From the East coast to the West coast jiha :D

Back in Canada !! Jeaa! It kind of felt like coming home ...after united totally lost my sympathy ! :D first they're loosing Valeries backpack and than they canceling our backflight to Chicago ...you kind of can imagine how we felt when we found out our flight was cancelled!i was so pissed off!! In the end we flew via San fracnsisco to Vancouver. A little detour and a longer flight but we got there and our backpacks too!!! Haha the people at the airport just starred at us when we saw our luggage came out on the flowing ribbon :D

But first some more Highlights from New York :

MoMa Museum was really nice and free fridays!!! But also really crowed^^ We visited the Metropolitan Museum aswell but it was waaaaay too big ( you get lost even with a map) and honestly not that interessting

Of course Statue of libety :)

Grand Central Station.

 

 Now we`re in Vancouver, British Columbia. At first I was afraid to come to BC cause everybody told us BC is soooooooooooo beautiful and I`m going to love it there....and I had really high expectations but when we came here ( we`re staying in North Vancouver, again at friends of Valeries parents) my expecations were exceeded!!!! The Family lives in Deep Cove, a small part of Vancouver, nestled on a Fjord and at the beginning of the forest. The first two days we went hiking and omg....Nature is so beautiful! I felt like Bella in Twilight haha :D Big trees covered with moss and ferns! The rainforest is so magical...it was partly forzen on that day, misty and the sun came out! The atmosphere was incredible!!!!! Exactly how I`ve imagined BC <3

<3

Who can spot Jet, the dog in here? :)

 

As you can imagine I can go on and on with the picutures. In fact I almost pictured every second tree :D but the forest isn`t everything we`ve explored here:
The last two days we drove into Vancouver and I don´t know what I should think. Vancouver is a City I always wanted to visit, heard  a lot positive stuff about  and again I had high expectations. The first day we mostly spent in the Vancouver Aquarium, which is praised a lot, and its actually pretty cool but I imagined it a litte bit bigger. But they had a lot of cool fishes, penguins, jellyfishes and Beluga whales. Vancouver is a Young modern City and you can really see that. The architecture is futuristic and the atmosphere a lot more relaxed than in New York. I was automatically more relaxed. After the first day I really liked it but today we got kinda into the area where you shouldn`t go^^ We walked through Gastown, which should be actually really interessting for Tourist but in fact there is only a clock driven by steam and a lot of Souvenirshops, and then we actually wanted to walk through Chinatown but as we walked the People got creepier and creepier! WE were kinda shocked and decided not to go there :D Instead we walked to Granville Island, which was nicer. A market and lot Little craft and Souvenir Shops. Definetely the nicer part of Vancouver! Yeah, but after today I have a different Image of Vancouver. I know that every City has its "dirty" parts but I didn`t expeceted to see this part in an area which is actually recommended to Tourists from the Touristsinformation!

The Jellyfishes were my Highlight :D

Beluga wahle

 

 

and we baked our first ginger bread Cookies!!! :)

From the Country to the City

This week we added more airmiles to our journey by travelling to New York City!!
Our trip is "very organisated" and "no detours" at all^^ I wouldn`t hire us as travel agents :D I mean who else travels to Toronto than all the way to Edmonton and than flies back to New York?! And our next stop is Vancouver haha.......Valerie already said, our route describes totally our personalities! :) But when you have the opportunitiy to stay here, do it!
We`re here since tuesday but before our adventure in NYC starts we had to say goodbye to our Hosts in Saskatechwan!

Previous on: Valika in the land of living skies, the last 2 weeks.

After the butchering season was over we had to clean the barn and it was literally the shitties Job EVER!!! + it was cold, so the poop was partly frozen and the Job stinky and exhausting aswell. One barn we couldn`t even clean cause it was too frozen.....but anyways after that the laying hens had a new clean barn and the Baby laying hends could move into a bigger barn.
Also the French couple left with 2 days delay cause there was a bad snow Blizzard coming from Alberta! We also had a more or less successful Halloweenparty :D the Highlight was a flashlight scavenger hunt along the hiking trail....which was not that scary xD But we made a lot of delicious Food and Cookies. Generally we had A LOT of good Food the last days we stayed at the Labrash Farm, which was not good for my belly :D
Now its almost Winter in Canada and our work was mostly preparing the farm for the winter. We had to insolate the chicken Coups and reorganisate the quonset. The days were colder and the sun already set at 5 o`clock. ( also here in New York, which is so weird, cause you think you don`t have so much time anymore).  Actually good conditions to go hunting :D Justin got is deer huntig license a few weeks ago and he took us with him. What shall I say it was definitely an experience to sit in silence outside in a bush ( in camouflage outfits) and wait till some animals appear, which they didn't do :D only I saw a rabbit but it was too fast. How sad ;P

