I’m almost three weeks into my wwoofing. It’s been a mixed bag of emotions so far. I could probably ramble on for pages and pages about how it’s been so far but I’m pretty tired so I’m just going to post a quick overview and maybe go into more depth at a later date.
My first week didn’t start off brilliantly – I really struggled to find anything to say to my host (T) and was very quiet a lot of the time unless asked a direct question. Dinner times were always a struggle; I’m naturally not one to talk while eating anyway and coupled with eating with total strangers (and the fact that the husband barely talked to me- think he may have had a mild case of SA as well ... either that or he was just rude) didn’t make for a comfortable experience at mealtimes. Luckily though, I was self catered for breakfast and lunch. But then half-way through the week I had a bit of a breakthrough (or a breakdown depending on how you look at it) and started to chat to T more, to the point where during my last couple of days there I was chatting away relatively comfortably while we were working.
So just as I was starting to feel comfortable there, I was due to move on to my second host, where I was for ten days until yesterday morning. I was staying with a retired farmer (J) who had a vegetable garden with a big greenhouse and a polytunnel and grew most of his own food. I stayed in a freezing cold caravan halfway between the house and the garden. And I mean freezing cold - the other night it was minus degrees outside and I could actually see my breath as I was trying to sleep. Anyway I never really came out of my shell with J. He was a lovely man - sort of an eccentric lovable granddad type and completely non threatening, but I couldn’t help but feel very inadequate around him. He would talk so much about the economy and oil prices and peak oil (basically all the things that I know nothing about) and I found myself just nodding along like a dummy most of the time and I really had to force myself to ask questions. I felt very much like I was back at school and he was the teacher and I never felt truly relaxed around him.
Yesterday was a long day of travelling. I had to take a 2 hour train down into Cornwall and then after that I had to get 2 separate buses. And with my bus anxiety that was a bit of a challenge, but it all went smoothly; the buses down here are a lot more reliable than in London. Less traffic I guess. I got picked up by my host (J again) by the bus stop and I immediately knew that this was someone I was going to be a lot more comfortable around. He comes across as slightly nerdy which always puts me at ease for some reason. We had a cup of tea and he asked me loads of questions about myself, most of which I answered competently. I had my first day of work today – I spent the morning watering pot plants around the house, cooked lunch (carrot soup) and in the afternoon put up a bamboo frame for the runner beans. My room here is really nice; I’m in the main house and have got a double bed and my own en suite. And internet access J It’s luxury here compared to the last place I was in. There are two other wwoofers arriving later this week; one French boy and one Spanish boy. I’m almost looking forward to it; I’ve been on my own up til now and it’ll be nice to be around people my own age after spending the last ten days with an 84 year old man!
I’ve only been here a day and I already feel so much more comfortable than I did even after spending a week at my other places. So all in all, I’m pretty happy right now - this place is looking promising.
