Day to day stuff

So, two super surprising things to report right now.  One, there was an earthquake yesterday morning!  At about 1:10am.  I was only half awake, and it was brief enough that I was not actually sure it had happened until the morning when other people were talking about it.  It wasn’t too strong.  Nothing was knocked over or the like, but it vigorously shook me in the bed!  Only the second one I’ve experienced.  I’m kind of excited. J

Second thing is cacao fruit.  Holy cow.  Douwe walked up with these decently large hard yellow squash-looking things.  I got all excited and asked it if was more squash.  He said no, is was cacao, and I exclaimed “Really??”  He chuckled, and told me I was in for a treat, hacked one in half, and extracted this kind of gooey looking white kernal, a little bigger than a grape, and told me to suck on it, not chew, and to spit the bran out into a bowl when I’m done.  I put it in my mouth with come trepidation due to the look of it but OMG.  Sososososososososososo good! Sweet, and a little sharp like pineapple, and juicey…  Just wow.  Most surprising thing ever I think.  The same plant that produces chocolate produces this awesome tart fruit. I’m so excited.

Hmmm… what else to report?  I’m falling into the rhythm of life here.  I miss everyone at home terribly, but I’m finding that I could get used to living here/this way.  It is simple, and engaging, and it feels good to be so active, and to know that my activities all go towards benefiting my community and myself.  I can be busy the whole day and never have to leave, and everything is very close to nature… I don’t know, I just really like it.  Makes me want my dream mini-farm even more than ever.

I am the breakfast guru. Lol.  I am the only person who seems to enjoy taking the breakfast shift, and so am on it 5-6 times a week.  It entails getting in the kitchen by 5am, but that suits me just fine since I am usually up without my alarm by 4:15-4:30am.  Also, I am actually cheerful at that hour, which certainly can not be said of most of my “tribe-mates”. It is kind of funny.  I’m seen as the breakfast expert now, and when someone gets on the breakfast shift for the first time, they come to me to ask how to do everything, or get put on the shift with me so I can train them. J  It certainly is an experience to plan and execute two breakfasts for like 20 people so often, and with limited supplies, most of which I’m only slowly becoming familiar with utilizing.

Not much else going on.  It is beautiful, and hot, and wonderful.  I enjoy the work a lot, and the down time more.  There have been belly dance classes, yoga classes, and guided meditations, and there are always dunks in the pool or trips to the river.  There’s cooking and cleaning and butter making and animal tending, and in a totally different way than ever before in my life I am thoroughly busy. J