Things that surprise me

-         How many people here eat meat, and other animal products.  I fully expected that most if not all the people here would be vegan or vegetarian, but it isn’t so.  Only I think…. 5? Out of 20 people are vegetarian, and I don’t think we have any vegans anymore.  Roosters and rabbits are actually raised here on the farm for meat.

-         How fast and easily I get dehydrated.  This one shouldn’t surprise me, but it did.  And it still sneaks up on me.  The other day I was so dehydrated I had to drink 3 liters of water before I got hydrated again.  Holy lord, the heat!

-         How into technology everyone is.  Dad thought everyone here would be a bunch of luddites, but they aren’t.  Almost every night people are watching movies or tv shows on their laptops, people are blasting tunes over various sound systems connected to their I-pods all day and into the evening, and they are always wandering over to the bamboo house to use the internet….

-         How freaking delicious fresh (though chilled) milk is.  Holy cow, literally.  It isn’t full fat, because we skim the cream off the top first to use for making butter, but it is pretty thick and luxurious and I adore it.

-         The quality of the cooking.  Wow, do I feel spoiled.  Not only are we using almost entirely farm fresh (literally, from our farm) ingredients, but the quality of the meals is incredible.  Even the non “chefs” seem to be able to dream up and execute amazing meals on this massive scale (cooking for 20 plus most meals).  Some of what I’ve seen made here I intend to attempt to make when I get back home.  On a related note…

-         How well I’m doing without caffeine, or much if any sugar, or crap food of any sort.  Almost no salt too. 

-         How little time I’ve spent reading, writing, or listening to music.  Not a lot of down time on a farm I’m learning.  And by the time everything is done in the evening… I just want to go to bed, even if it’s only 7:30-8:00pm.  Here I was imagining I’d be plowing through the classic novels, and I think I will be impressed if I get through one or two…

-         How many people do drugs and smoke.  I suppose the drug bit, most especially pot, shouldn’t have surprised me, but I think I am literally the only person here who doesn’t do it, which surprises me some.  And considering how earth and health conscious most of the people here are, the number of tobacco smokers surprises me a lot.  At least 5 people here smoke regularly.  Oh, and a huge number are morning coffee addicts.  Ha!

-         How fast days are going past.  I know I’m not too far into my journey, but each day flies by so fast, I’m starting to think the whole trip may do the same.