 A few days before we left Laureen hat a suprise for us. We drove with her into the City with no clue. Before she only told us to wear clothes, which are easily removable....we thought : okey maybe Sauna? or a visit at the gynecologist :D Then we stopped in front of a Spa Center and Laureen treated a massage to us. We were so overwhelmed. We totally needed it and enjoyed our 30 min relaxiation massage :) Thank you again Laureen!
Then the 11th November came and we had to catch our Train from Saskatoon to Edmonton, from where We flew over Chicago to Newark, NJ. Jep, half a Worldtrip but when we booked our flights we thought our plans won`t Change again and that we won`t Need a Transfer posting insurance or whatever! But guessed wrong xD Of course things changed ( we canceled our last farmstay in Alberta) and we couldn`t Change the date + City departure! As I said NEVER hire us for organisate your trip :D
Anyways the whole Family drove with us to Saskatoon, where we visited the University ( really nice and BIG) and ate at a Burgerrestaurant. After they dropped us off at the trainstation in the middle of nowhere and the sad goodbye ( which was hard after spending 6 weeks in this Family I really felt like a part of them and I`m so thankful that our paths have crossed each other! The Family did so much for us and I really felt at home) we had to wait 3 hours. The Station was very bare and cold. As the Train arrived I felt like Anna Karenina, entering the Train in cold Russia except I didn`t wear nice, expensive fur :D
We drove overnight, the Train was not full and I could actually sleep! Arrived in Edmonton we decided to take a cap cause the Train was late and we thought timechange blaba. Than we arrived at the Airport only to recognize, that we had more time than expected. After checking in and going through custume Service we first flew to Chicago and arrived in Newark at 22.00 pm safley but without Valeries backback and its still lost without a trace!
The first two days we were pretty optimistic and enjoyed Manhattan but now after 4 days and many phonecalls nobody has a clue where it is!

We're staying with friends of Valerie's parents in New Jersey. Everyday we drive into manhattan by train. The first day we came out of the station we just stood there and looked around, completely unaware where we are :) everything is so big and we had no clue where to go first! We end up walking to Times Square, through Central Park and visited the Guggenheim museum! When we finally come home we where exhausted and for me definitely too many people in Manhattan ! I mean we just came from Lumsden with around 2.000 inhabitants to New York ...I was still in farmmodus and after the first day I didn't really like it! I don't know why....but now after 4 days with more sightseen like ground zero , Moma, bus tour, Brooklyn  ....New York takes you by the hand and you just go with the flow. Everywhere are lights and something new to discover. I still don't know if I like it here more or at a farm in the nature! But I realized how wasteful and Shopping addicted our society is and how long I haven't been shopping and that I don't really need something xD 

My highlights so far were the Empire State Building at night and the not existing queue in front of it ( it was actually quite empty up there not like I thought full of tourists ) and the walk over the Brooklyn bridge towards the manhattan skyline at twilight ! These pictures I'll never forget!! 

Let`s go hunting! :D

Cleaning like a real farmer ! :D

Rendezvous with Nuzzle :D

On top of the Empire State building

 

Walk over Brooklyn Bridge

Lower Manhattan

 

Times Square

A Dream came True...

