Melissa and I started working on the farm today! Yay. Today was over all, a really good day – with a few little bad things here and there. We were off to a late start after I had to find a bike in town, and then a pump, because there was no air in the tire! After going all over town, we managed to find a pump for the rust bucket of a bike I found and started our journey; and a journey it was. It had torrentially down poured all night the night before and the puddles had definitely not dried up by 8:00 am…that was for sure. My bike had: metal handle bards, a metal seat with tape over it so the rust didn’t get on my clothes, one pedal, one stick for a pedal, one tire that was quickly deflating and no breaks! As we channeled through puddle after puddle and hit rock after rock, my bike kept sliding out from under me and going almost into the bushes. We had to dodge coconuts, pigs and chickens the whole time – because they just didn’t feel like moving (not that a coconut would) – but they were everywhere. We tried to avoid the huge potholes that were filled with mud water, but when they took up the entire road – we just went right through and got FILTHY! My legs wanted to die, and my butt most definitely has two HUGE bruises on it right now. By the time we got there, 50 minutes after leaving my house, we were soaked from the small down pour, my butt hurt so much I wanted to throw up and my legs were exhausted from pedaling a near flat tired bike over rocks and through puddles for almost an hour! Ha-ha it was great.
Once we got to the farm though Benjamin, the owner of the farm, greeted us with a relaxing cup of coffee before we started the day. The farm is really awesome – they grow eggplants, cucumbers, tomatoes, limes, sweet potatoes and papayas; and then watermelon, cantaloupe and red bell peppers during the dry season. Today Melissa and I just helped dig soil and plant about 50 tomato plants – but it was really awesome to see the entire farm. They also raise pigs and chickens there and send them over to Majuro to be sold. It was nasty today though, Benjamin’s wife showed us the live chicken before she killed it for our lunch today – and that was a really disgusting feeling – I couldn’t exactly eat the chicken at lunch.
Over lunch though Melissa and I made a plan to come every Saturday morning and help from 8-12. That way we will be able to have veggies to eat – since there are no where we are both staying, and will be able to hang out with each other and talk about school while we do something fun. We also learned a lot about starting out own garden, which I think we will each do – and I am really excited about that! My family is too! So that will definitely be something I do once I am settled and have more time to give to something like that.
After planting seeds, husking a few coconuts to drink at lunch and eating some delicious lunch (other than the chicken) we started to head back. I wanted to cry the second I sat on the bike seat. I honestly don’t think I have been in that much pain in a really long time. I also realized when I got to my bike that my tire was now completely flat – and it was simply miserable. THEN, to make it worse, the second we left, and I was getting excited to go to Arno - Arno where there is great cell service, it started pourrrrring. No house we passed had a pump and I was soaked – things were lookin’ good. It finally stopped raining though, and I found a pump – so things eventually started looking up. We stopped to try and find cell service though and that took another half an hour because we had to wait for the clouds to pass. I got to talk to my mom and Tit though – so that made me feel a lot better. The ride home was a bit painful, but Melissa was just laughing at how terrible how things had been and were – and started laughing and singing. That definitely helped things along!
When I got back I did my first load of laundry Marshallese style – and that was nice and fun. The whole family was watching me and laughing – because I CLEARLY had no idea what I was doing! Ha-ha I was laughing at myself too though, so it was ok. I am exhausted from the day now though and am about to fall asleep…its only 8 pm! Ha Thank goodness we had an early dinner tonight though. Well, tomorrow is church – for 4 hours – so I gotta get some sleep so I can get up nice and early and put my best mumu on! ☺ My sister and I are having a sleep over tonight too – so I have to entertain her with some pictures for a while now too!
PS…My pet cat Maggie is having babies!!!! I am going to have little kittens soon!
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