Brittany Medeiros: country girl in training

I think it would be fair to say that at home I am an individual who is pretty connected to the world. I try my best to be a positive global citizen through choices like what I eat and wear, how I transport myself from point A to B, what forms of literature and media I chose to inform myself with and what resources I consume. Unfortunately, however much I love the wilderness, most these efforts don't really transfer over to a 'country' way of life... which for some reason I thought they would. So as a result I am constantly being learning about a different way of living, which is often at odds with the obvious city girl in me. The only skill I really have to transfer over is my love for cooking real, whole, unproccessed foods.

One morning Rosemary asked me if I wanted to go with her to take the dogs for a walk. I put on my sneakers, peacoat, was wearing jeans and started to look for leashes and poopy bags. She opened the back door, let the dogs loose, looked at my shoes and asked me if I brought hiking boots. I have never owned hiking boots in my life! She let me borrow a pretty pair of cherry red kicks and we were off (for some reason at this point I was still oblivious to the fact that walking the dog meant 'hike with the dog' so i didnt tie my laces...) We begin trekking through the forest poopy bag free, up, down and around hills, while the dogs were running, chasing wildlife and having the time of their lives. It was a pretty cold morning, but the skies were clear and the view was beautiful.
She asked me many questions such as, "do you have this kind of tree/bird/flower/animal in Canada?" I had to admit that I really dont know anything about Canadian wildlife aside from the obvious. She asked if I had a family dog that we took for walks, I said yes, but 'walk' in oakville has a very different meaning. Then I realized that the walk we were on was the first time I had really walked a dog.
We got back to the house, my untied laces, uncovered pant leg and socks (from not knowing how to properly take off muddy shoes) covered in mud, but it felt great.

Other notable 'country' things I have done so far? Turning off every source of heat in the house during the night (except for small space heaters), as opposed to the 3 degrees that is advertised at home. Feeding the chickens and ducks. Tending to your own compost heap (though I did learn some of that from becca!) and making cake with goats butter from the farm down the road and duck eggs from our ducks.

Oh and ive also rediscovered my love for the water and swimming, I can stay in the pool for hours! Though that is not really a country practice at all, yesterday the chickens watched me while I swam... does that count?

love!

p.s. I dont think i'll be posting pictures for a while, I may have forgotten the connecter cable thing at home...

inviting a stranger into your home

hello lovely people!

I guess by now you have gotten my email urging you to check out this amazing website/blog thing. While in Botswana I sent out weekly emails to a list of lucky recipients, telling them about my goings-on and the fun things I was learning along the way. This adventure is a little different because I brought my trusty mac with me and have access to the internet pretty much everyday. This doesn't mean i'll be posting everyday, but this give you the flexibility of checking in whenever you feel like a story and give me the opportunity to share some pictures and a bit more then a week crammed into a few paragraphs!

So lets begin by answering questions like: where the heck are you and what are you doing?

I left Canada on February 8th and 2 buses, 2 planes, 2 layovers, 1 train ride and a bag of dried fruits and nuts later, I was here! Well, almost. I arrived at a train station in Tisbury, about a 10 minute drive to Dinton, where the family I’ll be working/living with is living. A man named Jack (name changed because I have a horrible memory) came to pick me up. Jack is an older gentleman who is very used to driving on the country roads, but i'm not. The road is just bigger than one lane at home, but for 2 way traffic. He drives very fast even when another car is coming towards us and I get ready for what seems to be certian death. I hold my breath and as we pass the car is being brushed with bushes on the left, and is about an inch away from the other car on the right.
I'm working/living with Rosemary and Tilly. Tilly is in the midst of a long fight against lyme disease and her mother, Rosemary, works tirelessly to keep her on the recovery path and their house in order. My job is to pretty much help out wherever I can. Right now that means cooking some meals, doing some dishes, helping Tilly with her physio and medicine regimens, doing some art projects and making tea. Their diet consists of 99% organic whole foods, is very vegetarian friendly so i'm fed well and am very happy. They live in an old country house with a view that belongs to a 19th century English novel. From my bedroom window I see green rolling hills and old brick houses with smoke from the chimneys. There are also 3 dogs, 1 cat, 3 ducks and 2 chickens that live here, with the addition of Grunty the pig when we move houses. For the past few days I’ve been spending my free hours swimming in their indoor pool, hiking or just reading.

I think that’s about it for now. I have some stories and pictures but that will wait for another day.

love!