An Artistic Snippet

I'll admit, I have been neglecting my blog somewhat over recent weeks. I apologise! You have still been reading it however, and for that, I thank you. So a bigger post is planned for tomorrow. For today, I would just like to share with you a recent achievement of me of which I am a little proud.

Around two weeks before Christmas, after having been at the farm for a few days, I decided to make sure I gave the family a gift at this festive time of year. I figured it would be a nice oppotunity to say a thank you for having me. So, to kill time in the evenings, I thought it best to take on a creative project in order for me to stay sane. Plus, homemade gifts are always the best, right?

I hadn't done any painting in a while, so hunted down some resources in the house; a house which has anything in it you could possibly imagine. Seems a little bit of a contradiction that I'm giving them something made fom their own canvas and paint, but hey ho...sentiment!

Of course I had to paint something vaguely resembling an experience I've had here; something goat related. I figured a picture of a goat in a field was too average. All you would have to do is look out the window to find something like that. And so, from the depths of my psyche, came this..... Merry Christmas Dykstra's!

Say Cheese!

The past week or so at the fam, I've been on dairy duty. This is the real business side of Goat's Pride. When you're doing other duties such as feeding or milking the goats, you kind of forget all about what it's going towards. But being in the hub of activity that is the dairy processing room, where we prepare everything ready for sale, it really hits home that you're contributing to the sale of this produce. The idea that someone in Vancouver has a piece of cheese I've helped make or a pot of yoghurt I've prepared seems pretty sweet.

Jason. chief cheesemaker,
hard at work making
 Chevrotina buttons.

Back home, whenever someone mentions goat's cheese, it's just used as one bracket term, as opposed to saying cow's cheese, a term we never use. Since working at Goat's Pride, I've come to the realisation that is a massive generalisation. It's not just the standard goats cheese we are all familiar with that we produce here. We make various cheeses with different strengths, textures and consistencies. Feta, Gouda, Capramonte, Blue Capri, Caprabella and Chevrotina are amongst the list; and these are all strikingly different.

As it turns out, it's not just me as an Englishman being ignorant of these varieties. Even whilst we were working at the Vancouver Farmer's Market on a frosty Saturday, almost every customer that came to us questioned that they were all produced from goat's milk. Our response of 'yes' was often met with a surprised look; people just don't realise that so much more can be done with goat's cheese than first meets the eye.

The obvious perk of working in the dairy is that I get to taste the produce. Don't get me wrong, I don't sit there and gorge upon cheese all day, we'd be losing a lot of money that way! But the odd tiny morceaux passes my lips when we're cutting up samples. My favourite would have to be the Smoked Capramonte; an aged cheese that Jerry (cheif cheesse packer and delivery man) and myself lovingly smoked with applewood chips from our very own apple tree. It all went a bit wrong when we left it a little too long and the wheel collapsed and sunk a touch, making it look a bit wilted; but the taste was just as exquisite. When working at the market a week before Christmas, I think I forced most customers to have a taste of this one, as a smokey alternative on their Christmas cheese boards.

Our stall at the farmer's market in Vancouver where you
can find Jerry most Saturdays

But it's not just cheese that is made, of course the milk is processed and sold; I have bottled several hundred myself. Plain, Bluberry and French Vanilla yoghurt is also part of the deal. This mainly involves a lot of waiting; waiting for the milk to warm up, add the extra ingredients such as blueberries, sugar and live bacterial cultures, and leaving it overnight at 120 degrees to let it do it's thing and ta-daaaa! Yummy yoghurt is the result. It's slightly runnier than the yoghurt I'm used to, and is often just consumed from a glass as drink. I myself still eat it with a spoon straight from the pot like any other yoghurt!

The last job is packaging everything. Many an hour have we spend slicing, weighing, vacuum packing, labelling, dating and storing cheese to make it ready for sale, either at the market or one of the many stores in West British Columbia where it is sold. When I'm in Vnacouver I'm tempted to hunt one of these stores down and take a peek at our hard work, swelling with pride. I suggest you do the same.

Some Blueberry and French Vanilla yoghurt. Look out for the logo!

These Times They Are Excitin'

Just a wee post today for all of those out there who do not have me of Facebook so are not aware of my recent minature claims to fame. I've been avidly emailing a tonne of travel publications, online magazines and blogs to get any of my writing up on their websites. So far I have been fairly successful, a good start to the year I think, and I could not be happier!

So, for those of you yet to read them, here is a little run down for you...

