Another easy Saturday - for different reasons...

The movie last night was a great diversion, though I didn’t understand most of it. Even more exciting was the entertainment outside: thunder and lightning non-stop with torrential rains! I slept so soundly, had lots of great dreams. I dreamt up some new John Candy skits for SCTV. Sitting at the table I was awestruck by the mountains’ new coat of snow. Even though I had a piece of bread for breakfast, I didn’t go out to work today. Patch still felt awful, but he won’t take ibuprofen, which helped me significantly. Sean stayed in bed, too. I slept and slept, but it gets boring staying in bed. I pitched in with some cleaning, sweeping and the like. This place gets dirty so fast! Considering that we all come back after morning work and afternoon work all dirty and sweaty and considering that this is a mud house, it isn’t surprising. Nothing closes completely, and with seven people living in a house about half the size of one floor of the Columbine House, it is no wonder. And there are usually 12 people eating here. Electricity is pretty stable, but the water sometimes goes out. We use a pit toilet and only shower a couple times a week when we build a fire for hot water. The dogs are pretty good about staying outside, but the cats are always sniffing around. We don’t give them food if we don’t have food leftover after two times of serving it, so they are especially bold about putting their noses into anything left out. I know I am not painting the prettiest picture, but just to help you understand where sickness comes from. This afternoon the healthy ladies got to go to the mountains to pick wild herbs. I am really quite jealous. I would have loved going, but I was deemed not strong enough to take. Instead, I cleaned up the lunch mess, studied, slept a little, aired out my sleeping bag and liner, tried to chill out in the hammock until it got to chilly, and watched “What the Bleep Do We Know?” with the other weaklings on a short stack of mattresses. All things considered, it was pretty comfy. Sean and Myrna are getting a fire going for showers. What a Saturday night! The sun and rain come and go, though around 8 pm now, it is behind the clouds and soon to be behind the mountains. We’d planned to drink wine and listen to music at Vida’s house, and then the bravest would head into town for dancing, but I don’t know what we’ll do now. Cards anyone? Well, no cards, but we had a movie night watching Babel – in English, what a treat! And for dinner, a fried egg and bread. Some comforts are worth it. To Bed now! tori

YUCK!!!

What an awful Friday! The pizza wasn’t that great, though we all chowed down. And then the first movie would not work: “disco malo.” The second was not quite up and running when the power went out. We were all complaining about not having couches and comfy chairs, but in the end we just went to bed. None of us slept well! I dreamt about a lot and in the end witnessed a shooting and had to call the police and all this stuff. Terrible! I woke up feeling awful – like vomiting. I did not have the stomach to get up, literally. I stayed in bed and told someone I felt unwell. Tossing and turning, I stayed in bed all day. Azucena showed up, and I learned that nobody slept well. She came and checked on me, but I didn’t have a temperature. Quite the opposite, I was freezing. Patch was also still in bed, though he’d gotten up to eat. He had a fever but not a stomachache. Sean still felt unwell. All day I stayed in bed…very dull. My whole body hurt and throbbed. I puked twice. Azucena made some tea from bitter, bitter herbs, and it helped me to feel warmer. I would have enjoyed a couch today, but again…Patch and I commiserated about movies and 7-Up. We started Madagascar, but it was a pirated copy in Spanish. We didn’t have the energy to listen in Spanish, so we abandoned that plan and dreamed of saltines and 7-Up. I guess it is supposed to rain all night. It was cloudy all morning, but sunny in the afternoon. Azucena thinks we were sick because we were so hot during the day and worked in the rain and got cold. Tatiana thinks I have sun poisoning. I can hardly take this every two weeks. The other Americans were a bit sympathetic, and only the two Europeans worked a whole day. Megan and Vida walked to town for dinner and a beer, so I gave them some money for a bottle of 7-Up. Catie walked in during the afternoon and changed the movies, so I think we will try to watch an Argentinean film. Though I cannot understand it, at least it will be a diversion. My bed is not the most comfortable, so I can use a break from it. Azucena says nothing to eat today, but tomorrow we all hope to feel better. Sweet dreams! victoria

HOORAY FOR RAIN!!

