Am I dreaming?

This is the life! I get to travel around Spain at the weekends, learn a new language, meet new people and work with animals! Our Spanish classes finished last week and I am feeling slightly better about the whole thing. I understand much more but my replies are scattered words rather than sentences. I will get there and would like to have better conversations by April! We spent the weekend in Granada and then started work yesterday.

First of all Granada was amazing!  January is apparently the coldest month at a ‘chilly’ 20°C but we were all walking around in our t-shirts while the locals were wrapped up in their warm winter coats.  We did what any Brit abroad would do when met with such heat, we bought an ice cream :D and ate it outside in January!! Considering that the pictures from home show snow this was a treat!

Next on the cards was the Alhambra. This was originally a fortress that was renovated by a Moorish King and was then converted into a royal palace. The Islamic architecture is so detailed and really is amazing to see.  The decoration is based on Arabic inscriptions that are then manipulated into patterns. I attempted to highlight the amount of work that went into these structures but I don’t think my pictures do them justice!

Saturday night was burns night and in preparation Matt and I had written out some poetry to read out to the group before we headed out to the bars of Granada. What happened instead was both unexpected and one of my favourite moments so far. We went to a bar in a cave and watched traditional Spanish music being played between friends. One woman was so transfixed by the music that she jumped up and started flamenco dancing in the middle of the room. To see true Spanish culture in that form was something that I will remember for life.

After wandering around Granada on Sunday we got the bus back to Úbeda and prepared ourselves for working the next day. Work consists of me and my flatmate Elysia getting picked up by the farmer (Juan) around 8am and we finish between 2 and 3pm depending on how much there is to do. That is us finished for the day. Again this is the life! So far we have; helped milk the majority of goats (around 500 in total), cleaned out the shed, met the guard dogs (I fed the guard dogs chopped up meat, I am glad the wildlife park prepared me for this sight), fed the pigs and chickens and Elysia got to help at an olive oil factory today. When I arrived I expected only goats but there is so much more. This morning we tried to collect eggs from the chicken coop but one was just not budging, even after I prodded her with a stick haha. I also got to help with the production of the cheese. It is an intricate process and trying goats’ milk and cheese that is so fresh has completely changed my opinion on them as it is not something I would choose to eat in the U.K.

Diversity is key within this role and I think I am going to really enjoy working here. The farmer and his family are some of the sweetest people I have ever met. They have had the farm for 6 years and are completely sustainable. He is an inspiration and we feel part of the family already. Rosa (the mum) has already provided us with extra blankets for the flat as we said it was chilly and they feed us breakfast every morning after we have milked the goats. I cannot get over how much can be communicated by facial expressions and gestures. I think I am going to pick up the language quicker working with the family but it is good to know that there are other methods in the mean time. 

I feel incredibly lucky to have had this opportunity and am looking forward to the new skills and experiences working on a livestock farm will bring. I know that one thing I am most looking forward to is seeing piglets and one of the females is currently pregnant!! I shall keep you all updated  :D

-Laura xox