TravelMag.com: Cool Karma on the streets of India.
This was my first moment of happiness in my writing career back in October. Just a little rundown of travel safety when on the road in India.

GoBackpacking.com: WWOOF'ing it on a Dairy Farm.
An overview of my current experiences on Goats Pride Dairy Farm in Abbotsfor, BC. Anyone looking for cheap travel tips, this could be a very inexpensive option to help you on your way.

OnAJunket.com: Marrakech: A Beautful Kind of Chaos - Insights of a Morrocan Souk
This one was only posted in the last few days. An account of my days in the busy city of Marrakech, and how I survived them.

Enjoy. Tell your friends. Tell everyone you know. It is all very much appreciated!

Top Five Ways To Kill Time Whilst Traveling: 4) A Friendly Face

We're nearly there now, number four of five, wahoooo! I hope you have all suitably killed time in the past few weeks whilst I have been writing these. But now, the most important one. Let's face it, the best (and probably most socially healthy) way to kill time whilst on the tracks is without a doubt, making conversation with the closest person to you.

Meeting new people from all over the planet is my favourite thing about travelling, as I'm sure most of you will agree. Building a collection of pals to track down on your future travels in their home countries is a serious perk. I think by the time I make it to Australia, I won't have any problem in finding free accomadation on other people's floors, you Aussie's get everywhere! The fact that you all seem to leave your own country in hoards doesn't give me much of an incentive to head down under, but I just have to now. To see all those friendly faces at least.

So, a nice personal post is as follows; my favourite people met in my favourite circumstances whilst I've been on the move. For all of you not mentioned, you are truly treasured also, and most of you tie in with the folks on here so you are not forgotten!

1) Laura from Melboure, Australia: Obviously I have to start with an Aussie. I met Laura when she spoke to me through an intercom whilst I was standing outside a building in Budapest, Hungary. We'd spent three days in Budapest previously, and loved it so much that we braved another nineteen hour train ride just to come back again. Laura wasn't working at our hostel when we left the first time, and we wondered who on earth it was when a woman answered the intercom. As it turns out, she is bloody awesome. Myself and Laura have met up a few times since meeting, which is fairly impressive considering she's based on the other side of the world! She is half the reason I would ever go to Australia.

2) Brad and Jordan, from Vancouver, BC: The first words uttered between myself and these two fellows was when they asked me if my pizza was good (it wasn't...) in a hostel in Prague. This resulted in a huge night out in this beautiful city and a good old session of bonding. Drinks were enjoyed by all, and we left them a couple of days later. Two weeks or so after that, by complete chance, Jordan comes walking round a corner in Split, Croatia, with his camera in our faces, taking a beautiful shot of Jenna and I mid-eat. Being incredibly unlucky with weather, it rained the entire time we were in Split, joy! So our meeting was a stroke of fate, as we then spent a week hanging out with Brad and Jordan. And, of course being in Vancouver, I met up with Brad who took me on a snowy truck ride up to Mt Seymour.

3) Bryan from Victoria, Vancouver Island: This was the swiftest meeting of them all. I was supposed to Couchsurf with Bryan for a few nights in Victoria. Sadly, Bryan got stuck in Whistler up in the snow and couldn't make it until my last night in the city. So, determined that we would be able to hang out, we made a big night of it. After sitting for hours, comsuming a vast array of different alcohols and having many excited talks about our future travels, we went and hit the town. I think me and Bryan were destined to meet for one night and one night only, picking up our friendship in various countries we find ourselves in in the future.

4) Paul from Melbourne, Australia: Another friend of mine recently made on my current travels, Paul's first words to me were 'What are you reading?'. And a friendship was born! (I was reading a Lonely Planet guide for British Columbia for those who are curious.) More or less every night after that, at around 4pm (seven hours after I woke up, three hours after Paul woke up!!) we would meet and always suggest a beer down in the bar on the ground floor of the hostel. Since both moving away from Vancouver in recent weeks, we have spoken almost every day since.

5) Sean from Seattle, USA: I kind of forced my way into Sean's life. Most of you keeping up with the blog will know that I wrote about a certain artist making deer heads as an art project (see Deery Me.) This artist is Sean! Having gone back to Seattle for New Years Eve a few days ago, I just had to look Sean up and thank him for all his info. As it turns out, he spent all of New Years with me and my four German friends, and a whale of a time it was too. He was the perfect tour guide in Seattle, and joined us for some stunning fireworks at midnight.

