Day 14

Day 14

Well today we hit the two-week mark, so far so good. It also happens to be our day off (the day you arrived) so it’s easy to remember how long you’ve been here. Anyway we got around lazily and went up to breakfast. Sabina and Eva really don’t get along well at all, they argue and today it got kind of tense, I felt like mediator. I’m glad Jeremiah and me are the mellow kids, everyone here has a somewhat strong disposition, but we seem to get along with everyone, thank goodness. I guess when six people are fairly isolated on the same farm for any amount of time conflict is bound to happen. Then we took the bus to, um, Lulu’s? It’s a restaurant; don’t remember what the area is called. It’s a very touristy part with hotels and gift shops everywhere. Oh we got the evil bus driver on the way there she is sooo mean. There was a disabled lady in a wheelchair on the bus, kind of retarded, and she kept saying the harshest things. Like “I know you said the library, I heard you the first time I’m not def!” We have gotten her before; she’s perpetually in the worst mood ever. Now I try really even harder to be very nice to the drivers and thank them. Anyway today we went to a Kava bar. Kava is some root with medicinal properties that relax and calm you. It smells a bit like cinnamon and tastes, like a root I guess, it’s not bad, but its not amazing, I guess it for the feeling. At first Jeremiah and me noticed our mouths felt numb when we were done drinking it, and I guess I felt calm and relaxed, but I don’t know if that was because I read that’s what it does or it really did it. I was pretty happy where I was, it was a good atmosphere anyway, but probably won’t bother drinking it again. Anyway then we went around the shops and things and wound up at this Open market, exactly like the cramped odd tent markets in Mexico, except smaller. It was you know pineapple, avocado, general produce, jewelry, cheesy paintings and woodcarving. On the way out this large blonde lady start sumo lunging walking toward Jeremiah and I’m like what the heck? Well he hugs her and I can’t believe we ran into someone we know! Its his teller from his bank who he sees every week or so. She is really nice and we ended up catching the same trolley on our way back. Then we went to Tai food, try two so far, and it’s was better then the first place but I have never had as good of Tai food as Tai Beer in Salem. It gets disheartening and I think I should stop trying here or I’ll go broke, got to admit defeat. Such a small world, I thought about it happening, I knew it was possible, and today it actually did. We also talked to this guy on the bus in who told us the smaller and East sides of the islands are a lot less foggy with better sandy beaches, oh well. I hope to explore other parts of Hawaii when we are done here. But he also told us of a really good beach by the old Kona airport, but it a 20 minute drive from where the bus drops you off, so we’d need a car, gosh darn it! Maybe we could hitchhike, I don’t know. The beaches we’ve been to be cool, but it’s either all rocks, or all sand with tons of people.

Big post today. Thought it would be a quiet evening before we go back to work tomorrow. So Jeremiah, Eva, Sabina and I are all chatting on the patio and we hear a pig squeal (they are pests here, they catch a lot in the winter, have numerous traps). A bit of noise and watching from a distance and we hear it get caught in the trap. So Sabina goes and tells Reiner and he calls some neighbors who take care of his catches to come get it before it gets dark. Well it is dark when they get here, there’s some rusting, three gunshots from the 22 and then they drag it down. Oh I wanted to cry, it was so sad and blood coming form its head and I accidently gazed into it black vacant eye, like a dolls eyes (kudo points if you get the reference : ). Anyway after that excitement Jeremiah and I get into fascinating conversation with Sabina about plants and the seed industry and Monsanto and how things are so much better in Germany (and anywhere but the US) with farming and patents and organics. Sabina works in agriculture testing and profiling new plant strains, she’s knows a lot about it and had a lot of interesting things to say, it was a very good conversation. Now I’m typing it all down and really have to pee and its bed time, I get to feed the animals tomorrow while Eva makes breakfast, it’ll be nice to switch things up.