Day Off

Hello! Sorry for the delay, but things have been really busy around here. I ended up working a few shifts in the bar and restaurant because they were short-staffed, so I pulled two 13 hour shifts back to back this week. Thankfully, after that I went back to compost! I spent the past couple of days learning how to make bocashi, a fermented fertilizer, learning how to make natural insect repellent, and planting seeds. It's been a little rainy and dreary here, but otherwise good.

I'm getting pretty close to the guys I work with every day, so that is nice. I'm kind of seeing one of the garden guys. We've been spending a lot of time together, and he's really sweet and considerate. Nothing serious though :) I had an interpersonal conflict with a coworker last week, which was pretty unpleasant (because I hate conflict!), but everything's all right now. The volunteer coordinator helped me figure everything out. He's a good guy - calm, understanding, and helpful. He just started leading a daily meditation practice that I went to yesterday. It was very relaxing, so I think I'll keep going. Maybe I'll alternate days of that with days of yoga, since they're at the same time. Anyway, the vibe at the fieldhouse is changing. I got three new roommates and the old ones left. The new girls are from Argentina, and they're great. Really nice and friendly and affectionate. I'm enjoying having them around. I spent the last couple of nights hanging out on a balcony with the garden guys, listening to my friend/supervisor Mosco play the guitar and singing, drinking wine. Tonight I think we might have a girl party at my room. It's been really nice.

Today I have a day off, and I might also take tomorrow off. I get one extra day this week because of my extra hours. One day, we're going to go up on the mountain to collect microorganisms, so if that is happening tomorrow then I'm going to work tomorrow. If not, I'll take it off and maybe go for a horseback ride. I wanted to ride today, but it was kind of dreary weather and I couldn't find anyone to go with anyway. I just slept in and then laid around reading all day... It was relaxing. I can't believe that I've already been here for 3 weeks! One more week until I'm supposed to leave, but I'm going to stay at least until November 3rd, because then I'm leaving with Mosco to go to Earth University for a few days. We'll see after that. There's so much still to learn, but I want to travel too. Well, I'm going to run...