Argentina Blog Numbero 7

Well the life of a WWOOFer is great. I love the other volunteers and what we get to do is so rewarding. I haven´t ever really gotten a change to work in a setting like a farm or working so hard with like minded chill fun people that at the end of the day we are exhausted, but drink tea and chat in spanish then go to bed by 11pm. I love it. I also love the freedom of not having to bathe, shave or even brush my hair. Everyone is smelly, sticky from apple juice, and covered in dirt. All our clothes are stained, and we continue to wear the same thing every day. I just love that atmosphere, and making juice is wonderful. We do it for about 5 hours in the morning switching between all the jobs and machines, then again in the afternoon for about 6 hours. I am in love with it. I never knew it was so much work to mass produce juice, but we make over 1,500 bottles of juice each day and it is all natural. Literally pressed fresh apple guts. You would think by now we would be sick of apple juice, but it never gets old, and at the end of the day the foamy stuff we drink at dinner. I am still so happy with the place I am, but I am sad to say my adventure in Argentina is coming to a close. By this time next week I will be in Peru to begin my next adventure helping children in an orphanage, and doing more growing as a person. Also I have been going by Nata here in Argentina for about 3 months, and really love my name being that. So I´m gonna keep that up even in the states. A new identity for a new me and I am still going to take Washington by storm. I am so jazzed for Guatemala to see my friends there. I great end to a wonderful year.

Life Again.

Well I´ve successfully completed 7 months and a couple days of being away from the USA. But to be honest, I´m terrified to go back home. I am so scared to go back to a place I feel I don´t belong. I know it sounds drastic and I´m only 20 years old, but with every fiber of my being, I know I don´t belong there. Since I know that, my heart and spirit is a little sick. I am excited to see my family and hang with some of my good friends, but in reality, I feel I´m not going back for me. I´m going back for them. I love Argentina, and really feel a connection here, and that I belong here. I´ve gone 20 years of my life feeling like I didn´t belong anywhere, and now I finally realize that is not true. I belong in Argentina. I know I still have many places to visit and maybe that will change, but the states are not for me. I don´t know what will happen this year at school, but I am really battling with the fact I feel I´m not going for me. I am tired of doing stuff for other people´s sake, and just to please them. I love the people in my life that love me for who I am, and will always love me. But I know there are people I am acuainted with that if I changed or did something ¨wrong¨they wouldn´t like me anymore. In fact, I´ve come accross those relationships and don´t want to deal with the shit that people put me through because I´m not perfect. Get over yourselves, and take me for what I am and who I was meant to be. I´m done with the drama of people in their white bread worlds, and when I do come back to the states to finish what I started so that I can move to a new life, I am taking it by storm and with my family and dear friends by my side, and my excellent self, nothing is every gonna bring me down. So suck that haters.

Argentina Blog Numero 6

When they said the apple doesn´t fall far from the tree they clearly had never picked up apples from the floor of an apple orchard with over 20 large trees. That being said, I have been spending the month of March working on an organic farm in Vista Flores, Mendoza, Argentina. La finca Pelegrino. The family I work with are all living in the same land in different homes, a mother and her 2 children and their spouces, her ex husband, and volunteers. The family sells the produce at a natural market on Saturdays in Mendoza which I helped out with yesterday. Definitely different then El Bolson, but still wonderful. People would come to talk to Anna the lady in charge whom knows so many things about your body and how to be healthy naturally. She is one of the most beautiful people I have ever met, and I love watching how much she loves her food and the people she helps and lives with. The other people in the market sold organic honey, and beauty products and other produce and wine. I loved talking to them all about their products and such. Also did you know that there is black honey and white honey? It just depends on what type of flower is pollonated. Interesting huh? Black honey is pretty good I must say. Not only just helping at the ferria,  I have been clearing apples from the floor of the apple orchard to get the prep ready for apple vinagar, and fresh apple juice without sugar. It is soo good. I am addicted and would love to make it when I get home. I am learning that you don´t need additives like salt, sugar or other junk to have delicious food. We have been eating a strick vegetarian and vegan diet here and its not that bad. We eat a lot of vegetables, and fruits and occasionaly whole wheat pasta. I really love nights we have pasta.The family is all vegan, but us volunteers get bread and eggs sometimes at meals which I really like. What my day looks like is this. We wake up at 7:30 am and meet up at 8 for breakfast. Then around 8:30 we do our first job of the day usually until 12ish. This job includes canning vegetables, cleaning the work shop we work in doing such, clearing apples from the ground or picking vegetables and fruits. Then we have lunch and get to rest until 4. I usually take a nap or read Harry Potter. but generally  we are all to tired to do anything really. Then at 4 the second job begins which includes, clearing more apples, picking apples, or making pasterizors for the jucie jars. Eventually in a week or so it will only be picking apples and making juice. So that will be the most interesting, but also the most stressful cause all the apples have to be picked. Luckely there are 11 volunteers from all over that are fun to work with. I am still very happy here, and love Argentina. I am still planning to come home, but leaving is getting harder and harder each time I think about it. I never thought I could fall in love with a place and culture and people as much as I have with Mendoza, Argentina, but I have, and will definitely come back.

I still can´t believe I´ve been gone for almost 7 months. Time has flown by, and I´ve changed so much and can´t wait to share my stories with you all when I get back. I´m going to continue living in the momen t and enjoying where I am at this moment.