je suis ta petite marine

it took some time but i'm settling into this farm. at first i wasn't too happy because i wasn't sure how i felt about the family and it's a ton of work but now i feel like i have a better grasp of what i'm doing and i'm learning a lot so i think the month will fly by.

i think one reason i was unsure about the family at first is because people in the north of france aren't as immediately friendly as in the south. you have to prove yourself and earn their friendship, which is a good thing, i think, but at first i thought it meant they didn't like me. now i know what i'm doing and they know i'm a hard worker and i feel much more a part of thing. so it's good.

working on farms has reminded me of how important it is to be conscious of where your food comes from. support local farmers! i'm quite convinced that locally-grown organic produce sold directly from farmers is the absolute best deal ever. it's incredibly labor-intensive to grow and harvest and yet it's still generally very cheap. i'm determined to stop buying produce from grocery stores when i get back to the states. and i always feel so much better when i eat organic.

the only major downside to this farm is the fact that it's in the middle of nowhere so there's not really anything to do on my days off. so i've been slowly slogging my way through "l'étranger" by camus and practicing guitar. it's kind of nice, actually.

i've started to forget words in english. either that's a good sign which points to the fact that i'm becoming more comfortable with french or a bad sign that i just goes to show that i have a horrible memory which is only capable of holding so much information at one time. i'm hoping it's the former.