garden, and got me started picking cherries in the grove. Picking cherries is so much harder, more tiring, and a lot more frustrating than it looks, especially when you can barely lift the bigger of the 2 wooden ladders, and therefore can't really reach the higher branches. Bonus: I could eat as many cherries as I wanted...and I did. After lunch I went to the massive strawberry patch to pick strawberries. And I naturally helped myself to a fair share of those too. Estelle explained that her strawberries are a different breed then your average grocery store strawberries. I really noticed the difference in the sweetness (a little sweeter, not so sour), the texture (soft, but not mushy), and the taste (the taste of strawberries magnified, with a hint of what I thought tasted like flowers). Afterwards I helped Estelle, Pierre-Yves, one of their friends and his 9-year-old daughter pick cherries for about another hour. I was absolutely exhausted after today, and I almost fell asleep in the car on the way back to the house. It wasn't just the actual harvesting of the fruit that wa so tiring either-- getting to the plants takes a lot of effort too, because a)the cherry grove is about a 10 to 15 mintue hike from the farm (and I say hike, not walk), and b)the farm is on a mountain, so in order to plant things, giant steps are carved in the side of the mountain, which makes for a steep climb or descent every time you want to get to another part of the garden.

Final Destination: Ardèche

2006-06-10T05:52:00.000-06:00

This morning I left St Ouen des Toits and barely made it onto the train at 9:50. I was actually really sad because I really liked the "work" (I wouldn't call it workwhat I would call it because I enjoyed doing it), the family was great (except really for devil child*), the bread as amazing, and Pete and Effie were there. Especially with another upcoming birthday party this Saturday with all the same attendees as the 13-hour one 2 weeks ago, I was tempted to phone my next host, Estelle, and cancel. But I went ahead as planned-- I took a 4 hour train ride to Valence TGV station, and a 20 minute bus ride to the actual city of Valence. I had a 2 hour layover in Valence (a fair sized town with a few tourist attractions), but I couldn't go far with my heavy suitcase. I asked at the tourist office if there was a place I could leave my bag while I explored the town, but there wasn't. Later, when I told Estelle about this, she said they don't do it much anymore because of terrorists and the threat of bombs in people's luggage. After attempting to walk around with my suitcase, I gave up and sat outside at a cafe, had an Orangina (not Orange-aye-na, Oran-jeena), and read my book. It was 28° outside, and quite pleasant sitting in the shade reading, so not all was lost.
I then got on another bus, this one lasting 2 hours, an hour and a half of which was slow winding through the Alps. I finally arrived at Lamastre, where Estelle and her 2 boys Juan(4), and Malo (6) were waiting. Estelle explained to me that they live in a village called Nozières, and their farm is 4 km away. Here they have cherry trees, gardens, and a few dairy cows). She said they're almost finished harvesting the cherries because as a result of a frost in April, there are a lot less cherries this year.
We drove 8km to their small home in Nozières. First impressions were this: It's pretty dark inside the house because the few windows they have are really small. The kitchen, which is at the entrance of the ouse, doesn't look dirty, but not really clean either-- just lived in. My room is a decent size, but has a few boxes with junk in them. The bathroom is just plain disgusting. I began to realize that the more time I spent in each room, the more I noticed how dirty they were. When I started to clear up after dinner, I realized that part of the clutter in the kitchen was just dirty dishes piled everywhere. There are also grease splatters on the walls, and layers of dust on the ceiling and light fixtures. I don't know when the last time the bathroom was cleaned-- the mirror has splatters all over it, the toilet stinks like stale urine, and the bathtub is covered in a layer of dirty soap scum (and there's no shower). My room isn't too bad, although I swear that they didn't change the sheets on my bed from when the last WWOOFer was there. At this point, I honestly don't know if I can live here for 2 weeks. We'll see, maybe things will change when I start the work, and maybe I'll have time to clean up a bit. I just really can't wait to copm home and sleep in my own bed, with all my familiar things, and not have to live out of a suitcase anymore.

*I forgot to write about the events that lead up to me calling Manon, the 6-year-old girl at St Ouen des Toits a devil child. (I think I just tried to wipe them from my memory, and didn't write them in my blog earlier). They are as follows: One evening, I went up to the room I was sharing with Manon to go to sleep (she had fallen asleep on the couch downstairs). I had worked hard today, it was late, and I was really looking forward to going to bed right away. When I got into the room and turned on the light, there on her bed, neatly placed in a long row was my various eyeshadows, blush, makeup brushes, etc. All had been used. One of my brushes was stained and ruined because she had but it in lotion and then rammed it into eyeshadow. As I began to furiously put the things back into my makeup bag, I realized that she had opened one of my eyeshadows that had turned into a loose powder. It's dark green, and the inside of my makeup bag was covered in it. I then proceeded to clean out the bag, and when I had put most of the things away, I realized that my makeup remover and my tube of $25 liquid makeup were missing. I looked under her pillow, and there they were. The makeup tube was half empty, and most of it was smeared on the sheet. As I went to put other things away, I realized she had also pulled out a bunch of my dental floss, and broken my deoderant. I was furious enough as it was because various things of mine had been used. But you also have to understand, that when travelling from one unknown place to another so often, I need a place of my own-- a sanctuary. No matter how awful a place may be, no matter how dirty and no matter how mean the host, I can always return to my self-created sanctuary that is clean, orderly, and that contains my own things. Because I was sharing a room, my sanctuary was a lot smaller here, but it existed-- I had my own little corner. When Manon went through my things, my sanctuary was lost. I really felt I was a drifter, and I had no place of my own-- not even a small corner. I put all my things back into their various bags, and then put those bags all away in my suitcase, not on the dresser where they were before. With all my things closed up, I went to bed, unable to sleep for quite a while.
I told Marie-Laure the next day, and she scolded Manon, but not really to an extent that would make her regret it. Later that evening, I discovered that my things were missing again. I called Marie-Laure, ad we searched the room and found things hidden in various spots, including in her jewelery box and under the bed. Marie-Laure was really nice about it, and she even told me to scold Manon myself. I talked to Manon about it later, but I really don't know if it did anything.
The next day, Marie-Laure showed Pete, Effie and I around Manon's and Nathan's schools (it was an open house). She had to take Nathan somewhere, so she asked us if we would stick around and walk Manon home when she got out. As soon as she got out, she ran to the park, about 100 meters away. We waited for her to play for about 15 minutes, and we fiured we should start heading back. Manon really wanted to stay and play, and ran from us when we told her it was tile to go. We then started to walk away, hoping that she would eventually think we were leaving her, and come with us. We waited behind a building for about 5 minutes, and we were starting to get really mad, when she came. She saw us and ran behind the building. A fence surrounded 2 sides of the building, so there was only space for one person to pass between the building and the fence. This was perfect, and Effie went in on one side, and I on the other. Manon was trapped, and we literally dragged her from behing the building, dragged her across the road, and dragged her 1km back to the house. The entire way, she was screaming and crying and trying to drag her legs and trying to pull her arms away from mine and Effie's grasps. It was the longest kilometer I've ever walked, and the Aussies and I agreed that we would never agree to take Manon home again.

