I am very sad to be saying goodbye to the place I’ve learned to call home for the past three weeks. I will miss the family I’ve been staying with. Iva, who I worked side by side with on the farm and who took care of me when I was sick. Elishka, who always made a fire in my room at night and often made dinner. Hynek, who would amuse me with his silliness. Michal and Marketa, who helped me get my Russian visa in Brno. But most of all, I will miss the animals. I love how happy and playful the dogs were and I love being able to go on horse rides. I will NOT miss the geese or the ram. I will also miss the physical work–I think its a great replacement for physical therapy. I don’t have to force myself to find time to do it because I simply have to do the work. Now that I’ve gotten the hang of maintaining fires and that I’ve got a non smoky chimney in my room, I am going to miss warming myself by the fire every night.
I’ve learned so much about animals in the past three weeks including the fun parts (playing with the animals), tedious parts (making manure), and the sad parts (putting down Liza). When I “grow up,” I want to have two horses, a pig, two dogs, ten chickens, and one cow.
Tomorrow, I will be in Moscow, something I only dreamed of. I am so excited to see the beautiful architecture of the Red Square and wander the streets and absorb Russian culture.
And on Wednesday, I will be in Guangzhou, reunited with my Chinese family! As sad as I am to be leaving, I am very excited for where I am going.