Blog Posts
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Reflection
I 100% would not have seen myself doing what I’ve done if you asked me about my future plans a year ago. I knew I wanted to travel, but I didn’t expect to this extent. The distance I covered and the knowledge I learned both surprised me. A good surprise of course. I’ve thought of…
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St. Patrick, Family Visiting, & Life at the Lodge
Family Visiting: After almost four months away from my family, I was finally reunited with them in Dublin. Guinness Storehouse – Coming from Wisconsin, I had some knowledge of breweries. I mean, I worked at one and have toured a couple, so I had a decent fundamental knowledge. I really enjoyed this tour because it…
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Doolin, Letterfrack, & Lettergash Beach
Doolin: Of course, I had the weekend off to explore, so I bussed to Ireland’s always-iconic Cliffs of Moher. I stayed in Doolin and planned to hike to the cliffs the next day. To kill some time the first day I arrived in the area known as “The Burren”, I simply walked along the road…
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Dublin, Galway, and Life on the Farm
Dublin: Dublin was my first taste of Ireland and it was very brief. I strolled through the Temple Bar district to just admire the gorgeous pubs. The day was nice, so I couldn’t be inside, even though I was pretty tired. I think one thing that surprises people (I had this discussion with some people…
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Swiss Food, Small Towns, and FASNACHT
Swiss Food: $$$. It’s very expensive. Well, everything is expensive in Switzerland. My favorite dish I had was the raclette in this cellar in Erlach, a small-town forty minutes outside of Bern. Raclette is a great get-together meal. It’s weird saying “meal” or “dish” because it’s more like an event. Basically, there’s a plate of…
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Bern, Skiing, & The Young Boys
Bern: Is amazing. I loved it. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its conserved medieval structure. The downtown is made primarily of sandstone, which gives it a really unique character. Bern has around six kilometers of arcades protecting the sidewalks in the old part of town. Also, you can enter hidden cellar stores…
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Leaving Asturias, Exploring Barcelona, & Enjoying France
Leaving Asturias: Bea gave me some honey for my trip and Francisco gave me some amazing ham I could use to make sandwiches with. I’ll miss the cows as well, although, they don’t really like me. I highly urge anyone to go visit Asturias. They don’t call it a “natural paradise” for nothing. And the…
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Spritz cookies, Lucky Cows, and Weekend Trips
Spritz Cookies: I got together the ingredients to make, probably the best cookies. Oma’s (my grandma) recipe is always a hit, even here. I woke up the next morning after making them and saw they were almost gone. I will not be disclosing the recipe. That’s a secret I’ll never tell. *Update* I made them…
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Caves, Christmas, & New Years
La Cuevona and Tito Bustillo: Right down the road from El Carmen is this massive cave people drive through. Really tucked away and hidden in this valley. If I wasn’t told about it, I wouldn’t ever see it. During the summer only residents are allowed to drive through because it gets so crowded with tourists…
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Comida, Covadonga, y Beaches
Comida: Much of the food is local and delicious. Bread is paired with everything. We get fresh bread delivered to our mailbox here every day. When we go out to eat appetizers are very common to get instead of one large meal. Sidreria La Guia is one of the Aramburu’s favorite spots to go for…
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Ribadesella, a Soccer Match, and more Spanish
Ribadesella: Some might call it the perfect little town. Right by the sea, this quiet village turns into a hot place to be during the summer with people coming up from the south. The town is colorful and full of bars and sidrerias (cider houses) where most people go to socialize. Everyone knows everyone and…
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Leaving Home, Las Vacas, First Impressions of Spain
Leaving Home: My long journey to Spain began when I was dropped off at the airport by my parents. I wasn’t really nervous because everything always turns out fine, if I think it will, in the end. This is a very naive way of thinking but, ignorance is bliss, therefore, I am blissful. There is…
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Final Day in NM, Texas, and Back Home Activities
Final Day in New Mexico: It was the final day, nevertheless, it was just as eventful as every other day. Morning snow covered the earth when we departed for the desert to shoot some guns, which I had never done before. I shot a .22 pistol and an assault rifle. I would’ve liked to shoot…
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A Bathroom, Meow Wolf, and Hiking
Bathroom – Now that our harvest is in, we can focus on completing the new addition to the home: the bathroom. The circled red area is the new addition to the home. There will be a shower, a bathtub, a toilet, and a vanity in the lower half of the mushroom-like dome, and then there…
