So, WWOOFing is a go!
 |
| Hopefully y'all can read this! It's a basic summary of my Czech farm. (By PintsizedPioneer) |
I finally got a farm. After casually going onto the WWOOF Czech Republic site yesterday, I found one of my bookmarked farms had recently updated its page, so I sent the family a housing request with some details about my farming experience and intentions (what I want to learn/do on their farm). After about five minutes, they got back to me. What luck! It is still kicking in how great this is; I finally have a farm!
My future work/residence is located north of Prague close to the Polish border (and the German one too to be frank). It is in a region called Liberec and outside a city by the same name. The farm itself is a small family run homestead, has a variety of animals, encompasses 5 hectares, and is located in the hills. This area of land is crusted with the Jizera mountain range (Jizerské hory in Czech), named after the Jizera river that divides Poland and the Czech Republic. I know so little about this area and city, but thankfully, I have awhile to learn! I cannot wait to get acquainted with Bohemia.
The larger backpacking planning is going swimmingly too. Each member of the group is either waiting to book or already has booked his or her flight to Amsterdam, Netherlands, and we are currently monitoring the rest of our transport needs that cannot be scheduled until the spring. I have my flight from Dublin to Paris booked, and my French friend told me I can stay with her in the capital for a few days (if all goes to plan with her internship). [Crosses fingers] The last major bookings we need to accomplish are the hostels, which will be done by the end of the week. Things are coming together.
Now though, I have to actually improve my Czech and German since now I'll definitely be in regions that speak these languages for an extended period of time. I want to learn as much Czech as possible since I'll be there for about a month and I need to learn some German since no one in our group can speak it. A lot of the group actually knows French though, which I am kind of jealous of right now, but overall is not super useful for us since we are not traveling to any predominately French speaking countries. I, however, will be in France (and a bit in Belgium) for a few days, so it would be quite beneficial for me to know some. Too bad I do not speak any French! I have never really wanted to learn French (it just has never interested me), and so, I know basically zilch. The only French I particularly like is Quebecois, and if I were to learn to speak this dialect for Paris, France ... Let's just say it would not go well. I guess I have to study some French too now before I go; I have been told my accent is horrible. Merde.
I will be working on the farm for about three weeks (maybe more) while the group goes to the musical festival Ultra in Split, Croatia. I will join them in Dubrovnik afterwards and then, explore the Balkans until August. It is great to see all this working out. It may be a cliché to backpack across Europe after high school, but I'm going to kick ass doing it. More to come about the farm, Czech, and backpacking! Stay tuned.
*I'll reveal the name of my farm as the summer comes. I'm going to be there in June/July, and it is currently February. I have to try to build up the mystery ...
Labels: Backpacking, Czech Republic, Europe, Language/Linguistics, WWOOF