Have I really been here three weeks?? It is hard to believe. It´s also hard to believe that next Monday will mark 5 months in Chile/Argentina. Which means the second half of my trip has already begun!
Time flies when you stay busy. I went on a picnic with a new friend named Facundo the day after my last post. I met him at the farm, and he works at a nearby hostel. We went to the dam, which is called el Zapato, just to check out the beautiful view where you can see the lake on one side, and the two giant hills on the other (again, can´t wait to share pictures...), then went down below the dam to a place they call Paraiso, which is super green and lush compared to the rest of the arid region (because of the nearby water source), thus aptly named ´paradise´. We had a lovely little picnic and basked in the sun all afternoon. The hostel he works at is cool and laid back; I´ve been going there on the rare occasion that I get bored and hang out with Facu and the other staff, chat on the terrace (great Spanish practice for me) and drink yerba mate.
That Friday La Granja hosted their first 2 educational field trips/tours (first of many to come, being an educational demonstration farm) and we were very busy that morning before the groups came making sure the farm appeared aesthetically pleasing and safe for kids. But then I got to end work early because they invited me to go on the tours with the kids so I could see how they´re done and learn more about the farm in the process. Very fun! The kids dominated the dining hall for lunch, as well as the professors in the other dining area, so Sandra and Juan had me eat lunch upstairs in their home. They had to entertain the profs, so their rotary daughter, Lucy, had lunch with me. We ended up chatting all afternoon. She´s super cool and sweet, and much more mature than your typical 19 y/o. We ended up spending most that weekend together. Juan and Sandra had dinner obligations that evening, so Lucy and I dined together. Then Juan and Sandra also had to go out of town Sat afternoon-Sun eve, so she and I hung out. She has gotten to know the little league rugby team here, and they had a little tournament Saturday eve, so I went to that with her. Rugby is a crazy game; my first time seeing it played. There were four teams, and they all asked to take pictures with Lucy (who also has blue eyes and long blonde hair) and me. It was kinda goofy (and again, can´t wait to share the pictures). Then we made dinner that night - a spicy stir fry - she hadnt had any spicy asian cuisine since arriving here last January, so she was thrilled about it. And all the veggies we used were from the garden - broccoli, cauliflower, carrot, asparagus, green onion. We went dancing that night, then lounged around Sunday. After I finished work Monday we went to the nearby park because there was a first-day-of-spring celebration. The reason we were hangin so tuff is because not only did we happen to get along really well together, but she was also leaving that Monday night for a 3.5 week vacation with her parents. Sounds like they were going to have an epic South American journey, so I´m looking forward to seeing all her pictures when she returns.
Farm-wise, last weeks work consisted of watering every day because it has been pretty windy making thing especially dry, also lots of weeding, transplanted a number of rows of tomatoes, zucchinis, and summer cabbage, and seeded more beds of arugula. We´ve also been doing various other tidying up and beautifying of the farm for the upcoming educational camps, the first of which will be 20 days and starts Oct 4. So no more peaceful tranquil farm after then because there will be lots of kids camping in tents on the premises, and the professors will be staying in the dorms. I will still have the 3 room 1 bathroom building to myself during this camp, but afterward during other camps I will prob have to start sharing the building/bath (but I´ll still have my own room). This first camp is run by the Argentina Ministry of Education, and Sandra and Juan told me it is really well done, and if I have any interest in farm education it should be a good learning opportunity for me. I´m sure I will really enjoy all the farm activity, but I am definitely going to do my best to fully appreciate my last week of the farm to (basically) myself. At least a few nights a week there are a few people camping who I share the kitchen with, but that has been fun because they have all been neat people and further opportunities to practice my spanish as we converse while we are cooking or dining at the same time. They have all been pretty fascinated with my work-stay exchange.
The other notable occurance last week was when Juan and Sandra took me to Córdoba with them to celebrate their younger son´s bday and see their older son compete in a battle of the bands at his university. It felt nice that they wanted to include me, and it was cool to get a sneak peak of Córdoba. I´ll spend a few days there after I return from vacationing on the Chilean coast with Dad. It was the first time I met their sons, who were both super nice. I had to get a gift for the bday boy because it would´nt feel right attending his bday dinner empty handed, but I had no clue what he was like. I ended up getting him a little drosera carnivorous plant at this shop`I frequently walk by in Capilla, and he ended up loving it!
Well, I still havent checked out the cyber cafe in town where I´m hoping I can upload my pictures, so I will try to remember to do that this week. Otherwise I´m not sure how else I´ll be able to share them with you all!
