The haunted fireplace

[itchyfairyqueen]

Many times when i sit by the fireplace working on the computer- strange echoing noises can be heard in the room...at first i was slightly shocked, scared then inquisitive... perhaps something is trying to communicate with me, this is after all an old house

Comments

[cmarq]

Excuse me, I found your journal through the WWOOF LJ community. The community itself appears to be very much inactive so I figured I would contact one of the members and you sound like you have plenty of WWOOF'ing experience! I just found out about WWOOF just a few days ago and already I feel it is a manifestation of my desires and intent that I have sent to the Divine!

All my life I've had dreams of working on a farm and living a rather simple life, free of all the woes of modern society. That and I have felt called to travel and see the world on this spiritual journey that I am currently on. I believe i've done all that I can do here and it's time for me to leave my hometown and venture onwards. I thought about joining the peace corps but I saw that you need a two, possibly four, year college degree! I don't have the time for this! I'm too anxious, too impatient. Luckily, I found WWOOF! I have many questions, if you don't mind.

Do most of the host families speak english or understand english enough for one to atleast communicate with them or would I have to learn an entire foreign language to get by?

From your experience, how would you say describe the WWOOF'ing experience as a whole and what are the host families usually like? I would hate to end up with a host family who is rude and treats me like a slave. Not that I don't mind working hard but I don't want to be taken advantage of or mistreated.

I'm sure I have more questions but I don't want to bog you down! I hope to hear back from you soon! Also, if you don't mind i'm adding you! Add me back, maybe?

Nothing but Love and Light,
Christopher Micha'el

WWOOF

[itchyfairyqueen]

Hi, Its really nice to hear from you and read your questions.
:)
Well, WWOOFing is an international organisation, so ofcourse depending on which country you go to the English will be either passable or fluent.
In all fairness I only WWOOF ed in Australia and New Zealand which are English-speaking countries.It's probably best to check the WWOOF website for that.
But why do you need to join an organisation in order to travel and explore?
Just LEAVE-GO-TRAVEL and do WWOOFing as part of than experience, rather than doing your travelling as part of the WWOOF experience.
That's just my opinion :)
I know that leaving without knowing all the 'why's and the 'where's can be a terrifying experience, but there is nothing wrong with feeling out of your comfort zone, feeling apprehensive, uncertain- for me, that defines the difference between being a traveller and a tourist. A tourist walks through a foreign place like it is a zoo, taking pictures, seeing but with detachment, indifference and without the real experience. A traveller most like feels a lot of uncertainty, he/she will participate in the scene,with compassion- not merely observe, and there will be an exchange where the traveller has changed his/her environment and the host/local/place would have changed the traveller. That's what's so beautiful about it. The connection. The discovery of new things and new parts of yourself. And that kind of stuff will ALWAYS be challenging and scary at times.
Anyway, hope this isnt too much blabbering...
To sum up WWOOFing is great- just do it and see, you can always move on if you dont like a place and you always meet travel companions along the way and end up somewhere completely different to what you expected.
If you stop by in England, Im becoming a WWOOF host soon (around August) so you are welcome to help out here...

Re: WWOOF

[itchyfairyqueen]

Oh, wait after ALL that didnt fully answer your question.
In my experience all the individuals/families were really nice, well-educated, warm-hearted people, except for one guy who was nice but very distant, non-communicative,pensive type that seemed to think we were lazy when we were'nt and gave up a really LOW weekly budget for food that we only ate once a day. But in his case we just moved on to somewhere else after a while.
Most people love travellers and are curious and enjoy the company of different people and their tales and conversation.
I have heard a few nasty stories about 'slave-drivers' but again, justleave the next day explaining why.
For every 1 meanie there 99 lovely ones. Focus on that.And anyway a uncomfortable experience is still an experience, there's nothing wrong with, it can be a learning curve. :)