What a day! I planted tomatoes in the morning and in the afternoon. I am getting a bit peeved about re-planting over and over and over and over. I don’t know if we started too early and should have the let the seedlings mature or what. It is very discouraging to plant the same rows over and over. I talked to Azucena about it, so she and Patch picked up lots of dried ajo to mulch around them. There was another crew working on it. I worked with Tatiana today because Sean was feeling sick. I was feeling dizzy a lot. The sun and the up and down of planting are really getting me. During yoga I sat in a chair for stability. Lunch was not so appetizing, and I took a good nap afterwards. The afternoon brought a bit of a change because we had weather. The wind picked up, and the clouds came in. Before long there were big fat drops falling on us. I was loving the rain. When you looked up, you could see these big huge sparkles coming straight for you. It felt like the game where you try to catch the popcorn in your mouth. The drops were so big until they turned to hail. It stopped, but we didn’t. A bit later the rain picked up again and started coming down hard. We got all our tomatoes planted and made a mad dash for the house. The rain was really pouring, but it didn’t last long, and it wasn’t too cold. At the house Azucena was in a good mood. Paloma stayed at El Peregrino with her brother and grandparents. It meant a childless night for her and Jorge and for us, too. She and Catie went into town to get movies and pizza. What a thrill! Doubly exciting is that I remembered I had another CD. We listen to music on the tv/dvd, so I brought out the five CDs I bought in Cuzco. Jorge put on Willie Nelson at lunch today – kind of funny. Anyway, I had been wanting to listen to Storyhill, and I remembered Erik snuck in a CD, “You Never Know When You Need Music,” with Storyhill and Brenda Carlisle. So I pulled it out for our pre-party, though it is a bit mellow. We also pooled our decks of cards to play Rummikub. Much fun – but now it is time to eat! tori

More tomatoes...

Oh another morning of tomatoes. I didn’t mind too much. Not much more to say about that. And then in the evening, I hauled a lot more trees from the forest. A bit of a repeat, so here’s other news of the farm. There is a cabra that I tried milking on Monday with a little success. I didn’t have any instruction. Sean and I wanted to try because once we can milk her, we’ll have cheese. She has a baby with a dirty booty. Evidently the baby isn’t potty-trained and poops in her sleep, thus the dirty booty. There is also a horse. She is pretty mellow, but she stepped on my foot Monday. OUCH! She gets to go into the farm area to eat, which is good because she is so skinny. Soon there will be chickens, but first we need to finish the coop. There are also two dogs and three or four cats. They mostly stay outside, but the cats have a way of getting in the house and sometimes in bed with other volunteers. I am not so hospitable. I think they may be eating the tomato plants, at least something is. I think it would be a cat-like thing to do, to torment me for not being nicer, and I really don’t like having to go back and replant everyday. That is the animal situation. There are lots of people coming and going. Peggy is the only one older than me – by about 6 months. She is from France, and we like to mimic her saying “por favor” because she is always telling us to speak Spanish. She calls us gringos with a bit of that disgust that French can intone so well. Laura left yesterday, but she was the youngest – straight out of high school. She was clearly the young one and acted it, but sweet as can be. She is a bit ahead of herself, but she’ll get there. Myrna and Sean are from Canada and have been traveling together for months. I enjoy talking with them. They work as lifties in the mountains of BC during the winter and take odd jobs by winter. Poor Myrna nearly has a hernia, so her work has dramatically changed. Sadly, Sean is unwell today, also. Patch is here for the whole season. He certainly is Mr. Personality. He speaks Spanish so well, so the kids love him. He is often our foreman because he understands everything, and since he will be here for so long, I think it is a natural fit for him. I especially appreciate that he steps in with cooking dinner and breakfast. Catie is not sure what she is doing, but she is a bit closer in age, and I appreciate that she is not in party mode like some of the others. She wants to get fluent with her Spanish, but doesn’t know where else to go. I hope she lingers a bit. Tatiana arrived yesterday. She is Austrian and quite sweet. She is my new “bunkmate” – across from me. Nacho is four and every bit of four at that. He has bitten me twice. One left a bruise, and the other broke the skin through my pants. Gratefully he stayed at Grandma’s on Sunday, so we haven’t seen or heard him – much more peaceful. Paloma is a bit mischievous and sweet all in one. Nine years old, not in school, and meeting all these foreigners at the farm. She has a huge crush on Patch. She doesn’t bathe, though the other day she put perfume in her hair to convince us. Jorge, usually in charge of farm operations, is recovering from breaking his ankle, and now that he is stronger, he leads daily yoga in the noon hour and meditation at dusk. It is quite pleasant. I have begun going, though he is a bit limited in poses. He says it is kundalini yoga. Azucena is juggling a lot with Jorge out of commission. She is a great cook and juggles well, though we are often left waiting. Only another month until Jorge steps back in. Already he is doing more and more each day. Tonight was a hot shower night, such a treat. I showed lots of pictures to Paloma, so she knows of many of you. Sean, Myrna, and I played cribbage the other night, but we haven’t gotten out the cards since. More later…so tired…tori

Mondays are not my favorite days...

