Life on the Farm!

We have had a good two weeks on the farm. Coffee season is coming to an end as we enter the dry season, which has shifted our roles on the farm a bit. We spent this past week building a stone/cement wheelchair ramp and patio at Sue's house, pulling more weeds than you can imagine, and planting new crops in Farmer Frank's garden.

Stone/cement project: Paul and I are not exactly what you would call "handy", but we are learning fast. We were put to work with their local garden guy, Christian. We thought we were lucky to be able to practice our Spanish since opportunities are limited on the farm. Well, we ended up not doing much talking and instead following Christian's lead and trying to look like we knew what we were doing. It was similar to a team-building experience, completing a task with no language whatsoever. We collected stones and sand from the river, mixed cement, and quickly set it while I tried to give it finishing touches with pretty stones on the surface, which the boys cared less about.

Pulling weeds: Neither of us get too excited when this is the activity of the day. Farmer Frank isn't the most organized man and you can hardly tell what is a garden vs. overgrown land. Since the farm is organic, herbicides are not allowed, which apparently makes weed control difficult. We helped Frank make his natural herbicide, which he admitted he drank (although it isn't recommended for humans) and it remarkably helped his memory but had the opposite effect on his bowels. Needless to say, we didn't drink any.

Planting crops: We had finished preparing a bed by turning and adding nutrients to the soil when Farmer Frank asked us to plant garlic, onion, and tomato plants. He taught us the handy phrase "what cooks well together - grows well together." Anyway, prior to handing us our first crop, he asked us if we had ever heard the theory that plants are concious beings. He told us about studies where the plants reacted to people's thoughts. He was telling us this theory because he wanted us to have "happy thoughts" while planting, so his crops grew well. I couldn't look at Paul because I knew I would crack up and I didn't want to hurt Farmer Frank's feelings. We eventually told him we didn't quite believe that theory (he claims he doesn't either completely) but that yes, we had positive thoughts about the crops as we planted. I hope mine grow as well as Paul's, because I honestly was thinking how ridiculous the theory was while I was planting! I hope I'm not caught when the garlic dies and onion grows wild!

Our life at the farm has been very simple and peaceful. We nap almost everyday and are asleep by 8:30 most nights. Paul reminds me of my nephews (they have an excuse because they're children) daily as he pees freely from the cabin porch instead of using our private bathroom around the corner. He says he's a man and wants to urinate outside as much as possible. I don't exactly get it, but whatever!

We have two more weeks of farm life before heading to Granada, Nicaragua on Dec. 13th. We will be volunteering for La Esperanza, which will give us the opportunity to work with children and improve our Spanish! We'll be living with other volunteers in a house. We can't wait!

Enjoy our pictures:

Nina with "Vita" who keeps reminding us of Paul's dog, "Sister." I think we call her "Sister" more than "Vita."
Paul making fresh squeezed orange juice with oranges right off the tree!:
Nina boiled a pot of hot water in order to shave and just to remember what hot water felt like:Nina writing never-ending wedding thank-you notes:
Paul enjoying a cheeseburger on Thanksgiving day:Nina enjoying a chocolate milk shake on Thanksgiving day. We were surprised to see how much Nina resembled the framed photo of her Uncle David, which is in Nina's parents' basement:
We have to cross this stream to and from our walk to the nearest town. The difficulty in the dark combined with Nina's clumsiness is always a disaster waiting to happen:A huge, stupid bug (you can't see its wingspan) who landed and was stuck on its back:
Paul sneaking the trash from our cabin to town. We were lectured at the beginning of our stay on the farm to limit the amount of trash we make. We truly are trying, but occasionally sneak a bag of trash out before we're caught:
Paul and Nina drinking a cup of coffee before beginning a hard day's work. If you can't tell, we wear the same work clothes almost daily:Thanks again for following our blog. We'll be in touch.

Love,
Nina and Paul