Keeping busy at St Ouen des Toits and beyond

2006-06-07T08:46:00.000-06:00

The past few days have been really busy but oh-so-great. Saturday there was another party, although this one was just a dinner party and didn't last quite as long as the last one. It wasn't as drunken of a party either, but there was still a lot of wine going around. I think Phillip had a little too much because when the desserts were brought out, a crème caramel was set near him, and it was announced that Sophie made it. He then proceeded to talk to the crème caramel, calling it Sophie and making faces at it. This honestly lasted for about 5 or 10 minutes. It was sooooooo funny, and we were all falling off our chairs laughing.
Phillip and Marie Laure were so nice and let us take their car for the weekend so we could go sight seeing. It's a massive 9-seater van (massive here, where the roads fit a small car and a half), and because Pete is the only one who has his international driver's license, he was the one to drive it. Now let's remember that in Australia, they drive on the other side of the car, on the other side of the road, and go clockwise (rather than counter clock-wise) in traffic circles. All this added to the fact that the van barely fit on the road, the first while was really interesting. I was sitting on the right side of the van, and I was constantly yelling out when he was about to hit a curb. There was even one time where he got within about 2 centimeters of a cyclist. His driving drastically improved after about the first hour, and we were well on our way. We parked in a town about 20 minutes from Mont St Michel called Pontorson, and we found a hotel where we would stay the night. We explored around the town a little, which had a fair amount of shops and bakerys, and then continued on to the Mount.
Mont St Michel is an island, or more of a giant rock in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy. On top of the island, and abbey was built in the 10th century, and a village gradually followed around the base of the abbey. It's become famous for it's dramatic appearance, it's monks, and it's tides: When the tide is out, it's completely surrounded by sand, but to walk on the sand, it's highly recommended you go with a guide because there's lots of quick sand, and every year people die there. When the tide comes in, it comes "at the speed of a galloping horse", so it's important you don't go walking around high tide. It's also important that you get your car from the parking lot before high tide. The water reaches all the way up to the island, and the guide said there are always cars and tour buses floating around at high tide. At the Chateau Monfreville, everyone talked about Mont St Michel and how great it is. Here in Mayenne, everyone talked about Mont St Michel and how great it is. Naturally, I was really excited about our trip to Mont St Michel. When we got close, we could see it in the distance: a massive mountain coming out of nowhere. The anticipation built as we approached it. Once we got to the parking lot, a short walk from the Mount, I became a little unnerved. There were hundreds of people walking from their cars to the Mount in the sea of silver. Hundreds of tourists. When we got inside the gates, I was greeted with tacky tourist shop after tacky tourist shop with things like plastic key-chains, Mont St Michel mugs, plates, cookies, wine, T-shirts, etc, etc, etc. Walking through the village (all shops and hotels just for tourists now-- no one actually lives there) was elbow to elbow with tourists the whole way up to the abbey, and thouroughly unpleasant. Once we got to the abbey, there was an 8€ fee to get in, although that included a free guided tour, so it wasn't quite so bad. If it wasn't for the tour, the place would have been an absolute waste of time. The guide explained about the construction of the abbey, the purpose of all the rooms, dropped in a few fun facts, and pointed out things we would never have noticed without a guide. Afterwards, I appreciated it a lot more, but if you ever decide to go, I would recommend you drive by it, take a few pictures, and continue on your way.
Monday morning after breakfast at the hotel, we packed our things and drove about an hour to St Malo, a Medieval town on the beach. It was also really busy here, but it was busy with locals, not tourists. We had to park a fair way from the walls of the town, but we walked to it barefoot on the beach. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, and we stopped a few times to get photos of the crystal-blue water, and the surrounding islands that all had Medieval castles on them. Once we got to the town, we walked along the perimeter of the wall and could see out almost forever. Afterwards, we walked around the town and browsed at the hundreds of shops, patisseries, and homemade ice cream shops. The trip that had almost seemed like a waste of time and money after Mont St Michel took a turn today, and I was really glad to have spent half a day at St Malo.
At around 2 o'clock, we got back in the van and headed to Dinan, picturesque village built in the 15th century. All the buildings are those timber houses that for me represent the sterotypical French village, and remind me of the village in Beauty and the Beast. We walked around, took some pictures, looked at the shops, and ate more ice cream (chestnut, litchey nut, salty caramel...mmmm). This finished off our weekend, and we got back in the van for a 3 hour drive back to St Ouen des Toits. About halfway though, we were driving on the freeway, and past a sign advertising the biggest Medival castle in the world. Then we got to a town called Fougères, and there it was-- unmistakable. We had to park, walk around and take pictures, but because it was already a bit past 7pm, the castle was closed, and we couldn't see the inside.
Tuesday we started designing and planting a garden from scratch. We made a circle in the middle where we're going to make a really tall tipi out of sticks and plant creeping flowers around it. Then we have 4 paths that branch out from the circle, making a plus sign. All the veggies are planted within the quadrants in rows spread out like rays of sunshine. I've made Marie-Laure promise to send me pictures once it's finished and grown in a little, because, unfortunately, I won't be able to see the finished product. The evening was really exciting because when we went to round up the cows for milking, there was an extra calf just sitting in the grass. One of the cows was pregnant, and had her calf that afternoon! It couldn't even stant up yet, and I made sure to take a few photos.
Wednesday's milking was equally, if not more exciting than Tuesday's. Phillip and I had to catch the 3 calfs that were in the field so we could put them with the older calfs, who stay in a pen on the farm. Once they're 3 weekd old, they seperate them from the mother because they start to take all her milk. Once they're in the pen, we give them the milk ourselves, only in a smaller quantity. Phillip gave me a rope, and we walked in the field towards the first calf. As it started to run away, Phillip caught it by it's hind legs, and I just stood there laughing as he played wheelbarrown with it. He started yelling for me to give him the rope, and we got it around the neck just in time. The other 2 were really hard to catch, and we had to corner them in another area. It was really dramatic with the calfs kicking in all directions and sticking out their purple tongues as they bleated really loudly. It was a great way to finish off the day, and we came in for dinner extra dirty, extra tired, and extra hungry.

