I have some time extra time before lunch because it's extremely hot outside, so I'll take advantage of this freedom to write my last blog post from France during this organic farming adventure!
On Sunday, I enjoyed having a feast that Chérif and Ja-Ja put on for some friends. I asked Mishka why they wanted to have this party, and she said that there wasn't any particular reason except that her parents just like to have people over and have a good time. Chérif and Ja-Ja certainly love having company over and spending time with everyone. At least 10 people had arrived by the end of the night. Some even stayed after Chérif and Ja-Ja had gone to bed, haha, but nobody seemed to mind. We ate a fresh tomato and olive salad that Fred the neighbor made, a cold green bean and potato salad, fresh bread with a butter and herb spread, watermelon, cantalope, and a spicy lamb sausage called mergeuse. Fred had made pork sausage himself, too, which tasted spectacular! We all had a cheerful time in the backyard with candlelight. We started shooting watermelon seeds at the parents, so they shot cantalope rinds back, haha! For dessert, I ate fresh Algerian dates that Ja-Ja had bought just for me from the Arab market that morning. She had also bought an incredibly large round of bread that was in the shape of a donut! Ummm... donuts.
Ja-Ja has been making a lot of things in the kitchen just for me! She had Mishka make crèpes, which I ate with strawberry and black currant jam. Everyone munched on them and I watched Mishka so I can hopefully make them in French fashion back in the States. Last night, after collecting crates full of potatoes at around 8pm, Ja-Ja decided to make mashed potatoes for me. They were unbelievable! They were made with organic milk and butter, too. No gravy was necessary at all! I hope to take something of hers before I leave, such as the black currant jam. I will certainly remember her for her exotic and neverending cooking skills that always satisfied any appetite!
It's nearly 1pm here now. I've already completed most of my packing and vacuumed my room. I've been wrapping my gifts and souvenirs in my clothes, trying to protect things efficiently while still respecting the airline weight limits. I brought an extra duffle bag with me, which will come in good use. Tomorrow morning, I will leave with Fred at 5am to go to the Nimes train station. He will already be driving there because he will be picking up his wife who arrives at 6am. My train will leave at 7:50am, so the plan works out pretty perfectly. Hopefully, I will be able to play tourist a little bit before boarding the train.
I've been spending my last work on the farm weeding, which seems appropriate considering that organic farms need this task to be done constantly. I also hope to take my last photos, give the family a gift that I bought them (a pizza cutter, haha, because they actually don't have one but eat pizza and tarts often), take a last jog to see the scenery, finish packing, enjoy the last of Ja-Ja's cooking, and fall into bed early! Tomorrow will be a big traveling day! Please keep me iin your prayers for I will need lots of guidance and strength.
I promise to write again soon when Im home about more of my thoughts on this experience and to answer any questions that anyone might have. I can say now that I do not plan on being a farmer in response to Rayne's question. I do hope to have a garden of my own wherever I live for the rest of my life if possible, but I don't believe that my strengths and passions rest in the fields. I will think about and write about this more. Au revoir for now!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Sunday, July 20, 2008
My Last Weekend in France!
Although I'm trying to get the most out of my last days here, I am definitely excited to be going back home! Trying to learn and understand French all the time has become pretty stressful. I believe I'm improving, and it's fun acting as an interpreter sometimes, but there are times when I just want to be alone so I don't have to struggle to understand everyone. I can keep to my own English thoughts, or listen to my English songs on my iPod while taking a walk along the scenic roads.
I've started preparing for my departure a bit. I think I've got all my gifts together and accounted for, as well as things I bought just for myself. I've started running a bit more. I haven't been running much because it's so hot here. Since it is so difficult to run during mid-day with the sun so high, the bets time to run is in the evening. We usually work from 5-7:30 or 8pm, so I don't have much energy left to go on a run. I'm squeezing them in just before I go back to work in the evenings and on the weekends, though. I feel like I'm at home again, but with the smell of the Cevennes in the air!
The house is very full at the moment, so finding peace and quiet means leaving to go off the farm usually. There are two more younger girls here from Paris. They come from underpriveleged families who can't afford vacations during the summer months. Chérif, who grew up in the Paris suburbs, belongs to an association who arranges for these children to have vacations on farms during summer. Chérif has taken in two girls this year for 10 days. They are the same age as Inès, Chérif's youngest daughter, so she is very happy. The girls even help out with farm chores, like collecting red currents from the bushes for the market. They are very sweet and enjoy being on the farm. One of the girls is called Amandine, which means "little almond" in French!
Other farm work that they have helped out with is getting fruit from fruit trees on the property. There is a plum tree near a stream where we collected lots of plums. We tried to gather the most yellow and the largest. Chérif also drove us to another tree on the property where there is a very old pear tree. The pears are so small and very green with some red spots meaning that they are ripe. They are super sweet! We all couldn't stop eating them, haha, but since they were for the market, we had to save most of them. When it rains pears on a summer evening, everyone is smiling and happy!