Well Beyond Farming

Before I came to do my volunteer work on Goat's Pride, I knew not a single thing about farming. I'd probaby set foot on a farm a handful of times in my life, and only to stroke a horse or pet a pig when I was young enough to fit into adorable little wellies.

So coming to Abbotsford to work on this farm has been such an enlightening experience. Much more than just their place of residence and a bunch of other heartbeats they have to care for, you really get a sense of being surrounded by this families well-being; their complete livelihood.  Just talking to Jo-Ann now she describes her life on the farm as 'an expression of who I am, and connecting with people to meet their needs. I think a lot of organic farmers think the same; that we need to stop taking from the land and start contributing. I want to see my work here as a thing of beauty.' And I have to say, it truly is.

When I first arrived here, I was immediately collared by an Australian volunteer named Graham Strong, to help him out with attempting to waterproof a hay shed. It was later explained to me that Graham actually owns a farm in Australia, New South Wales to be exact, and takes on volunteers himself. I then went on to find out he had actually won the Young Australian of the Year Award for his farming techniques back home. Needless to say, I was intrigued.

Graham has actually had a small documentary made abouts his farm by and English composer named Andy Ross. I've put the first part of said documentary, named 'Way Beyond Water', on the bottom of this post, and I encourage you to watch the next two parts also. Even coming from a farm-less background, this is inspiring stuff.

Due to the roasting climate, Australian farmers have struggled with drought for quite some time now. Things got so bad that this led to bankrupcy, depression and even suicide in some cases. Farmers are so reliant on weather, an unpredictable and lethal force, for their income. However, Graham believes that just looking to the skies and praying for rain is not the solution.

He goes on to explain there there seems to be some kind of assumption that you can't do anything if there is no rain. Graham's whole philosophy stems from the idea that we need to adapt to our surroundings and create new solutions for typical problems. So, Graham planted a tonne of salt bush, an alternative method of feeding his 2500 sheep. This plan was looked on by sceptical farming peers as an uncertain solution. Graham, however, has reaped the rewards.

Andy had a beautiful way to describe the impression he got from seeing Graham and his farming co-workers, which really stuck in my head and appreciate the incredible work these people do. He says; '(These people) are artists of the land...when I look at this all I see is trees and grass. These guys see it as an interconnected web of organisms and life.' Graham goes on to explain a farmers deep 'relationship with the land; you have to listen to it, speak back, and see it's response.' A farmer's land as a child he's got the care and nurture for, as well as negociate and develop with.

Having experienced what I have at Goats Pride, and seen the creative and inprising work Graham does back home in Australia, I have a new appreciation for the amount farmers put into their properties. It's far beyond just manual labour and keeping everything ticking over. It's a matter of trying to transform and evolve the things you've got to create a better environment, to adapt to what you feel the land and climate is telling you. Hopin' and a' wishin' ain't gunna get you so far.

Reflection and Anticipation

So here it is, New Years Eve 2010. It is at this time of year that taking a moment to look back at the previous 365 days in order to see what you have achieved can be beneficial. In looking back, we can also look forward, and use our experiences to create new goals for the coming year. Also, on this very night, the majority of us see in the New Year with a hideous amount of alcohol in our system and often don't remember the first few hours of it whatsoever. I intend to partake in this tradition, and in Seattle, Washington of the United States of America no less. Huzzah! Let's hope it's a good 'un.

So, last night, when I had our plush rented apartment all to myself, I reflected on my 2010 (with a glass of wine of course). And my oh my has it been a big one. This year, I realised my dream. On a train somewhere in the north of India and sometime in the middle of July, I decided I was going to be travel writer. Yes, I finally chose a career, and one that is incredibly hard to find success in. Well done me! But hey, I'm willing to put the hours in, and what's life for if not to enjoy and do what you love? I think with a little help from self-esteeem and determination, along with a little help from my friends, I could at least give it a shot.

Writing aside, this year i have travelled to three new continents; Asia, Africa and North America. Everytime I think of it in those terms my heart flutters a little, how amazingly lucky am I?! Onwards and upwards as they say, there's plenty more ground to cover.

As well as finding something I love to do, I have indulged in other people's happiness this year also. One of my oldest friends, Katie-Jayne Lewis, got married this year. I imagine it was the most joyful day of her life so far, but I have to say it was probably one of mine too! I've known her since we were seven, and after fifteen years of imagining our weddings days, she finally took the plunge, and it was utterly perfect. I wish herself and Rhodri a bloody good 2011.