A day full of variety...

2006-05-30T10:16:00.000-06:00

Today started out great. I was up at 7am to help Marie-Laure prepare the bread and the oven for this afternoon. Early in the morning the day of the baking, a big fire is built inside the oven, and left to continually burn for about 5 hours. When the bread is ready to be put in, all the logs and ashes and bits of coal are removed, the oven is quickly cleaned out with a wet coth on a stick, and the bread is put in. It stays so hot that it cooks all the bread, and Marie-Laure said you can even cook things in it later in the evening it's still so hot. There's a guy that came a bit later that does most of the work with the bread, and I helped him shape the loafs, add nuts, chocolate chips and fruit to some, and roll others in sesame and poppy seeds. Then we put all 61Kg (Almost 130 pounds) of bread in the wood burning oven as fast as possible so as little heat as possible could escape. They bake and sell all their bread in a building just next to their house, and inside they have a giant wood-burning oven. I absolutely loved helping with the bread, and I'm excited yo do it again on Friday, even though they said it's harder on Fridays because there are more orders, and we will also make some different bread that needs to be kneaded by hand (they have a machine that does it otherwise). After lunch I went with Phillip in the tractor to see him cut wheat and grass for hay, and then I went with Jean-Yves (the farm hand) and helped him build three gates out of logs and barbed wire. Just before dinner I helped milk the cows, and I'm almost able to do it on my own-- I herded them all into the barn with the help of their sheep dog, Lalou, and once Marie-Laure got me started (with the many levers and buttons), things went pretty smoothly. Except, of course, for the 2 cows that shit all over my clothes right near the end. The cows are on a big step in front of us so it's easier to attatch the suckers (what I call the milkers that you attatch to the cow). Their poo is really liquidy, and comes out in a big arc, like a fountain. I wasn't quite able to move out of the way fast enough when one of them started to let go, and as soon as that one finished and I moved back, another one went off. It's ok, it only took a hot shower and an intense cycle in the wshing machine to solve that problem.

Good Times at St Ouen des Toits

2006-05-28T05:01:00.000-06:00

Two days ago I arrived at St Ouen des Toits (Seh whe day twa) in Mayenne, and first impressions were ok. Just ok. Marie-Laure and Phillipe, the hosts, were really nice. The house was a little messy, but they do have a 5 year-old boy with Down syndrome and a 6 year-old girl, so it's understandable. The one thing that I don't like so much about this place is the fact that I have to share my room with the 6 year-old girl. I have a little bed in the corner, and a small place on the floor where I can put my suitcase. Nowhere to put my clothes, or any of my belongings for that matter. (That will change this afternoon though, because I plan on cleaning up the room a little and I'll put away a lot of her toys that are scattered all over the surfaces in the room.) Dinner was a little awkward because it was me, Marie-Laure, Phillip, Nathan (the 5-year-old), Manon (the 6-year-old), and Sylvan (their 22 year old son) , their other older daughter (whose name I can't remember) and their girlfriend and boyfriend, who were staying over for the family reunion. Phillip and Marie-Laure had finished and put the younger kids to bed, so I was left with the 4 others, who made no attempt to make conversation with me, and who kept laughing at all these jokes that I didn't understand.
Yesterday morning I got up at 8:30 and Phillip showed me how to milk the cows. It was really interesting, but I don't think I would want to have it as a career and do it twice a day, everyday. At 11, we all got into the van to go to a big family get-together: it was one of Marier-Laure's brother's birthday, and the entire family, about 45 people, were having a big party. At first, it was soooo awkward because I didn't know anyone, and the only talking I did with people were brief conversations about why I was in France and what my plans were. That all changed when we sat down for the big lunch. I started talking to people around me, they got me to taste different wines and cheeses, and we got a few others to come around us when the cake and champagne started being served. Sylvan and his girlfriend came around, and then we all went ouside to play a game with metal disks. One person starts off by throwing a smaller disk onto the plank, and then everyone has to try and throw their 2 disks as close as possible to the small disk. It got really competitive for a while, but that eventually petered out, and we all just stood around listening to music and drinking beer. I got to know the other people that were closer to my age, and we all talked and drank and ate French food until 12:30 in the morning. Everyone (even the adults) were opening beer after beer, cider after cider, bottle of wine after bottle of wine, and insisted that I drink as much as they did. They went on and on about how it's part of the French culture to drink all the time, and how I should experience this French culture since I'm in France. We had so much fun, and I went from standing on my own in the corner to being in the center of all the action because I'm the "exotique", and I have "des beaux yeux et une belle sourire". All the people my age were going to stay over night at the house, and they begged me to stay when I said I was leaving with Marie-Laure and Phillip. I was absolutely exhausted, and declined their offer, because I knew I would probably get about an hour of sleep if I stayed.