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UFOs, Parvo Puppies, and Other Adventures
UFOs If you think UFOs aren’t real, you’d be in the minority here. Honestly, people would look at you as a psycho. My x-file loving self was intrigued to hear about something strange happening here, and the best part was I didn’t have to search for some crazy believer to tell me about what goes…
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Harvesting, Mt. Blanca, and the Great Sand Dunes
The time came to harvest the wheat. There were a couple other helping hands on the farm to try and beat the grain that was coming in. For example, while Daniel was in the field on the combine, we were racing to fix the auger and the door of the grain bin. I got to…
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The House, The Farm and Taos
The House: We had to return, Red, the dog that was staying with me, to his original owners. However, there’s a new dog in the house now. Cyrus is the name we gave him and he’s from the Pueblo. The Taos Pueblo is the Native American reservation for the Puebloan people. It is very poor…
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First Impressions, Hiking and Life in the Land of Enchantment
I was picked up at the Taos Administration building, the most northern stop my blue bus could take me. I was welcomed by an old black lady berating and threatening me. She had a walker so I didn’t feel very threatened. After a while, Daniel and his fiance, Jen, picked me up. Luckily, they did…
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The Biltmore House, Returning Home and Leaving Again
The Biltmore House: I planned my trip to the infamous Biltmore House after the ever-lovely JV said it was a must-see. It’s up in Asheville, North Carolina, so I dedicated a day to head up there and enjoy the estate. The gardens are designed by Fredrick Olmsted, the same landscape designer who designed Central Park.…
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Willie Nelson, Another Nice Dinner & My Last Day
***Photos will be added soon*** Everyone on the farm had always mentioned that Willie Nelson and Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead were going to be performing in Simpsonville, but we all never really talked about actually going. The concert was on a Tuesday night, we assumed it was going to be packed, and a…
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Transplants, Summer Squashes, and New Mexico
After I was surprised with a day off on Labor Day, we got right back to transplanting in field 4. More kale, broccoli, and fennel were transplanted into the ground. The ultra-delicate fennel was a pain in the rear to transplant because we did three rows of them and each plant was three inches apart…
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A Keyboard, Transplanting Kale, and a Nice Dinner
On Monday, Aaron and Chris picked up a bunch of crops to transplant into the ground. Kale, broccoli, and cabbage were among the transplants. There were different varieties of each and other types of vegetables belonging to the Brassicaceae family. Basically, we spent the first part of the week getting them into the ground. What…
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Daily Duties, Crops, and About the Farm
For this week’s blog, I want to take the time to explain the farm where I am working and living. BioWay Farm is a certified organic vegetable farm in Ware Shoals, South Carolina. It’s come a long way from a small okra and asparagus farm. The area it’s in is quite removed from nearby towns…
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Bridges, Vegetable Drop-Offs, and a Singing Man
I love how there are so many swimming spots here. Under most bridges, you can find people cooling off, floating in the shallow pools. I went to one today, the closest one to my grandparents, and spent some time there wading in the shimmering streams. I’m currently rooming with Mat, the Swiss lawyer, and it…
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A Farmers Market, a Spiritual Store, and a Swiss Lawyer
After a week of harvesting and fulfilling orders, the time finally came to prepare for the Saturday market. Meaning we have to basically harvest a little bit of everything to give us variety at the market. Including sweet peppers, hot peppers, cherry tomatoes, salad tomatoes, basil, okra, leeks, and corn. Additionally, we gathered previously harvested…
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Rotten Tomatoes, 75th Birthdays, and Cold Rivers
After dropping off the family at the airport, I was on my own. After the quick hour drive, I was at the farm. I hopped out and asked what I could do, thinking they’d maybe introduce me to my room so I could set down my things. Instead, the young man, who I later found…
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Smoky Mountains, Salt & Pepper Shakers, and Caesars Head
What a sight to see. The Smokies were much more than I was expecting. The mountains had these low-hanging clouds that gave it the appearance that they were almost smoking. It’s almost like they were named the Smoky Mountains for that reason. Maybe it’s just a coincidence. Pigeon Forge was madness – think of it…