Voilà plus d'une semaine que j'ai quitté la Nouvelle Ecosse.... j'ai du retard à rattrapper !
Déjà, vous allez pouvoir trouver plus de photos
ici avec Picasa.
J'y ajouterai d'autres photos et les légendes prochainement.
Malgré quelques hauts et bas, j'ai vraiment passé un beau mois chez les Cochrane. Un très bonne première expérience de wwoofing qui m'a beaucoup appris sur le plan humain, linguistique et le "savoir-ferme" ! ;)
Je suis partie le 10 novembre de Truro pour Québec City avec Jodie, ma covoitureuse, une femme adorable, passionnée par la nature. Elle m'a beaucoup parlé de l'Alberta et de la Colombie Britannique, 2 provinces où elle a déjà vécu.
On est parties au lever du soleil et on est arrivées au coucher. 12h de pick-up sous un ciel sans nuages, à travers les grandes étendues du Nouveau-Brunswick, parfois déjà couvertes de neige... C'était beau !
Pour ceux que ça intéresse : je vous mets ci-dessous du post le feedback que j'ai laissé sur le site (wwofing.ca) comme référence pour la ferme, et aussi celui qu'ils m'ont laissé en retour, car il m'a fait très plaisir.
Je m'excuse d'avance les lecteurs puristes anglophones (et j'attends vos correction hihi ;)...
"thank you,
We had Camille stay with us for 3 weeks this fall on our
farm. She is a very fun loving, talented, and well educated young lady
who was polite and respectful in our home and took part helping us with
various jobs on the farm from cleaning out chicken pens, to planting
cold weather crops in our greenhouses, to helping us with seed saving
and many other tasks. Our family enjoyed playing board games in the
evenings with her and she was very eager to teach 2 of our family how to
knit and work with them to accomplish their knitting projects. It is a
skill they both continue to use in their evenings now. We are happy to
have had the chance to get to know her and hope that other hosts may
also have a great experience with her. Safe and wonderful travels
Camille! "
"Thank you too !
The Cochrane family hosted me for 3 weeks.
It was my first time wwoofing and I really advise you this place.
I also advise you to not stay less than one month : The family is numerous, and as a consequance has a way of life you need to understand and adopt.
During my stay, I learnt a lot about the basis of organic farming in a familial extent. I knew what to do everyday thanks to the mythic "Forever changing, never ending To Do List" on the kitchen wall. Frank & Lisa trust the wwoofers and it was pleasant to work in this atmosphere.
The types of work in there are extremely various and every day is different. The hours are flexible too, depending on the weather, the season priorities or even your mood. Although the work was interesting, I do not consider that I worked extremely hard and I think could do more.
I really do enjoy the contrast to my busy parisian rythm from last years !
All the members of the family have different characters. I tried to know each of them by spending nice times with them playing cards, boardgames, music, and various activities; and I think that was appreciated.
My tips for the next wwoofers :
- For non-native english speakers : Everybody is nice and patient, do not be afraid of making mistakes. The more you dare to talk the more you'll have fun and strong links with the family.
- The sense of property is strong in there. Bring your own mug if you don't want to steal someone else's by inattention :-)
- Check the unique-bathroom rush hours before your shower...
Thanks all for your hospitality and your patience!
... Frank & Lisa for learning me a lot about "family-farming" and accepting me more as a member of their family than as a simple unemployed.
... Claire for your delicious "chewy chocolate chip oatmeal cookies" (I got the receipe !) and sharing with Craig your passion for chickens.
... Julie for all the nice sweet food you baked and the lovely moments we spent singing next to the piano.
... Garth for your jokes (the ones I caught!) and Black Jack !
... Kathleen for your good company, your teaching skills in trailer-driving, and all the 'Crapettes' wa played :-)
... Brian for being a so cute and quiet baby !
You guys are the proof that a happy family can run a genuine, orgnic / fair trade business and being in a large part auto-sufficient. I enjoyed the simplicity of your way of life.
I won't forget you !
Camille"
A suivre, un prochain article sur ma dernière semaine à Québec City & Montréal avant mon départ pour l'Ontario !
xxx
