End of the First Week of Work

I certainly feel like I am getting stronger by the day! I have to use my arms so much to carry crates of vegetables around, pull huge weeds, and pump large spray containers in the gardens. My back feels sore from bending down so much and wearing things on my back, but it I feel better after resting some. Farming is surely hard work!

For the past few days, it has rained every day... still. And thunder sometimes comes at night time as well. The sun my peak through for some time as a tease, and heat up the air, and the disappear. Today it is sunnier, and dramatically warmer outside. I'm pretty much wearing short sleeves for the first time while working outside. Due to all of the rain, I have been spraying the onion and potato plants with a sulfur and copper water-based mixture that serves as a sort of vitamin for the plants. The humidity is really getting to them, so the minerals ought to give them a boost. People are already stopping by the farm to buy onions, but Chérif says that they probably won't be picked until next week, or even the next.

Ja-Ja is still deciding whether or not to go to the market tomorrow. If she goes, then I will probably go with her! I am very excited! The markets are a lot of fun for me. She is hesitating to go because she has a lot to do this weekend. There is a couple with a baby coming today from Switzerland to stay until Sunday just to visit. She is preparing the house for them in addition to what she must do to get ready for the market. I'm trying to help her out, by cleaning the guest room and washing dishes. Work never seizes here. As Ja-Ja said yesterday to me, the house is always in movement, prticularily with people coming and going. I replied that it's a mark of Arab culture to me, to be so hospitable and accomodating for others.

Other chores of mine has been weeding the greenhouses and other vegetable gardens. I saw my first green bean and zucchini/squash plants. They are absolutely beautiful! I promise to take photos. The squash plants have leaves that are as big as a steering wheel! Also, I sprayed the tomato plants with an herb water-based mixture because thay are also sick from too much humidity. I can't wait to put my knowledge to use in my own garden one day! Oh, fresh tomatoes!

On Tuesday night, we didn't have dinner as a family as usual. Rather, that day was a national holiday to celebrate neighbors! All around the country, communities gather at some location, bring their own dishes of food or drinks, and have a feast together! So I got to meet lots of neighbors. Most are older and speak a little bit of English. Ja-Ja made wonderful North African cuisine, but I also tried the local things: quiches, salads, wines, sausage, flan, and an orange-flavored cake. The sausage and the salads were so fresh and tasty, and the wine was very sweet. There is a special grape variety popularly grown in southern France called Muskat. It originated in Germany, though, I believe, but grows well here. There are even some of these plants on my farm! The feast took place in an empty building nearby where there used to be a restaurant. The chairs and signs are still around, even though it closed about 20 years ago. There are a lot of these strange empty, ancient buildings around.

All in all, I am having fun here. I watched the movie Snatch in French with Ja-Ja, Chérif, and a neighbor the other day. I play with the kitten and puppy sometimes, too, although the puppy likes to bite my pants, haha. The kitten is much more friendly. She keeps on geting stuck in trees, though, hehe! I am reading a lot, too, and learning a few cooking techniques from Ja-Ja. She also taught me how to use a European washing machine, which is much smaller and works very differently. It takes over one and a half hours to wash one load of laundry! Oh my. I miss American washing machines, haha, and dryers, urgh.

Keep in touch everyone, and thanks for voting in the polls! There will be new ones every now and then, maybe each week. 55 days left until my farm adventure est fini!