A few days in the life of a WWOOFer at Monfreville

2006-05-25T04:34:00.000-06:00

The past few days have been excellent-- we've gone and done quite a few of the tourist things, and even though they're each completely different, they were all worth seeing. On Saturday we took the train to Bayeux, where the famous Bayeux tapestry is housed. We visited the museum and saw the tapestry, which is something like 70 meters long, and tells the story of William the Conquerer through detailed embroidered pictures. Afterwards, we walked around the town, visited the cathedral, and did some shopping. We also discovered a way that we could taste as many different pastries as possible without spending too much money and getting sick. Each of us would buy one thing, and we would split each thing into 3 pieces so that we could try everything. Our idea worked brilliantly, and we tried a ton of food.
On Sunday, June was really nice and drove us to the American war cemetery and Omaha beach, where the Americans landed on D-day, and where the beginning of Saving Private Ryan was set. There wasn't much to see on the actual beach, just a memorial statue. But then we went farther along the coast to the cliffs (Pointe du Hoc) where about 240 US soldiers landed and scaled the cliffs. On the top of the cliffs there were giant holes in the ground from shells and bombs, and dozens of German concrete bunkers. Some were completely destroyed, but you could alk right into others, and even see bullet holes in the walls and above the doorways.
ON Tuesday after lunch, we biked to the Caramel factory. They only give tous at 10am, but we went into the shop and got some really good caramels for cheap, not to mention handfuls of free samples. (Noah was good enough to sneak 2 pockets full when the store clerk went to stock a shelf).
Wednesday we had some cider with our lunch, and tasted a shot of Calvados after lunch. Calvados is a specialty drink of the region, which is made from apples, is really strong, and which is think tastes foul. We were then inspired to visit the nearest farm that produces cider and calvados and everything in between. We biked about 20 minutes and got to taste everything: sweet cider, dry cider, extra dry cider, an apperitif, a digestif, cavados, apple juice (which tastes nothing like the stuff at home--it's much better), and apple honey. As you can imagine, we were a little wobbly on the bikes on the way home. We were disappointed we couldn't buy a bottle of cider 5it was too big and too heavy to fit into our suitcases), but we did walk away with some of the honey and a mini bottle of apperitif.
Today, all 3 od us were assigned to a most unfortunate job after tea: mucking out the big sheep barn. This is where about 20 sheep spent the whole winter. It wasn't cleared out, just more and more straw was put down. In about 2 and a half hours, all 3 of us got about half of it cleaned out. There were about 5 layers, totaling about 4 inches of manure, and the stuff was really packed down. Sometimes we would hit spots where manure and stale urine had started to ferment, and the smell was almost unbearable. After a while; we got so sick of the smell that we created something that would help us overcome the smell. We each picked a bunch of sage from the garden, and got a roll of really wide masking tape. We then taked the sage to our upper lips, right below our noses. We looked absolutely ridiculous, and we couldn't take eachother seriously for the next 5 minutes, but the work progressed as usual, only things smelled a little better.

Experiencing a bit of the culture

2006-05-19T04:16:00.000-06:00

The past week has flown by. 6 hour work days seem more like 2 hour work days, I'm eating amazing food every day, and even though the weather hasn't been the best, I'm really enjoying myself. For the last couple of days I've been stuck with the really disgusting jobsthough. For 3 days, David and I drained the natural swimming pool, and cleared out about 10 wheelbarrows full of greenish-brown sludge. It was really hard work, and I finished every work day caked in a greenish muck, smelling of pond water. Their jacuzzi tub is in a small glass enclosure on the side of the house, and I was left to clean that as well. The roof of the inside was ultimately one massive spider web, with spiders the siz of my big toe, and even hornets the size of my thumb. I also swept about 3 dustpans full of beetles and other dead bugs that were on the floor and on the inside of the empty jacuzzi. As disgusting as these jobs were, it was really satisfying to step back once I was finished and see the result of my work.
Yesterday was David's birthday, and we hosted a big lunch with 14 people, and ended up polishing off 16 bottles of wine. Besides one other younger couple, it was entirely retired couples in their 60s, who, as David told me, spend most of their spare time drinking, partying, and travelling. As they were leaving, one woman was crawling under the table to find her sandals, and another commented on how she couldn't tell whether she was sitting or standing. 2 other WWOOFers arrived in the middle of all this-- an American couple in their early 20s-- but they were glad to have a huge meal of oysters, roast duck and potatoes, French bread, smoked salmon, and wine after their long trip. Ali and Noah, the WOOFFERs, met at the university of Boston, and they're coming to France and Italy for a month after just graduating this past weekend. They're really nice and great to talk to. We had a busy day today at work, and we all went to Chateau Bel Enault to see the gardens, and to Chez Roger to drop off the salad. When we arrived at the restaurant, a couple of people had already arrived. They were close friends of the owner and we all stood around and drank wine. Then Roger brought one of the live lobsters from outside. He had it on it's back in one hand, and a small fork in the other hand. The entire belly of the lobster was covered in black lobster eggs, and he began to feel some of the women the caviar. We got back to Monfreville exhausted, and we plan on sleeping in tomorrow ( one of our days off), and then do some touring of the area.