Oh goodness!! It is about 11 o’clock, and we have just finished dinner. Sean and I tag-teamed a pot of pasta and a pan of tomato sauce on a fire behind the house. It was quite the day. A Monday, of course! I have been using the earplugs back in the bedroom with everyone else, and I really do not hear anyone get up. Gratefully, Myrna woke me up today, so I got in on the pot of oatmeal that was being made. The two women who arrived last night left this morning. I suppose life is a bit rough around the edges here, but that was quick! A few of us were able to help Vida with planting fruit trees to start off the day. This was a nice change of pace until we finished and had to go weed. When the water came down our row, Myrna and I moved down to the artichokes. The sun had risen nearly halfway in its path, and we were granted a reprieve till the afternoon. Azucena began the work on the pizzas, and some of us offered to help. I have washed many dishes, more than my share to be honest, but I feel like a slug to just be waited on. It meant I got pulled into Catie’s path of cleaning, but I was quick to get out of it. Instead, I had Vida check out my head – lice free! She invited me to check out her property and plans, so I spent my nap-time walking around her land and offering ideas. It was nice, but I needed sleep, too. The afternoon passed quickly, and most had gone. Sean and I started working in the afternoon around the house, cleaning up the weeds, harvesting a cancer-curing root, and moving the trash that collected around the front of the house. Many of the other volunteers were not around to help: Myrna needed to go to the doctor and Megan went to translate, Laura was tending to the lice in her hair, Peggy and Patch went to Mendoza with Azucena, and Catie cleaned inside before taking Paloma into town. When we regrouped after dark, the crew had not returned from Mendoza. We had no gas for the stove, and there was only a little water. We made some spaghetti, but there was no bread or anything. A basic meal before going to bed! I don’t care much for the late dinners and then going straight to bed, but if I don’t get m eight hours, the morning feels so difficult. Ah well, such is life! G’night! Buenos sueños, victoria

Something like a day of rest...

What a wonderful day!! Last night many of us walked into town after working on the baño seco. This task was really pretty easy because we were really only building a pit toilet. A real composting toilet will take a little more time and planning. There was already a pit and a pallet over it. We righted the structure from its side and instantly had three walls. Myrna found the old chair that no longer has a seat. This makes for a lovely stool, but in the night and morning, the metal is a bit cool on my bum. We have a t-bar in a chunk of cement to hang the roll of toilet paper on. Really a lot nicer than your plastic honey bucket, but still a little to be desired! So anyway, we finished pretty early, but Vida needed help with her trees. I gave her a hand, as did a couple others. But when it was time for the boat races, I was the only one to stay. Before I arrived, they determined to build boats out of all organic materials and compete to see who could make it down the little rio at the end of the huerta. I was not really into the competition, though I did weave a canoe. I wanted to be the official photographer of the event, but I missed it in the end. I heard my boat was in the lead until some corner, and when they ran ahead, my boat never emerged from the selva. The prize was a steak in town, but none of the volunteers won. Andres and Maricel, a couple who arrived from Brasil for a visit, had the winning boat. Sean and Patch were sorely disappointed their catamarans didn’t perform better. We all walked in and had dinner anyway. There was a wine bar with excellent meaty tacos, so the others were satisfied. I chose una quesadilla con palta y dos empanadas mariscos. We all had wonderful red wine. It was such a treat. The others also enjoyed other drinks at another bar, but as one of the oldest here, I fill the shoes of the old lady who doesn’t know how to have a good time and party hardy. It is okay by me. The walk back was quite beautiful. I wish I knew the stars down here. I wish I could take a quality picture of them to share them with you. They are so exciting and new. Going to bed after 4 am meant sleeping in today, and I really could because I had my first night in the room with the other volunteers. The floor in the main room of the house wasn’t bad, but it meant I got up with the first to rise. Today I deserved not to get out of bed until just after noon. Breakfast was a quick bite, no potatoes and eggs. I wanted to go to the other farm, El Peregrino. It is the farm of Azucena’s family/brother and sister. I understood we were going to help put a roof on a big dome built onto the dormitorio para los voluntarios. With the alternative building, this sounded very fun. First we ate. The food there was delicious – apple juice and whole wheat pizzas and sauces/dips of different colors. All was delicious. I was so thrilled to drink juice. Refreshing! The project was actually mudding a building. The volunteers from El Peregrino were mostly European. The Spanish was more than I could understand, though I had a few small conversations. I think Azucena’s mom said the building was partly tourism and partly for a small shop to sell products from. They start with some heavier poles put in vertically. The next phase is to take branches or small poplar trees, freshly cut, and weave them through the poles horizontally. These phases were already complete. They included many bottles in this phase. I took pictures of before and after, but I am not sure how quickly I’ll get them on the web. The next phase was ours: applying mud. It was a mix of water, straw, and two types of earth. I think there was also horse shit, but it may have been part of one of the soils. The little boys really liked throwing it on the structure in handfuls, which is helpful for getting it inside the woven branches. However, these boys had no aim and were making a mess. Such is life! I enjoyed it immensely, but did not have the craving as others did to wear the mud. I thought it smelled a little bit, and I know we don’t take showers much. The building was quite beautiful when we finished. Johana came back around with straw and mud to decorate with circles and suns and an ohm. It added such a nice touch. I think that they have to mud every year if they don’t seal it. We finished as it was getting dark. The drive back was quite memorable. Paloma, Patch, and I shared the backseat. Paloma has the biggest crush on Patch. When we stopped for water at a natural mineral spring, she moved me to the side, so she could sit inbetween us. She was tickling Patch, who claims to have and then gave up the location of the one place he is ticklish. There was also teasing about farting. And in the end Paloma laid her head in his lap to rest and insisted I lay across her to rest, too. I hadn’t interacted much with her because there are so many others who speak Spanish fluently. We made it home, despite the sounds the car makes, and had a bit of soup before going to bed. Ah...contentment! tori

