When
I was little, my mom (bless her efforts) tried to get my sister and I
to share her passion for gardening. Her timing might have been a
little off. As a seven-year-old, my interest in gardening lay
primarily in the planting and the harvesting. All the watering and
weeding and maintenance in between did not concern me. And so the
little garden we planted in our backyard yielded one summer’s crop of
snow peas, strawberries, and whatever carrots the rabbits didn’t beat
us to. Subsequent efforts by my mother to reignite my interest fell
flat.
I was little, my mom (bless her efforts) tried to get my sister and I
to share her passion for gardening. Her timing might have been a
little off. As a seven-year-old, my interest in gardening lay
primarily in the planting and the harvesting. All the watering and
weeding and maintenance in between did not concern me. And so the
little garden we planted in our backyard yielded one summer’s crop of
snow peas, strawberries, and whatever carrots the rabbits didn’t beat
us to. Subsequent efforts by my mother to reignite my interest fell
flat.
If
the only horticultural interest I ever had was harvesting, Viile
Tecii in September would be considered practically El Dorado. On
Wednesday, Danielle, Erin, Lauren, Adi, and I went to a charming
little purple and pink (no lie) gypsy cottage to harvest the potato
crop of an older couple. When we got there, a few of the H-Squad
were already hard at work. Danielle and I teamed up to dig up
potatoes, and Lauren and Erin went to help sort the potatoes and
collect the good ones.
the only horticultural interest I ever had was harvesting, Viile
Tecii in September would be considered practically El Dorado. On
Wednesday, Danielle, Erin, Lauren, Adi, and I went to a charming
little purple and pink (no lie) gypsy cottage to harvest the potato
crop of an older couple. When we got there, a few of the H-Squad
were already hard at work. Danielle and I teamed up to dig up
potatoes, and Lauren and Erin went to help sort the potatoes and
collect the good ones.
Daniellewas the one who had heard about the service opportunity the day
before, from the little old gypsy woman who lived there. She swept
Danielle and one of the H members up and started marching towards our
contact John’s house. As they passed the house where Seven Camels
was staying, Danielle started hollering for a translator. They ended
up finding a guy who spoke Spanish and Romanian. So the woman spoke
to him, he translated into Spanish, and Danielle replied in her own
slow Spanish. Somehow the message was communicated that the woman
wanted help picking potatoes at three the next day, because otherwise
she and her husband would have to clear the whole field themselves.
This couple is easily in their mid-sixties, and the field was about
the size of a basketball court. We’re talking a nine-plus-hour
endeavor. Good thing there are about fifty racers in walking
distance of every house in Viile Tecii.
Starting
Tuesday, we’re spending the next four mornings harvesting apples in
another field. We will be receiving payment, but with all the money
we make, we’ll be feeding the poorest families of the village. I
hope we get to deliver to the families in the mud huts.
Tuesday, we’re spending the next four mornings harvesting apples in
another field. We will be receiving payment, but with all the money
we make, we’ll be feeding the poorest families of the village. I
hope we get to deliver to the families in the mud huts.