Today we're exactly one month at the Labrash family farm and a lot of things have happened in this time! First of all...these few weeks let me grow a lot as a person! I experienced and did so many different and new things, learned a lot about farming,crafting and most important about myself.And I had a lot of fun, of course :D
We really feel like we`re a part of the Family now and I think it`ll be really hard to say goodbye when we`ll leave in about 1 weeks to continue our trip!
Last week was also the last time that we delivered baskets. Also a French couple joined us and Snowy, the rabbit died, in the first night we had snow!!! Kind of sarcastic. Snowy died in the snow ^^ Now days getting shorter and the temerature rarley climbs over 10°C. Last night it was -13°C!!! But we had our first Canadian snow...in October!!! yay!!! haha :D I was so excited when Justin came running in and yelled, "its snowing!!". I ran out like a Little kid^^ The sad Thing is, its time to get out my winterjacket :( And I have already Christmas Feelings. weird lol xD
Oh and thanksgiving is only 2 weeks ago. It wasn`t like I imagined it, cause they had to butcher chickens and we worked a lot to finish the garden ( and we did it), but we had a nice big meal with the Family and the grandparents stayed with us and Valerie and me made Food :) I think we`ll be awesome Cooks when we come back ;)
Another Thing I learned I can do quite well or at least I tried it and I didn`t fail, is welding!I don`t think I have ever done so much "manly" work than here xD Its actually nice to try things out, which you don`t usually do and eventually you find something you`re good at ;) We`re not finished yet, cause we wanna weld a table to force! yep, I`m going to be a blacksmith ! Its so cool, that they have all the Tools for that! It can´t get boring here.
Last week I also had a Kind of disturbing dream. It was butchering time again and we helped them set up everything and getting ready, which included catching the chickens! So we carried them, Holding them at the feed,head down! As I did it , I was totally concentrated and I just said to myself, that this is a challenge for me! And as Long as I was outside I was fine! I was Kind of in Trance, I think but as soon as I got into the hoouse, away from the butchering Scenario, I suddenly felt dizzy and weak. I think its not normal for a vegetarian to carry the chickens to their last stop in live and I did realize that after and I felt horrible! I wanted to cry but at the same time the whole butchering process and how they care about the chickens made me think about "being vegetarian" and I was so confused the whole day! And then in the night I dreamed about helping them butchering chickens and that I cut the chicken`s heads! I didn´t feel uncomfortable or something in my dream but it wasn`t a nice Feeling either. It was Kind of normal in my dream. But when I woke up I had a weird Feeling. I believe it was the second butcheringweekend and I still couldn`t watch the process and then I dreamed about it?!?!? Over the week I forgot about it and then the last Weekend came! The French couple have already joined us and we were helping them again the only Thing was, that I REALLY helped them! It just went so fast. I helped them set up the Trailer and in the next second I stood in it and waited for the first DEAD chicken to come inside. I can`t describe my Feelings but something definetley felt totally wrong for me. I had a huge fight inside me but in the end cuoriosity and my attitude, that you should try everything out won and I had my whole Hand inside a dead chicken, pulling out the kidneys! And then there was the smell! Next to me Lorriane and Laureen pulled out the guts and after that I got the chickens to check if really everything is out.I tried to see the positive side and the anatomy is actually really interessting^^ The atmosphere was nice and everybody was joking. I Kind of displace the fact that outside chickens were dying and it was just work for me. After a while I Feld comfortable enough to go outside and I actually could watch the process of cutting the heads off and its really gross but not as bad as I thought! I think I watched too many Horrormovies xDBut then they came with some Turkeys and they butcher them in a different way! Turkeys are bigger and stronger so they couldn`t put them upsidedown in the cupes like with the chickens, Wes had to sit on them to hold it and Justin cut the head off! And the way the blood splashed out of the necks...it looked like in a movie!It was horrible but interessting! I actually challenged myself with Holding Justins Hand while he cut the heads! ( I guess Something is terribly wrong with you when you`re a vegetarian and like horrormovies at the same time!!) I still don´t feel good about it but I think you have to experience it if you`re a meat eater! I know it sounds weird that a vegetarian writes this and the whole experience...it didn`t Change my mind quite but I really think different now about eating meat. These chickens had a nice life and animals eat animals......but I still didn`t eat or touch a Piece of meat. But I definetely learned a lot about myself!
And now there are no chickens left....except the laying hens and some Turkeys!
The day after we all felt like doing nothing, so Wes and Justin took us for a Canoe ride and I think Valerie and me surprised them with our Canoeskills :P mmh well after a while we were really good I think and we were massively proud of us haha xD Even it was just above 0°C we enjoyed it and felt really Canadian^^
A few days ago Justin got 4 new bunnys, not for a pet but for butcher them and I think that is too much! We rebuilded the old chickenbarn into a bunnycage and now they live there till its time for them....thankfully we`re not here then!! It was definetely too much death experience so far.

Today we butchered the last 14 turkeys and after that we cleaned the barn...that was literally the most shitty job ever ^^ but now chores aren't that long anymore :P

Oh and we Went Curling last Friday which was fun and actually it's not that hard as it looks like :D

The first snow :)

   

the last Turkeys

 

harvesting potatoes :)

some of the chickens xD

Canoeing

Valerie,me and Justin

catching chickens

my Hand is in a chickens butt!!!!

the last vegetable baskets
 

and last I didn`t want to withhold my Lasso skills....I don`t know how I did that :D