Long Ago
(years, days, minutes, seconds?)

We were
(how were we? good, bad, evil?)

Very young
(but how young were we, truly?)

Jet Lag

Back in the states.
Ate a cheeseburger and bought starbucks.

Can't wait to get home to OTC.
My typing is still screwy from the nonqwerty keyboards in france.
Lots of things are still screwy from being in france.
Like my sleep cycle.
And my ability to construct english sentences and make sure the direct object goes in the right place. What about the indirect? the preposition?

Le Sur

Bonjour from Montpellier. After only a night out in paris and only a few hours of sleep I found myself on the TGV headed south towards the Med. With backpack in tow-- much lighter thanks to J and P taking some heavier items back to the midwest-- I arrived safely, finding this part of france much much warmer than Paris. After getting a bit lost in the maze of the old city streets, I found myself in Le Place de La Comidie, the center of town, where I happened to stumble across a 350 action. Go bill Go!! check out www.350.org if you dont know it. Feeling the heat, I finally took off the sweatshirt and jacket that I'd been wearing non-stop for the past 2 weeks, and let the southern sun touch my skin while surrounded by climate activists. la vie est belle. After aquiring a map-- a very useful tool in this place, I made my way to the apartment of yet another MHC friend. What a wonderful network we have. As soon as I sat down it seemed, we were headed out again. This time en voiture to the beach. We spent a few hours lounging on the golden sand of the méditerranéen sea. It was beautiful.

Since then, I've started my french classes and moved into my petit studio apartment. I've been eating lots of fresh fruit, and making friends with kids from all over the world. Last night at the pub after school our group consisted of two australians, two english, a german, a canadian, a dominican, and me. nationalism flared, but was mutually appreciated by all.

Currently trying to plan my weekend. thinking of renting a velomagg-- the public bicycle, and riding the 10 miles to the beach again.

Thinking of you all

A

Pahhh-reeeee (or, Paris)

I'm back in paris. The days got shorter and colder and I found myself aching for the glow of the city lights. So here I am, for a few more days, living the luxurious life of a young traveler with no obligations in paris. not bad, not bad.
I had an absolutely fantastic ten days with my aunt and uncle, here on for the 25th wedding anniversary. We had the best best time. We ate and walked and went to museums. It was fantastic.
Now I'm staying with an MHC friend, who by the goodness of her and her host, have let me crash here for the past few nights and eat their food. I will, in time, pay it forward, in someway i hope.
yesterday we sat in front of the eiffel tower and drank wine and ate cheese. it was great.

Next up i'm headed south to Montpellier for some french language lessons. I'm excited to explore a new place, and hopefully it will be a bit warmer.

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Mountain Day

We had two english WWOOFers from paris come to the farm for a few days. R and J were a blast to have here, and the two extra hands made the work much faster. We had a great time cooking freshly picked beets, potatoes, lettuce, and blackberries. R practiced his american accent, and I practiced my english. We compared the english life to the american, finding a common love for the yorkshire pudding--or popover-- which I made for dinner.
I got the email from President Creighton (MHC) that it was mountain day! for those non-MHCers, mountain day is a long lasting tradition at mt holyoke were classes are canceled and everyone goes to climb the nearby mountain and eat ice cream. It's pretty much the best day ever. I explained the holiday to my new international friends and they did they're best to make my mountain day a memorable one, which included walking to the pub through the pitch black woods of rural france, and playing cards while the locals looked on with concern. It was a blast. Sadly they've gone back to paris, and it's back to the pretty solitary life of farm work.

Already fed the calves and the pigs this morning. Tractor work this afternoon.

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Birth

Today reconfirmed my fear of birth and babies, and perhaps left permanent emotional scars.
Today I watched a cow give birth.

Now to those who have seen birth before, and are saying, Ariel-- it's natural, beautiful even, I have this to say: You have no idea the things I saw. Seriously.

The calf was stuck, had to be pulled out which demanded Wim putting his entire arm up into the cow and repositioning the calf. After half an hour of pulling and pushing, and some of the worst cow labor pain screams you can imagine, the baby came out covered in all kinds of horrible fluids and sacks.
But it wasn't over then. The calf had apparently inhaled his placenta and was currently... drowning. In a truely terrifying moment Wim and Fien lifted the calf by his back legs into the air and shook him, then flopped him back to the ground and administered a botched cow-heimlich manuver/CPR until this gooey viscous liquid poored out the calf's mouth and it finally started breathing.
This whole time I was really not helping at all, and once it was over, I suddenly felt somewhat sick to my stomach. I went inside to sit down, and Fien, seeing my distress, pulled down a bottle of danish mead and some single malt whiskey.
After a few shots, I feel much better. Though I'm still totally traumatized. And I think the calf is too, or at least he should be.

Days

I have been on the farm now for a week and a half and have settled into a nice daily routine. I wake up at the leisurely hour of 830 every morning, and after a bit of nutella for breakfast, go pick up the jug of milk used to feed the calves. Already there are three new calves to feed, and playing with baby cows is a great way to start the day. The rest of the morning is for odd jobs, maybe feeding the pigs or fixing a fence. Lunch is on at noon, and then we take a nice long break to read or nap or just sit in the sun. Afternoons are spent doing bigger tasks like tilling fields or training horses. Ive taken to sitting on top of bales of hay and reading when there isnt anything specific to do. Dinner is at five, and is usually just bread and cheese, really awesome french artisan cheese. Then around 630, the farmer and I prepare for milking, and I milk the 50 cows while he does other chores. Finally when thats finished, I feed the calves, help to feed the cows, and then head inside just as the sun goes down to take a shower, eat some more spoonfulls of nutella, and climb into bed.
My hands are covered in scratches and bruises, and my body is just getting used to all this physical work, but Im sure its good for me, and I do feel very accomplished at the end of the day.
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