#8 Please never stop

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Some people still have questions about what I am actually doing here in Canada, so here is a very short info block. I am in Canada for one year to mainly learn English, but also to experience my own adventure. I am doing this through Wwoofing. WWOOF stands for 'World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms' and means volunteering (about 6 hours per day) on farms in organic agriculture in exchange for free accommodation and food. With Wwoofing, you can get to know other countries and cultures for little money and decide on a place to stay at short notice.

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I have been on the farm named "Little Piece of Paradise" for a week now, and the landscape here is truly a paradise. You can ride a bike along a bike path along the river, and even though I curse every climb and my legs burn, every descent is simply incredible, not to mention the scenery. It is so different from my last farm and breathtaking in its own way. I often just enjoy the view of the mountains and hope that my enthusiasm for this beauty will never end. The likelihood is currently very low, because every time I see a mountain, look away for a moment and then look back, I always have the same thought "Damn, that is beautiful!". You can't capture all the beauty in photos, but maybe you can get an impression of it. In any case, I enjoy the scenery every second. And now autumn is slowly arriving, so in addition to this wonderful nature, there will hopefully be a beautiful play of colors. So you see: nature is amazing!! I also sit right by the window for breakfast and lunch and can enjoy the beautiful view of the mountain, at the bottom of which the first trees are already losing their orange leaves, while 10 meters in front of me squirrels race up and down the tree. It sounds like a movie and that's exactly how it feels. The squirrels are really cute by the way.

The farm work is just as varied as on the other farm. There is a constant point, so I usually feed the animals in the morning and evening (goats, pigs - I like them least, I'm always afraid they'll bite my legs out of hunger :D , dogs, and cats). I also pick various herbs, such as thyme, marjoram, or calendula. These are then slowly dried using a dryer for several hours so that they can be sold as spices, seasoning salts, or teas. But there are also construction projects here, so there is a good variety of activities and each day is different.

Otherwise, I have to say that the farm is completely the opposite of my last farm in terms of size. On the last farm, there were about 15 Wwoofers, and here I am alone. This means that there are sometimes very quiet moments, but I'm getting used to it and it's not like I don't speak any English here :D Because I also have conversations in English here. Yesterday (Saturday) we had a visit from a former Wwoofer and her boyfriend. It was a really nice evening (bonfire in Canada - hello?!) even though I noticed that my head switched off for the last hour and I watched the moon, Jupiter, and Venus. Sometimes it annoys me that my head can't take it anymore at some point, but then I think again .... I still have a lot of time - and I take it :D. The farmer also supports me wherever he can, and the farmer's wife is also helpful when I can't find a word again, so things are moving forward in small steps, but at least they are moving forward, and that's what matters!

Last week we were also at a lake nearby. Oh, I can't say it often enough, it was beautiful! These mountains and this lake! It is 40 km long, max. 2.7 km wide and 300 m deep and belongs to the smaller - yes, to the smaller! - lakes in Canada. An incredibly beautiful sight and the water is just so clear. In Magdeburg, I have the Elbe, which is certainly not the source of life when it comes to water quality, but here you can see everything! It is fascinating how far you can look into the water here and watch the fish. When we were on our way back, I realized how normal bears are for the Canadian population, because the farmer drove off and suddenly said: "Oh, a bear." and just kept driving. I couldn't believe it, there was a bear, 5 meters away from us, in a small village. All the people were very calm, there was maybe an older lady with a walker a few hundred meters away, completely relaxed and without worry... It was a funny situation because I couldn't really believe it and for the people it's completely normal. So I had my third bear encounter, and each time the bear was closer to me, but the next bear doesn't have to come any closer.

And with this bear encounter, I say goodbye and see you soon!

Samuel

P.S. If there are no more blog posts, the last bear was closer than planned.