First work day at Chateau Monfreville

2006-05-12T03:53:00.000-06:00

This morning David cooked a massive breakfast of poached eggs, bacon, tomatoes, and potato cakes, accompanied with homemade toasted brown bread and raspberry banana smoothies. I ate so much that I felt sick, and I had to lay down for 15 minutes before I started work. Work today varied a lot (a good thing): I started by helping June pick greens for salad they supply to a local restaurant. Then David and myself and a neighbour wrestled with a sheep that had an eye infection, and gave it an antibiotic shot. After sweeping the ,ain floor, cleaning the guesthouse patio and picking flowers for the guesthouse, we had a tea break. After tea, I helped David scrub the steps of the natural pool. The 6 hours of work seemed more like 2-- and a late lunch followed. There are only 2 meals a day: breakfast at 8am and lunch at 3pm. Any food that you may want in the evening is up to you to prepare, but only if you're not still full from the massive 3 or 4 course lunch.
After lunch, I read outside for a little, and at 5:30 I went with David to visit a British friend of his, who owns a chateau (Chateau Bel Enault) with huge gardens. We sat down for drinks, and I had a tall glass of white wine. After it stopped raining, I went outside to take a look at the "garden" as David called it. I went out through the front door, and immediately after turning around the right side of the chateau, I was greeted by 2 white geese on the lawn, and 4 peacocks on the side balcony of the chateau. The "garden" is more like a nature reserve-- there are meadows with trees and stone statues, a lake with a rowboat, a creek tht snaked all over the property with at least 5 wooden/stone bridges going across at different intervals. There are also gravel paths surrounded by flowers, bushes, ivy, and hundreds of huge trees, stone grottos that were big enough to hold dozens of people inside, and stone steps leading to the tops of the grottos, where you can look out at the gardens. I can tell you right now that the images you're picturing now of the gardens are absolutely nothing like how it really is. I didn't bring my camera, but David said we may come back another day-- although I sincerely doubt the true magnificence of the gardens can be captured through the lens of a camera.
After my walk through the gardens, David and I drove to the restaurant, Chez Roger (shay rojay), to drop off the salad. It's right on the beach, and every day they have a fresh catch of blue lobster that they keep alive in a barrel just outside the restaurant until they're ready to cook them. The restuarant didn't open until 8, and Roger, the owner of the restaurant and former celebrity chef (or so David told me), offered us wine, and kept our glasses full for the half hour we were there. Waling out of the restaurant, I felt a little unsteady, and decided that it would probably have been best if I didn't let him top up my wine.

On to Chateau Monfreville

2006-05-11T03:50:00.000-06:00

This morning I packed my bags, said goodbye to my familym and got a cab to the train station. I took a 2 hour train ride to Monfreville, Normandy, and made it to the Chateau Monfreville in time for lunch. June and David are a really nice British couple that have had the Chateau for about 17 years. They've been permanently living here since 2000, and started having WWOOFers that same year.
We ate lunch outside and it was delicious-- we started with foie gras with toasted bread and greens, then had lasagna with salad, and finished with a fruit crumble with loads of creme fraiche. After lunch, I did a little exploring around the property. I thought the Chateay de Sacy and its grounjds were big-- this place is at least 3 times as big. There are multiple fruit and veggie gardens, a few greenhouses, a massive front yard with trees, bushes, and a long gravel driveway. They also have 2 guest houses, a natural swimming pond, a regular pond, a barn with chicken and ducks, and a big field with sheep. The chateau is huge, and clean too! I'm at the very top floor-- 51 steps-- with my own bedroom and connecting bathroom (which is the top room in the tower). The views from my 2 bedroom windows are amazing, and the window in my bathroom looks out over part of the front garden. I've already found my favourite spot in my room: one of the windows has a window seat, and looks out over the grazing sheep and the neverending countryside.

Last day in Paris

2006-05-10T03:50:00.000-06:00

Even though this was my last day in Paris, I took it pretty easy, and I really didn't see much. We all slept in, I went to the internet cafe to check my email, and after lunch, we did a self-guided tour around Le Marais, an area in Paris near the Bastille monument. We looked around at a market and some shops, passed by the Picasso museum (which I had no interest in seeing), and visited the Place des Vosges, Paris' oldest square. It was built by Henri IV in the early 1600s. Surrounded by identical brick buildings, it was a favourite spot for duels. On our way back to the apartment, we stopped by the Moulin Rouge and took some pics, and I did a little more last-minute shopping with my sister. Today I spent a good 110€...but hey, who knows when I'll be back in Paris again?