The fruit amazingly didn't sell so well at the market on Saturday. I was shocked! The prices weren't high at all and the fruit is wild. I think that since fruit trees are so abundant in the region, many people already have access to these fruits near their houses. One vendor at the market had fresh figs for the first time this year. Ja-Ja knows that I adore figs, so she bought a little basket of them just for me! I shared of course, but finished them all by the end of the day. What a treat!
The day at the market was pretty normal. There were less tourists, though, it seemed. The green beans, eggs, and tomatoes disappeared. An Italian man bought nearly 10 basil bunches off the table, which is all that we brought. The little eggplants and zucchinis were popular, so I think it must be ratatouille season! Our four potoato varieties sold well. Getting organic potatoes is very important if you want to it the skins. Otherwise, the skin can absorb a lot of pesticides and fertilizers. The same goes for carrots, which are gigantic now! The rhubarb, Swiss chard, and lettuce also sold well.
One night, I got to see plenty of pictures of Algeria and the village of Chérif. It seems so beautiful! There are fig trees all around and monkeys can be spotted swinging around the trees. There are also banana trees and lots of other greenery. The clothes are very colorful and many people still wear traditional robes and pants. I'm glad I got to see another part of the world that I'm really not familiar with. I love the Mediterranean culture and climate! I hope to travel around the sea a lot more!
I don't know if this will be my last blog post while in France. I hope to write another on Wednesday, but I'm not certain if I will be able to do so. I hope that everyone has been able to learn about another part of the world and organic agriculture just as I have. Thanks for reading, learning, and sending back input for me to read. I've had a wonderful time, and look forward to having a similar experience (but shorter!) somewhere else in the United States. Anyone interested?
I've started preparing for my departure a bit. I think I've got all my gifts together and accounted for, as well as things I bought just for myself. I've started running a bit more. I haven't been running much because it's so hot here. Since it is so difficult to run during mid-day with the sun so high, the bets time to run is in the evening. We usually work from 5-7:30 or 8pm, so I don't have much energy left to go on a run. I'm squeezing them in just before I go back to work in the evenings and on the weekends, though. I feel like I'm at home again, but with the smell of the Cevennes in the air!
The house is very full at the moment, so finding peace and quiet means leaving to go off the farm usually. There are two more younger girls here from Paris. They come from underpriveleged families who can't afford vacations during the summer months. Chérif, who grew up in the Paris suburbs, belongs to an association who arranges for these children to have vacations on farms during summer. Chérif has taken in two girls this year for 10 days. They are the same age as Inès, Chérif's youngest daughter, so she is very happy. The girls even help out with farm chores, like collecting red currents from the bushes for the market. They are very sweet and enjoy being on the farm. One of the girls is called Amandine, which means "little almond" in French!
Other farm work that they have helped out with is getting fruit from fruit trees on the property. There is a plum tree near a stream where we collected lots of plums. We tried to gather the most yellow and the largest. Chérif also drove us to another tree on the property where there is a very old pear tree. The pears are so small and very green with some red spots meaning that they are ripe. They are super sweet! We all couldn't stop eating them, haha, but since they were for the market, we had to save most of them. When it rains pears on a summer evening, everyone is smiling and happy!
The fruit amazingly didn't sell so well at the market on Saturday. I was shocked! The prices weren't high at all and the fruit is wild. I think that since fruit trees are so abundant in the region, many people already have access to these fruits near their houses. One vendor at the market had fresh figs for the first time this year. Ja-Ja knows that I adore figs, so she bought a little basket of them just for me! I shared of course, but finished them all by the end of the day. What a treat!
The day at the market was pretty normal. There were less tourists, though, it seemed. The green beans, eggs, and tomatoes disappeared. An Italian man bought nearly 10 basil bunches off the table, which is all that we brought. The little eggplants and zucchinis were popular, so I think it must be ratatouille season! Our four potoato varieties sold well. Getting organic potatoes is very important if you want to it the skins. Otherwise, the skin can absorb a lot of pesticides and fertilizers. The same goes for carrots, which are gigantic now! The rhubarb, Swiss chard, and lettuce also sold well.
One night, I got to see plenty of pictures of Algeria and the village of Chérif. It seems so beautiful! There are fig trees all around and monkeys can be spotted swinging around the trees. There are also banana trees and lots of other greenery. The clothes are very colorful and many people still wear traditional robes and pants. I'm glad I got to see another part of the world that I'm really not familiar with. I love the Mediterranean culture and climate! I hope to travel around the sea a lot more!
I don't know if this will be my last blog post while in France. I hope to write another on Wednesday, but I'm not certain if I will be able to do so. I hope that everyone has been able to learn about another part of the world and organic agriculture just as I have. Thanks for reading, learning, and sending back input for me to read. I've had a wonderful time, and look forward to having a similar experience (but shorter!) somewhere else in the United States. Anyone interested?
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