A new arrival came into my life in 2010, in the form of little Leo Simon Foster. This kid is probably the most loved child I have ever known, with a family of around twenty of us keeping him safe at all times. If I ever feel down, a visit to Leo cheers me up without fail. So thanks go out to Joe and Laura for bringing this little hero into our world.

2010 will always be remembered for me as the first year I ever ran a 10k. About half way through this race, I decided it would be the only year I ever ran a 10k. However, when the endorphins hit their peak and my legs had a rest shortly after I'd finished, I was determined to do another.

Which brings me onto 2011, a year to be active. Not only will I be doing another 10k,  will be doing two. And then, in October, a half-marathon. Oh holy shit. Why on earth have I decided this I hear you cry?! Well, I can't really give you an answer. Why not?

As well as being physically active, my career is going to need some work too. Having run my bank account into the ground, 2011 will sadly not hold as much travel for me (I will be doing some though, you can't hold me down for that long...). So back at home I will be working myself into the ground instead, support and help from all of you out there would be much appreciated!

In an attempt to prepare myself the next big trip that is evolving in my head, I'm going to be learning Spanish this year. I'll leave it up to all of you to try and work out where it is I'm actually going...

Thicker Than Water?

Life on Goats Pride Dairy in British Columbia, my current location, hasn't just been all work work work. My top priority when looking for a farm to volunteer on was to make sure I was around a lot of people. I couldn't think of anything worse than being the only volunteer on a farm with no other travellers about and only one or two other people to talk to. That would certainly be a learning curve, but it was not something I was wanting to do this time around. Well, it is safe to say that with this farm, my hopes were exceeded by far.

I knew the Dykstra family (the Goats Pride inhabitants) had children, as it explained in their profile on WWOOF Canada, the organisation I have been using. But I did not quite expect nine children! They range from the age of thirty-two, all the way down to a full-of-life six year old. When they allow up to seven WWOOF'ers at any one time, you can imagine that Christmas this year was quite the big one, with a completely full house!

Five of the kids are still living at home, and three of these are home-schooled. The concept of teaching your children yourself for longer that the first five or so years of their life is pretty alien to me, as it is an irregular occurance in England. However, the Dykstra kids are not penned in forever; they have the option to go to school whenever they feel like it.

I always thought home-schooling would be a serious hindrance on a child's social capabilities, but these guys don't seem to have turned out too bad! They're so involved with extra-curricular activities that I don't think it would be possibly to keep themselves to themselves. Additionally, with the regular occurance of travellers passing through the house, they have plenty of access to the social world, and from all over the social world no less.

I think there was only one day during this holiday season that was just for family, no volunteers allowed. Which, considering how many little events and evenings there have been, is pretty darn generous if you ask me. Truth be told, going from all these big cities and then onto a farm with not a huge amount of access to town, it can get a little monotonous. My heart aches for the big bad world I love so much with touring cities; not knowing where I am half the time means I'm in my element.

So, everytime Jo-Ann mentions that a few of them are heading out for the evening, I always ask her if it would be possible that I could come along. Being part of a family's everyday life was something I wanted to achieve from my visit to a farm; to see how they live from day-to-day.

I've been to Johann's Christmas music recital, with some amazing middle-schoolers in an orchestra sounding a little something like this...but Johann's particular performance was thoroughly enjoyable.

Charity had an evening recital with her violin tutor and fellow students at an old people's home. Highlights include a little seven year-old girl playing the violin, far too adorable, and an old lady pulling some of the most amazing shapes in her wheelchair. Whatever medication she was on, when I'm old, I want them.

My favourite night of them all would be an evening of some spine-tingling Christmas tunes sung by the Abbotsford Men's Choir. Jo-Ann's father was part of said chorus, and being a complete and utter hero, had a bag of chemotherapy on the go at the same time.He literally refused to miss out on an evening he had been looking forward to so much.

As for Christmas Day itself, there was twenty of us. After feeding the goats at 6am, I come back into the house to find the wee boys jumping about and rampantly ripping open their stockings. To my utter delight as well, I find there is a stocking for everyone. And in mine, along with chocolate, slippers and other treats, the greatest gift of all; a jar of Marmite. Santa Claus knows me by heart.

It is ths kinds of moments that made me feel so accepted into such an already huge family, and made me realise how lucky it was that out of the hundreds of farms I could have chosen, Goats Pride was a pretty good deal. Baby Jennica, a recent addition to the family as Jo-Ann and Peter's granddaughter, had her first Christmas this year. And I was there. How flippin' cool is that?!