Day 4 in Paris

2006-05-09T03:50:00.000-06:00

Today was cold and rainy, but we didn't let that stop us from seeing as much as possible. In the morning, we paid a visit to the catacombs-- a series of underground tunnels that span underneath all of Paris. Near the end of the 1700s, lack of space in Paris graveyards and plague forced the powers that be to create mass underground graves, where they deposed millions of bones. Parts were also used as headquarters for the French resistance during the second world war. We missed the guided tour by about 10 minutes, but we were still able to walk around inside. We walked down a narrow gravel path surrounded by walls made entirely of bones and skulls. Many of them were made into designs, and every few meters, carved into the pillars, quotations all realting to death. After this enlightening experiece, my sister, my dad and I met my mom outside of the Pantheon (she had no desire to see the catacombs). We walked to Saint Sulpice, a gorgeous church that was featured in The DaVinci Code (if you haven't read it yet, I strongly recommend you do), and where the original rose line is etched out along the church floor. A rose line is a line of longitude, and today, longitude zero is in Greenwich, England. Longitude zero used to be in Paris (don't ask me when, I don't know), and the long brass line can still be seen today inside Saint Sulpice.
Despite the rain, we had a short walk through Luxembourg gardens, which were absolutely magnificent. We then did a little shopping on the Rue de Rennes and the Blvd St Michel (or as those in the in call it, the Blvd St. Miche), where I bought 150g of the most amazing dark chocolate for 7.50€ ($11.25 CAD). I still think it was well worth it.

Day 3 in Paris

2006-05-08T03:50:00.000-06:00

Today was a bank holiday-- Liberation day-- so most of the shops were closed again. There is, however, a monument which is open 364 days a year: The Eiffel tower. We went all the way to the top, and it's much higher looking down then it is looking up from the ground. My sister and I wanted to throw something from the top, watch it fall all the way down, and retrieve it once we got back down. We threw the only thing we really had on hand: orange peels. We had a couple test runs, but both were blown out of our field of vision. We had one left. I stuck my arm way all the way through the cage that wraps around the outside, and threw it as hard as I could. It fell for a really long time, and landed on the grass beside a lake on the grounds around the tower.
After that intense excusion on th Eiffel tower, we went to one of the few stores that was open: the Galerie Lafayette. It's a massive department store that opened in the 30s, and is characterized by it's lavish design and giant glass dome. We had an intense shopping experience while we rushes through its 8 floors and hundreds of designer shops. We had to see it all in 2 hours before it closed.

Day 2 in Paris

2006-05-07T03:50:00.000-06:00

Today was the first Sunday of the month, which in Paris means no charge to get in museums. We decided to go to the Musee D'Orsay, known for it's huge collection of Impressionist art. The line outside stretched about 4 blocks, but it moved fairly quickly, and we were in within the half hour. It was super busy inside too, but it was well worth it because there were so many exquisit paintings and sculptures-- the famous and not so famous.
On our way out of the museum, we crossed the Seine and walked through the Jardin de Tuileries. The sun was shining, and people were in the gashops, walking, jogging, or just sitting on the benches. There was also a carousel and giant trampolines for kids. At the end of the gardens is La Place de la Concorde-- a square where the beheadings took place during the French Revolution. There's a giant Egyptian obelisk and an magnificent fountain in the center.
Not too far from the Place de la Concorde is the Place de la Madeline, with a giant Greek-like building, and a ton of designer shops. Because it was Sunday, nothing was open, but we peeked inside the display windows, including Fauchon, the designer food store. We took the metro back to Monmartre where we happened to find the fruit and veggie shop that was used in the French movie "Amelie".

First day in Paris

2006-05-06T03:50:00.000-06:00

Today was my first day in Paris, and it was awesome. The apartment we're staying in is in the heart of Monmartre. It's a little crammed, but it's really nicely restored, beautifully decorated, and it's clean! We took the bus to Notre Dame, and had a great tour of Paris and it's sights on the way. We didn't go inside, but took plenty of pics at the front. We wanted to find somewhere to eat lunch, but out front it was packed with tourists. We walked around the the back of Notre Dame (which I think is much nicer than the front...but less famous) where there are benches and gardens and almost no tourists, and we had a peaceful lunch there.
After our lunch, we walked over to Saint Chapelle, and waited in line for 30 minutes to get in. It's a church built in the 1200s to house the supposed crown of thorns that Christ wore during the crucifixion. It's not that big, but what it's known for is it's stain glass windows-- on a sunny day it's like you're inside a jewel box.
Later, we walked around Paris, and went to the outside of the Georges Pompidou center-- a museum of modern art. It's an amazing building that looks like it's been built inside-out, because all the pipes and stairs are on the outside.

I've Broken Free!!

2006-05-04T03:40:00.000-06:00

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.

A brief peek inside

2006-05-02T08:18:00.000-06:00

Here are a couple of pics from inside the chateau de sacy. They're not much, but they give you a little bit of an idea of what it's like. Hermine puts up signs all over the house like the ones in the pics below...mostly telling you not to do something, like "do not leave this light on". The pic on the left is a sign that's posted in the shower. On the right is part of the kitchen. If you can zoom in, look around....and good luck trying to decipher the note on the right.

Pics of the outside of Sacy

2006-05-02T07:25:00.000-06:00

Here are some pics of the outside of the house and the gardens. I didn't include everything because the pics take FOREVER to load, but this will give you an idea of what it's like. Sorry about the order, it's pretty random.

This is one of my bedroom windows, on the right end of the house.

This is a meadow behind the house and to the left. Beyond the hedges is a garden.

This is a really pretty gate on the far left wall that leads to an open field.

This is the "kitchen garden" where we planted potatoes, carrots and zuchini. Raspberries, strawberries, spinach and leeks are already growing here. It's not the greatest pic of the garden, but the light on the canola field beyond the wall is gorgeous.

This is another shot of the kitchen garden, with the back of the barn at the end.

On the left is the barn, on the right is the meadow and the compost. If you follow the path all the way to the end, you will end up in front of the pretty gate I took a picture of, and the kitchen garden on the left.

This is a shot taken from the courtyard of the front of the barn. hermine doesn't have any animals, but she stores most of the tools in here. There's also a ping pong table, but it's been so cold out we haven't played yet.

This is at the front end of the property against the wall-- it used to be an outhouse.

Here's a shot of the front of the chateau taken just inside the gates. The entire property is surrounded by 10-foot stone walls.

