Day 33/34/35: Rubble, Store & Magic

Day 33: Monday

New week - old routine: The alarm clock rang punctually at 6.20 am. At 6.40, we were supposed to meet Lars in the kitchen to show him the morning routines. When he still hadn't arrived by 7.00 am, a suspicion arose ... had Lars experienced the same time change as us? - In fact, he had also expected a time change and adjusted his clocks accordingly. So, his alarm clock rang an hour later, and while we were already in the workshop, he rumbled onto the yard with his car. (Lars sleeps in the farm building of Sylvia's father Gerd due to lack of space) The situation was quickly explained, and after a quick breakfast, Lars also arrived ready to work in the workshop. Together with Willem and Emanuel, we then went to the second construction site. We had already started transporting leftover materials there on Saturday. Today, we were supposed to continue with the bricks and stones ... The crucial difference, however, was the storage location of the stones. Instead of the workshop, they were supposed to be stored on the mountain (I still don't know exactly why ...). The tractor managed the first few meters, but we had to carry the stones up the rest of the way, piece by piece - in the true sense of a real Sisyphean task.

On the way ...

The storage location ...

After about 2 hours, the first load was on the mountain, but there were still 2 more to come. With a short interruption for lunch break, we managed this little exercise as well. Afterwards, we started removing the rubble heaps at the construction site. However, at 5.00 pm, it was time to call it a day on the construction site.

The three of us went up the mountain one last time for today - this time for the sundowner. This allowed us to relax and unwind after a very exhausting day. Back on the farm, we had a delicious turkey with mashed potatoes and red cabbage. Exhausted from work, I went to bed at 9.00 pm.

Day 34: Tuesday

While Jakob and Lars continued to clear rubble at the construction site, I set off alone to Okaue for the store trip today. After breakfast, I loaded the car and quickly visited the workshop. Unfortunately, the car had some difficulties due to the cold, and the engine kept stalling when I took my foot off the gas pedal. Nevertheless, I set off, hoping that no further problems would occur on the way. In Kalkfeld, I was supposed to pick up a charcoal burner and his wife. The two of them were already waiting at the agreed meeting point, but when I tried to drive off with them, the car refused to start. The engine simply wouldn't start anymore ... I was about to call Sylvia when an older gentleman approached me. He had been watching the situation for a while and apparently knew where the problem was. With his instructions, we managed to start the engine, and we continued towards Okaue. We reached the first village without any problems and started selling our products. After about 1 1/2 hours, everyone was served, and we moved on to the next village. We were already expected there, and besides the usual purchases, there seemed to be some disputes that needed to be resolved. Fortunately, "personnel manager" Simon took care of the following: All the men from the first village got on the loading platform, and we drove together to the next village. Before the residents there could go shopping, the dispute had to be settled first. To do this, all the men from the second village stood in a semicircle together with the men from the first village. The two people involved in the dispute positioned themselves opposite the semicircle, and under Simon's leadership, each person was allowed to describe the situation from their perspective and present their arguments. After that, an open discussion took place. There was no definitive solution because in the end, everyone agreed to blame Simon. I was actually very impressed by the democratic way of resolving the dispute - but when it turned out what the cause of the argument was, I wasn't sure what to think. The accusation was: The other person would sneak around their tents at night and cast spells on them. As absurd as this accusation may sound to us, the villagers were convinced that a worker had magical powers. Somehow, Simon managed to smooth things over, and we could start with the actual business of the day (selling food). I returned to the farm around 2.30 pm. While the other two were back on the construction site, I took my lunch break. After that, I started taking care of the books and calculating the current debt of each worker. Just as the two construction workers Jakob and Lars returned, I was done for today as well. After a delicious dinner, we tested the 'new' TV channels. For the World Cup, Sylvia and Karsten had subscribed to a pay-TV service to be able to receive German channels. The test showed that everything was unlocked as planned - so the World Cup can come here too.

Day 35: Wednesday

On Wednesday morning, it was time for me to go to the construction site again. Since Jakob and Lars hadn't finished yesterday, we continued to remove rubble from the property, wheelbarrow by wheelbarrow. We were supported by 3 workers. After some time, Karsten relieved us from the miserable task of carrying rubble with a new assignment. Instead, we were now supposed to break a pile of large fiberboard panels into small pieces to use them later as barbecue fire starters. Although it was by no means as exhausting as pushing the wheelbarrows, it was equally monotonous in the long run.

The large panels ...

... and the small pieces

Until lunch break, we only managed to finish about half of the task and had already filled 5 50L sacks with the small pieces. After lunch break, we continued our mass production. By the end of the workday at 5.00 pm, we had done it: all the panels were broken down into small pieces and filled into sacks, and we could rightfully call it a day.