Hanna and Ruth are the names of the two sisters on whose farm I spent the first weeks of August. That meant feeding alpacas, watering plants, collecting eggs. Most of all, I had a lot of time to explore beautiful Vancouver Island. What does that have to do with moles? Well…
It was a battlefield, I would say. With our mouths open, Marie, a Wwofer from France and I, stood at the end of the stairs that lead to the living room. Four dogs were waiting there with a bashful look on their faces but cheerfully wagging their tails and poking their noses against our knees, knowing that there would soon be food – despite the chaos they had caused. Hanna and Ruth, our two host sisters, had missed the last ferry from the mainland the evening before. Marie and I had long been in bed and couldn‘t let the dogs out before the night. Well, the four of them didn’t know how to help themselves other than doing their business in the living room. Phew!
To this day I‘m grateful that Marie took care of the mess while I took over the usual morning round: feeding alpacas and chickens, collecting eggs and watering the flower garden. Well, as if the poop mess wasn’t enough: A little later in the morning we found a dead mule on the sidewalk. That’s what I told our hosts in the evening. She probably looked as startled and astonished as as you do while reading this… She wanted to know where he came from. “I don’t know,” I replied, thinking what a stupid question this is. After all, the little animals live everywhere in gardens. Hanna wanted to know where he was now, and Marie explained that she had taken care of it. Hanna’s eyes grew bigger and bigger…
When A Letter Makes A Difference
I’ll clear up… A letter makes the difference. It’s a mole that we had found. Well, we laughed tears at my vocabulary mistake. ?
Anyways, Marie and I had a lot of fun. While our two hosts were working, we cooked freshly harvested beans from the garden, picked raspberries, played music together, played with the dogs, painted the veranda, mucked out alpaca and chicken coops and plucked weeds. But above all, we explored the island together. There was a wwoofer car that we could use on free afternoons and weekends. A luxury, because Vancouver Island is a paradise on earth. Therefore there will soon be a post ablut the island.
My visit to Vancouver Island also ended my time as a wwoofer. My conclusion: With the exception of the last farm, I worked much more than I had expected and than is recommended by wwoof. Most of the time, I had as many or more hours as in a regular work week. To be honest, I had imagined it to be a little different. But: It was always worth it. I had incredibly nice hosts with whom I‘m in regular contact to this day, I got to know Canada in a very different way than a regular tourist and learned a lot more about culture and history. Above all, however, I learned an awful lot and, last but not least, I also changed my attitude towards food. It was somehow clear to me that there was a lot of work involved in watering and fertilizing vegetables – regardless of whether they come from mass or organic cultivation. However, after working on it with my own hands, my appreciation for food has changed yet again. While I had absolutely no interest in gardening as a teenager, I have now learned how much fun a vegetable garden can be. So now I very much hope that I can pursue a new hobby after my year of traveling.