On the far left is the back of the house, and in the middle is the dovecote (although there aren't any birds in there because the stray cats ate them all. Hermine doesn't want to get anymore birds because of the bird flu). On the right is a little bit of the barn, and in the bottom left-hand corner is a bit of the concrete structure that is divided into sections: one for the compost, and others for lettuce and other greens.

...and the countdown begins

2006-04-29T13:26:00.000-06:00

I'm counting down the days until I leave the Chateau de Sacy. It's freezing here...not just outside, but in the house. All the time. I don't much care for the host... So far she has yelled at me for the way I stir cake batter, the way I wash dishes, the way I talk, and she's yelled at me because I misunderstood a chore she assigned to me in the garden. She has also gotten mad at Effie and called her "stupid" because while Hermine was in the garden, she forgot about the cake she put in the oven and it burned. Effie was in the hall scrubbing the floors and was not told how long the cake should be in for, or that she was even responsible for the cake. The kitchen is infested with ants, and the work is becoming somewhat monotonous. My knees are sore from kneeling, and my back is sore from bending over and picking weeds, and I think my saggy mattess contributes to the back issue as well. I wasn't anticipating a vacation, but the unpredictability and short temper of the host doesn't make things any easier. The Australians are great, and we go through it all together...although this weekend they are in Chantilly, and I'm here on my own. I'm doing my best to stay out of Hermine's way...she hasn't yelled at me in a couple of days, so that at least is good.
Yesterday afternoon after a morning of work and a nice lunch, I went with Pete and Effie to Compiègne, the nearest city. It's where Joan of Arc was captured, and where Napoleon III lived. We did a tour of Napoleon's palace, explored the city, and bought pastries at one of the dozens of patisseries in the area.

A day at the Chateau de Sacy

2006-04-25T06:49:00.000-06:00

Yesterday after working for our 4 hours, we explored the 3 nearest town, walking in a 9 km loop. We were exhausted when we got back, but we had a chance to see what was around, and we managed to find some good food too. I biked to get milk again as soon as we got back, and at 10:00, right after supper, I went straight to bed.
Today, we did a couple hours of work, and Hermine's secretary, who works in the chateau, dropped us off in Pont Sainte Maxence, the nearest town of a decent size, about 8 or 10km away. We did a little shopping here, and I've spent 2 hours at the internet cafe-- the nearest one to Sacy-le-petit. I've been writing about every day in a journal, and whenever I get the the internet cafe, I'll transfer it onto the blog. I probably won't be here much though because we have to walk so far to get here. Hermine doesn't have a car, Effie can't ride a bike, and unless we wanted to be here from 7am to 7pm, we can really only take a bus one way. Until May 11th when I go to Normandy, my blogs will be coming in bulk, maybe only once or twice more. Hopefully the host in Normandy will have a computer I can use, or be slightly closer to an internet cafe. In the meantime, I'll be busy planting, weeding, and eating good bread. I forgot my camera at the house, so I'll post pics as soon as I can.

Exploring around town

2006-04-22T06:35:00.000-06:00

Today we finished planting the potatoes. It was hard work, but kindof fun. We also spent a few hours weeding, which, if you get in the right spot where you can kneel comfortably and the sun is shining, it's quite relaxing. It got to around 20 degrees today, and the sun was bright, there were a ton of birds singing, the tlips were in bloom, and it felt great to be outside all day. We ate lunch outside again today in the front courtyard, and ate sliced potatoes in a vinaigrette, fresh bread and Camambert cheese, wine, and salad. I forgot to mention earlier that every morning at 9 o'clock, there is a long bread bag with plastic handles that we hang outside the front gate. the baker comes around in a truck and drops a fresh baguette in the bag. the nearest bakery is a fez km away, so this is the best way to get fresh bread everyday.
Before supper today, the Australians and I walked through Sacy-le-petit (the town we're staying in), and there were mostly just houses. "Downtown" consists of a deli, a phone booth, and a bus stop. The bus stop has one bus which co,es twice a day: once at 7am, and again at 7pm. We continued on to the nearest town, Grandfresnoy, which is 2 km away. We looked around at the houses, the general store and the bakery, and bought some delicious pastries for super cheap.

The Australians and some unfortunate news

2006-04-21T06:19:00.000-06:00

This morning sucked, because right after breakfast, I got to clean the coal/wood-burning stove with a couple metal tools and a toothbrush! Hermine probably has never cleaned it (because like I said, cleaning is far down on her priority list), but it was smoking when she tried to cook with it, so naturally, she got me to clean it.
The Australians, Pete and Effie (a couple in their late 40s) arrived today in the late afternoon. They're both really great, and share my distaste with the cleanliness of the house, and so pitch in with keeping it as sanitary as possible. they're WWOOFing in France for 6 months, and after talking about our different destinations, we found out we're both going to the same farm in Mayenne at around the same time, so I'll see some familiar faces while I'm at my 3rd host.
After lunch, we started the real work. We planted a few rows of potatoes and did some weeding. Later, after supper, 2 of Hermine's were passing through and came to stay the night. Over coffee, they told us how they were in Paris at the Gare du Nord (a train station in Paris) today, and one of them had her purse stolen. She said it was typical of that area and she should have been more careful. I mentioned how I was planning on staying in a hotel a couple of blocks from the Gare du Nord on my last night in France before taking a train directly to the airport. They both gasped and gave me terrified looks. When I went on about how I should maybe find a new hotel, they assured me I just need to be super cautious and not leave the main roads or wander around at night. I'm still not sure if I want to stay around there anymore. convenience would be nice, but is it more valuable than my safety? We'll see... I still have 2 months to make my desicion.

