A few weeks ago we wrote about how important routines are to us in our every day lives. We relocated to a new farm last Saturday, so we once again, established a new routine. As we continue our journey, each of our many transitions reveals more about what makes us tick.
Where’s My Stuff? Since all of our stuff is packed into 4 backpacks, every time we move, we have to pack it all up again. Space is tight so everything has a place - mostly. The real challenge comes when we start to unpack in our each new home and we’re often asking, “where’s my…”. This was a challenge at Debbie’s farm where we really didn’t want anything to touch the floor! Organization was super tough when we moved into the tight quarters of a van as well. Honestly, this was stressful. Each night the inside converted to a bed so it took a couple of days to get the routine down - then it got cold so having 2 or three changes of clothes every day made for some messy van days. On Thursday, after our current farm stay, our packs will be a little lighter as we will be able to lose some work clothes - especially our boots!
Where do We Sleep? Ok - bottom line - it turns out that beds matter to us! We have slept in 20 different beds, one airplane and one car. (On at least one of those nights we might have contravened a law or two.) We have experienced everything from a luxury pillow top with way nicer sheets than anything we have at home to a simple and extremely hard 3 inch foam mattress with a see-through sheet and a comforter. As we arrive in each different stay, we always check the bed! (The upcoming overnights trips in the jungle of Madagascar will be not counted as beds.)
When’s Lunch? The schedule and time of meals has been remarkably revealing on our trip. Many of our hosts have had a typical breakfast-lunch-dinner plan, however some folks take their big meal at lunch, others, like here in Nepal, only typically eat two meals - and they are the same thing - everyday. It can be an awkward dance at each new location to figure out the meal schedule when the culture is different. Mostly we just like to be TOLD the plan and we will “follow the crowd at chow time”.
What’s the Work? Our trip has been all about helping out and sometimes the work that’s required is on a list and well communicated, and other times it’s not. As most readers will know, standing around waiting is not one of Paul’s strengths! Just today we were very excited to help at a new farm and after the 10 minute walk to get there we just stood around waiting - then had a tea break! The reality is that we’re learning to be patient and to find things that need to be done. At each of our farms, at least one “secret” task has been completed.
This adventure is giving us a great opportunity to learn about ourselves as well as others. We are forever grateful to those who have taken us into their lives and homes!
