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!