Easy Saturday

Holy smokes! So much to say, and I think I need to go now if I want to be home for lunch. I am in a Shell station on the internet. Kind of comical! They have a whole 7-11 style convenience mart, as well as bar. Good combination for the drivers! It is quite the happening place at night I have heard. So I arrived to the farm on Wednesday midday, in time for lunch. Azucena, the mom, said nothing about nothing. I had no idea what I was walking into - a house of other volunteers, mostly from the USA, lunch time. It was how I imagine the Dieringer meals: get in and eat and grab what you can. Elbows flying, everybody reaching over everybody, and food going from serving tray to mouth. I wasn't so hungry, though I have found that the food is great. The thistley salads sometimes make our lips go numb, but everything is great. I got to be the fun new guest with candy for everyone for Halloween. Eyes lit up like it was a sacred treat - made me feel good. The work has consisted mostly of weeding. I was hoe-ing all day yesterday, so my low back is a bit sore today. All I could think of was how I broke two hoes in Spain. Gratefully, there wasn't a third broken hoe. Our shifts are typically 7 - 11 or 8 - 12 in the morning, siesta and lunch, 5 - dark (8:30 pm). Saturdays are just a half day, but today we are working the afternoon before the boat races and dinner out. Some of the other volunteers came up with this idea to race organically made boats down the large irrigation canal. The prize is a steak for dinner. I am being cut slack because I didn't have as much time to design a boat and because steak is no incentive for me. It should be quite fun, though the trash talking has been the best. I don't think I have much of a chance. I wove some sticks together and put some mud on it. The boys think it will just dissolve. We'll see. They have made catamarans, so they're definitely at a different level of boat making than I am. The volunteers: Peggy is from France and doesn't like speaking English. She is a teacher. Sean and Myrna are from Alberta, Canada and work the ski hills. Patch is from Santa Cruz, CA and is staying the whole season. Laura leaves next week; she just graduated high school and is also from Callifornia. Megan and Vida are both from New Mexico and working on a house Vida's mom bought for retirement. It is just across the farm. Katie just arrived last night and is from LA, CA. She is a great Spanish speaker. Marisol and Andres are visiting from their farm in Brasil. More people than beds, so I appreciate that I have one, even if it is on the floor in the "living room". Azucena runs the place because her partner Jorge broke his foot/ankle. Their children Nacho (4) and Paloma (9) are something else. Check them all out at www.elperegrinorganico.com and click the link for Rincon Madre Tierra. More to come. Got to go to lunch now! I love you. tori