Update

Friday the 8th of January my trip to go travelling, started again. I took the plane, a single way to Sicily. I would stay one night in Catania, before heading to Carruba. The Agora hostel, was the place to be, I met Valentina straight away. A young woman from Sicily, who went shopping in the big city and overnight in Catania, before getting back home.
Valentina showed me the city at night and we ate dinner together. Dinner at 21.45PM. Totally normal, maybe even to early. (lol)
My first dinner in Sicily was macaroni with shrimps, grilled vegetables and 2 horse meatballs. I was stuffed, but it was good.
Before going to bed at 01.00AM we had a look at the lava cave and the streaming river, that' s situated down under the restaurant next door.
The restaurant was busy with locals, standing outside the restaurant, having a laugh, a drink, a smoke, a bite, a chat and listening to the music.

The next morning Valentina and I hang out again. We walked over the fish market, where only man, sale their fresh, living fish. Next stop was the fruit market, the Cathedral and the ruins of the Theater.
At 13.00PM we said goodbye and my journey to Carruba started....................................... 25 minutes later by train, I was there! In the middle of nowhere, kinda.....

Guido the son of the farmer, picked me up. 3 minutes later we were at the apartment. It wasn't even worthwhile to get in the car, but I guess in Sicily it' s the same as in Australia. If you have a car, you should use it.
The apartment is 3 high, with a beautiful view of 360 degrees. 70 steps up and 70 steps down. It doesn't change day by day. ;=). If I step out of our kitchen, onto the balcony, then I can see the Etna and on the other side there is the sea. In between the terrace, I can see the other apartments.

For 3 weeks I had a Japanese house/workmate, now i' m home alone!
My Japanese housemate and I cycled every morning for 3 weeks tot he farm, situated in Tre Punti. It' s about 4 to 5km away. At 08.20 in the morning it starts easy, but then the last 2 km is hard as hell. Really every day is a struggle in gear 1. Going home around 16.00PM is easy as hell. When we arrive at the farm, Bianca the dog is waiting for us. I give her a paddle and a bright new day starts. The work variant a lot.

Cutting off small branches from bamboosticks with a wooden tool, to cutting off the top and make the bottom end sharp with an axe, to stick it easier into the ground. Using the axe was pretty hard, in the beginning I missed like 5 times. So my axe got stuck in the tree trunk, it was really heavy to get it out again. It' s like a fairy tale, where you have to get the sword out of the ground, and you won't succeed.

An other job is to pick up the branches from the pruned olive trees. The branches who they would not use for the firewood. So picking them up and throwing them on a pile. Then I had to climb up the pile, with a woodenboard and I had to jump on it, so we could put more branches on top of it. It sounds easy, but it's finding your balance and try to not fall down, because it' s not a pleasure at all. Spiky branches in your ass yoehoe!!!

Bending branches and knot them to one and another is also a job. Why knotting and bending, because then more fruits will grow. So either prune and cut, or bend and knot.

The work is from 09.00 to 14.00. Then at 14.00 we have a massive lunch. Lunch mostly always start with pasta and then the second round comes. Bread with a salad on the side and potatoes, fish, meat, anything but pasta. And last, but not least we have fruit. Fruits out of their own garden. Fruits from all around the world.

My Japanese housemate gave me the compliment, that I was the best worker out of 5 he worked with. Asian Power, I said (gna gna ;=) )

The beach is 5 minutes away from the apartment. Imagine this white cloud above your head. You're at the beach with soft white sand going through your feet. The lovely sun is out and your lying in your bathing suit with a cocktail in your hand. Are you having the picture in your head??
If you can' t imagine it. STOP READING. I' m serious! Today is not the day for you to read my story.

So if you have the image in your head and your dreaming away...........................................................................then sadly I have to disappoint you hahahahaha.
The beach is hard as stone. Literally a stony beach with some garbage in between and it was bloody cold the day I went. So instead of my swimming suit, I had 3 layers on and a nice scarf around my neck and of course a cup of tea afterwards hahahah. I' m so spoiling the moment, anyway it was a different scenery of a beach, but I loved it. And it remained me of Birdlingsflat in New Zealand.

Several times a week the electricity falls out, so also one morning when I dressed myself under the blankets, like a 5-year old. I' m 28 by the way haha. so in the evening I saw that I worked the entire day with my underwear in the wrong order and with my top inside out. I'll never learn!

One day when I was working someone suddenly throw a brance at me. Kiekeboe!! There was nonna (Grandmother of Guido) on the other side of the bricks, so from my point of view, the neighbours haha. She was telling me things in Sicilian language, but non capisco! This woman of 84, who is busy and can't sit still and squeezes freshly orange juice every day before lunchtime. She was acting like a little child, when she decided to go over the fence, to pick up fruits at the neighbours. I won't tell a thing! The mandarins were lovely!

For Sicilian people lunch is the most important meal of the day. They drink wine and eat always bread with it. If there's no bread on the table, then no one starts eating.

Sicilian people definitely don't drive hands free, they are the worst so far with leaving rubbish/garbage behind in nature. (I have to close my eyes, where every I go)

One day after work, we went to the conforama store. a huge supermarket. I saw a bar of chocolate with pistachio, but the package was damaged and it was the last one, so I skipped the chocolate department. But wandering around the store, advertisement got me and I wanted that chocolate bar, but that single chocolate bar was gone. Really?? In those few minutes I was gone someone had taken it!?
You know what??
At the counter, when I picked up my housemates products, there it was the one and only chocolate pistachio bar with the damaged package hahaha.

On the 25th of January my sister' s birthday, my alarm went biep biep biep at 05.50 in the morning.
I' ll not win the beauty pageant in the morning, but eh i'm up and well to go to work! From monday the 25th we would pick lemons on a different farm property. Another random garden, but this time with lemon trees. A job that started at 07.00 till around 14.30 a week long. It was an interesting job, but an attempting suicide is nothing compare to the marks and scratches I had on my arms. The spikes go straight through your clothes. You don't even notice.
Any way I finally did, what I loved the most on Vlieland and that's picking fruits hahahah. This time legally!!!

One night, a normal wednesday night. Maximo a guy we picked lemons with, took my housemate and I to Catania. It was so busy on the road, people come to life after 5pm. CRAZY! He took us to a shotbar, who I can't remember the name of course. 3 shots in a row, Lisa would be damn proud of me hahahaha. Before a gin-tonic and after some food. It was a fun night out, with 5 hours sleep when at 05.50 my alarm went off again. A brand new day of picking lemons started!!!

Well people, for now this was it, I tried to make it as short as I could, but there' s still so much to tell you, but that' s for another time.

Mom I hope you're proud of me, because trust me, I left so much out of it!!! hahahaha

People who want to e-mail me my working e-mail address is limkai87@gmail.com!!

Hope you enjoyed reading and see you soon!!!