Day 1 on the Blueberry Farm

I felt like the new girl in a blockbuster film.  I boarded the bus from Durrow to Cork, not having enough money, carrying two large bags with a backpack in tow, looking around for a place to sit.  Everyone either diverted their eyes, pretending not to notice, or had their eyes closed with sleep.  I was beyond embarrassed when the bus driver told me the amount was 15 Euros because, to my luck, I only had 10.  He took pity on me and allowed me to board the bus with my too small of fare and waited patiently as I walked down the whole aisle and back looking for a seat.  I finally asked a man if I could sit with him.  He didn’t respond.  I got upset, tapped on the shoulder and then realized he was deaf.  Luckily, he was happy to allow me to sit next to him.  For the next two hours, I held my two bags, backpack and purse until the bus stopped in Cork.  I then got off, walked the short distance to the bus station and bought a ticket for the bus to Killarney.  The bus to Killarney was full of over 30 senior citizens, and when I asked the lady next to me what group they were a part of, she said the friendship club.  I wanted to laugh but didn’t.  The lady in charge of the friendship club went around handing out little candies and Pringles to everyone on board.  I was happy to benefit from having the friendship club there.  When the bus stopped in Killarney, I hastily grabbed my belongings and waited for Sigi to pick me up.  I wasn’t sure what to expect or where exactly to meet him, but I figured he would spot me since I stuck out like a sore thumb, standing in front of the shopping centre with several large bags and an anxious expression on my face.  Sure enough, he saw me, and walked up to me asking if I was Katie.  I said I was and walked with him to put my bags in the car.  He then said he had an errand to run in Killarney and would I mind exploring for a half an hour.  Of course I jumped at the opportunity and spent the next 30 minutes wandering around town and acclimating myself.  When he was done, we walked back to the car and started the drive from Killarney to his blueberry farm just outside of Sneem.  Throughout the car ride we had a very pleasant conversation about travel and marriage and love.  I appreciated that he was on the same page as me about getting married young and having time to enjoy one another.  He and his wife Yvonne are from Germany and came to Ireland on a whim.  They knew they wanted to raise their children somewhere other than Germany and just got in the car and started driving one day.  They spent months and eventually years trying to find the perfect place before they found Sneem.  He said that as soon as they saw it, they fell in love with it.  I could see what he meant.  The scenery was unbelievably gorgeous.  The mountains rise and fall throughout the route, and in the distance you can see water and valleys and sheep.  We stopped a few times to take pictures, and after awhile he told me that the route we were driving is a part of the Ring of Kerry.  Part of the scenery includes the Macgillycuddy Mountains, the highest mountain range in Ireland.  I also love the name because it reminds me of the I Love Lucy episodes where Lucy is in Europe.  After driving for about 40 minutes, we bypassed the farm and the guest house where I’ll be staying for the next three weeks to check out the town of Sneem.  I was expecting a very small area with hardly anything by the way Sigi was talking about it, but it was roughly the same size as my hometown.  Because Sneem is so far from everything else, it has to have everything it needs, such as a grocery store and hardware store and shops, etc.  We then came back to the farm, and I met my new friends.  There are two pigs, a calf, two cows, a cat, two dogs, dozens of chickens, two lambs, ducks and goslings, plus a vegetable tunnel and a big lake.  My job while I’m here will be to take groups of school-aged children around the farm.  I will help them milk the cows by hand, play with the pigs, bottle feed the lambs, churn butter, make cheese, and lots of other fun farm activities.  Basically I am being paid to play with kids and teach them how to live a self-sustaining lifestyle.  I’m not sure if I’m more excited to be around kids or to learn how to do all the things I’m helping to teach.  During my time “off,” Yvonne will also teach me to do some of the things they teach in their classes, such as blacksmithing, how to make homemade bread, basket weaving, jam making and other fun activities.  I am so looking forward to my time here.  I really love Sigi’s calm nature and Yvonne’s energetic personality.  They are a very loving couple and have three kids around my age.  Plus, I have my own guesthouse.  I don’t have Internet or television in my house, but I think that is God’s last big challenge for me.  I’ve been without a phone, but now I also am disconnected from the Internet unless I go to Sigi and Yvonne’s house.  I’m really glad I decided to buy another book.  I’m hoping to spend my extra time reading, taking pictures, writing poetry and getting to know myself better.  I also have three other people living in my house who are my age, but my part of the house is separate from theirs, so if I want to hang out with them I can, and if I don’t want to, I have the option not to.  And in a week’s time, a Dutch girl will be sharing my room with me, so I’m sure that will be a nice change of pace.  I only have 19 more days of this lifestyle, and I intend to make the most of them, even if that means being disconnected from my family and friends.  I am a strong person, and this is my chance to really prove that to myself.