(no subject)
I am in Portugal on the goat farm and I am doing just fine! :) The Portuguese winter reminds me of the Irish summer, only sunnier. It's pretty lovely here. And I get to water the goats and play with clay I dug from the ground and eat delicious portuguese food and dig holes and plant things. I also get to clean stables, which is not so fun, because the stable is so hot and stuffy and the work is also hot and stuffy. And hard on the back. But somebody's got to do it!
I walked into town today, a half hour walk from the farm. It's a cute little traditional village, with winding, narrow cobblestone roads and white, plaster and clay houses and laundry hanging outside the windows. Everything is so tiny! I bought some chocolate from the supermercado, and the lady mentioned (in portuguese) that I must be cold, because I had only a t-shirt on. It was like 18 degrees today, and humid. I told her I was Canadian and this was practically summer for me.
I watched a goat give birth the other day. It's fascinating... the goat doesn't need anyone to help it have a baby. It just knows automatically how to give birth, what to do, how to care for it's child. All animals do. But we humans are animals too... how did we lose that instinct? Why do we not trust ourselves, we are helpless without some sort of expert authority. We lost the knowledge of how to take care of ourselves in order to fill our mind with all sorts of frivolous thoughts like what colour is in, how to apply mascara, and whether celebrities are breaking up or not. What happened to humans?
I've been meeting a lot of what I have termed 'van people', or people living out of vans and trailers. They are interesting! One was a dutch couple and the other a french couple, both with kids in tow. Both were or are staying here as helpers. There was another dutch couple who were driving around portugal, woofing and helpxing. I am learning a lot from them! I think one day I would like to sample the nomadic lifestyle for a couple of years.
I walked into town today, a half hour walk from the farm. It's a cute little traditional village, with winding, narrow cobblestone roads and white, plaster and clay houses and laundry hanging outside the windows. Everything is so tiny! I bought some chocolate from the supermercado, and the lady mentioned (in portuguese) that I must be cold, because I had only a t-shirt on. It was like 18 degrees today, and humid. I told her I was Canadian and this was practically summer for me.
I watched a goat give birth the other day. It's fascinating... the goat doesn't need anyone to help it have a baby. It just knows automatically how to give birth, what to do, how to care for it's child. All animals do. But we humans are animals too... how did we lose that instinct? Why do we not trust ourselves, we are helpless without some sort of expert authority. We lost the knowledge of how to take care of ourselves in order to fill our mind with all sorts of frivolous thoughts like what colour is in, how to apply mascara, and whether celebrities are breaking up or not. What happened to humans?
I've been meeting a lot of what I have termed 'van people', or people living out of vans and trailers. They are interesting! One was a dutch couple and the other a french couple, both with kids in tow. Both were or are staying here as helpers. There was another dutch couple who were driving around portugal, woofing and helpxing. I am learning a lot from them! I think one day I would like to sample the nomadic lifestyle for a couple of years.