I arrived in France and was picked up at the train station by the host I would be staying with for the next 3 weeks.  The town I was in was called Le Perigeuex vert.  The land was 30 acres of beautiful woodland with a 500 year old stone cottage and barn.  Unfortunately, I left my camera in Turkey and was unable to take any pictures until the last couple of days.  It rained every day that I was there, which made it tough to do garden work.  I was the only volunteer there for the first few days and I worked on building a raised veggie bed, setting up a small green house and turning over the massive compost piles.  

Once the other volunteer, Charlotte (from Australia), arrived, the weather was too bad to do any work outside.  We would sprint outside at the slightest bit of sun.  Instead of gardening, we worked on sorting and cataloguing books that the host, Alex, sells online.  He is a 29 year old guy from London and he moved to this property about 8 months ago to run his book business and enjoy the peace of the country. 

The three of us had a lot of fun watching movies and playing games and trying to stay dry.  We went to a farmers market one weekend, saw a band at the local cafe and went to a few BBQ’s with Alex’s friends.  One night we went to the cafe because we had heard there was going to be line dancing.  When we arrived, we found 12 French people dressed in matching cowboy/girl uniforms doing a line dancing performance for some British people having dinner.  There were more performers than guests...  It was one of the most bizarre things I’ve seen.  They were part of a line dancing club and met weekly to practice.  The dancers were very serious about what they were doing and were clearly miffed when they made mistakes.  After we watched this for a while, the dancers invited the audience to learn a dance, which was a blast.  We then decided we had had enough and went home. 

Charlotte and me

A few days later we picked up another volunteer, Salina, from Switzerland and we went out for dinner and drinks together.

Charlotte, Salina and me

The next day I received news that a family member was very ill and they weren’t sure how much longer she would live. So I decided to cut my trip short and return home in hopes of getting there in time to see her.  It feels like the right decision for me. Europe will always be here and I look forward to returning one day.  I have had an incredible time here and feel fulfilled by the experience I had.  I learned a lot about myself and grew in ways I couldn’t have imagined.  Thank you to those who have followed me on this short journey. Your love and support were always felt and greatly appreciated.

Until next time,

Jake