First day at Chateau de Sacy

2006-04-20T05:59:00.000-06:00

I arrived at the chateau fine... I made all my flights, and despite having to wait for a couple of hours for trains, the trip went smoothly. The outside of the Chateau de Sacy is gorgeous. It's a house that dates back to the 1600s with a large barn in the courtyard ( no animals though). there are 2 big gardens with fruits, veggies, and herbs, 2 small meadows, and a small wood in the back. The inside of the house itself is less impressive-- Hermine, the owner, lives there on her own, and obviously focuses most of her attention on the gardens, not on the cleanliness of the house. I won't go into exhaustive detail, but I will tell you my new rule that I've made for the chateau in particular, and every house I'll be staying at from now on: don't look up, don't look down (including at your plate or in your glass), and what you can't see won't hurt you.
Today was my first full day at the Chateau. I did a couple smaller jobs like clearing debris from one of the gardens, and fixing the foundation for the future maze on part of the property. Two other WWOOFers fro, Australia are coming tomorrow afternoon, so I'll start on the bigger jobs when they come. This evening was great, because I took one of the bikes (which was not too bad, except the breaks don't really work... good thing I'm not in the mountains...) and biked about 4 km to the nearest dairy farm, and bought 3 litres of fresh milk and 10 eggs for €2.70 The family at this farm milk the cows and collect eggs fro, the chickens every morning at 6am, and every evening at 6pm. For an hour afterwards, sell the milk and eggs right from the barn.

A Slight Change of Plans

2006-02-14T14:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I got an e-mail from another host I had contacted about WWOOFing on her property in Monfreville, Normandy. I had a look at her website (chateaumonfreville.com), and it sounded and looked absolutely wonderful, and I really wanted to go. She had been away in South Africa so she didn't receive my e-mail until the other day, and she wanted me to work on her property. The only way I would be able to go was if I shortened my stay in Laval, Mayenne. I looked at where Monfreville is on a map. It's a really small town in the district of Calvados in Normandy-- right on the way from the Chateau de Sacy to Laval. I began to list the negatives and the positives if I were to WWOOF at the Château Monfreville. Positives: It's such a nice place, and would be such a pleasure to work at. It's right on the way to Laval, and I could go there for two weeks after working at the Châteaude Sacy and before going to Laval. Staying at 2 places for 2 weeks each rather than at one place for 4 weeks would be better in case I really dislike the one place. Negatives: I have to buy another train ticket, and go through yet another long train ride and all it's transfers in Paris. I would have to change plans with the host in Laval, and they might not be too happy. I decided that because I'm only going to do this once, the expense of another train ticket and the stress of another long train ride would be worth the experience. As for the host in Laval, I e-mailed her asking if it would be all right if I changed the date and length of time. She answered me saying that it would be alright. So here I am, staying at 4 different places spread out accross all of France withing a 2 month time period, and having to figure out and pay for 5 different train scheduels. I really hope I made the right decision and it's worth it when I get there.

It's Official

2006-02-07T16:56:00.000-07:00

After narrowing it down to about a dozen hosts in France, I contacted them, and immediately received responses. Now it's official. On April 20th, I'm starting at the Château de Sacy in central Oise in northern France. The picture on the left is of the château. I'll stay there for 3 weeks maintaing the orchard, herb garden, and small forest, feeding the doves, making jam, and learning about French cooking. Visit the website (chateaudesacy.com) for more information about the place, it's history, and some great pictures. After finishing at the Château de Sacy, I'll take the train to Mayenne where I'll help a family with dairy cows, baking bread, cooking, haymaking, and fencing. After 4 weeks in Mayenne, I'll take a long train ride to Ardèche, in the south of France. The picture on the right is of the cherry farm. I'll arrive around the 8th or 9th of June, just in time for the cherry harvest.
We pick and juice cherries, and friends and family are invited for celebrations. I'm so excited, and all I can think about is the preparation (what I need to pack, buying train tickets in advance, etc). The only problem is I'll probably have to quit my job if I'm going to be gone for 2 months. I'm working at a restaurant that opened at the end of October. I really like it, and I only hope they'll take me back when I return.

The Hunt

2006-02-05T16:06:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to travel to France during my year off after high school for a while now. I wanted to keep busy, gain some life-changing experiences, and maintain my French-- something I`m deathly afraid of losing after 12 years in French immersion. I knew I wouldn't have enough money to just go travelling, so I originally wanted to get a job in France as an au pair so that I could make a little money and do some travelling at the same time. This didn't really work out when I looked at a number of au pair websites and saw that most of them required 2 reference letters from previous babysitting employers. I had babysat for a family for about a year, until they moved west of the city, and I had no way of contacting them. Other than them, I just babysat people on and off-- not enough to get a reference letter out of them. Secondly, I asked myself, do I really want to be babysitting for 5 hours a day, 6 days a week for 2 months? I never really enjoyed it, I just did it for some extra money. That's when I started to look at work experience in France, but all the programs I was looking at had sky-high fees, and I would only receive a stipend of around 180 euros a month-- that works out to about a dollar an hour. My only option left was to volunteer. I decided this really was the best thing for me. I would like to use my time off not only to profit myself, but to help someone else out, and actually make a difference in someone's life without having a price tag attatched to it. The internet is a sea of volunteer oportunities, and I was completely lost. Everything I came across had fees in the $1000 and $2000US range-- not including airfare. I took my mom's advice and joined slow talk, a message board out of slow travel. I posted my dilemma: I'm taking a year off from high school, I don't have much money, and I want to volunteer in France. Where do I start? I received several helpful responses, one of them suggesting I should join WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms). I joined for only $30US, and I got a list of 316 independant hosts in France who wanted help on their organic farms, and in exchange would provide room and board.