Girl on a gap year in a city full of students with a lively music scene. Jamming. She must be sitting 'round a campfire with a guitar/violin/djembe/etc or at least longingly staring at the people who can actually play these instruments, right?
Wrong.
A few days ago I joined a some people from a volunteer group to harvest the fruits of a local tree. The greengages (a very sweet kind of plum) on the bottom branches were picked with a long stick with a small net on the end. Then something wonderful happened: I was asked to climb up the tree and pick the rest of the fruit by hand. (I usually get disdainful looks from the 'grownups' when I'm Climbing trees and loving it.) I made my way up to the top with a bag strapped to my chest, and I filled it to the brim, taking a short break every now and then to gobble up a gage or two. Then I relieved the tree of the last of its burden by shaking the branches, cascading the others and the large piece of plastic they were holding out in sweet sticky green goodness.
Later that week we gathered at the home of one of the volunteers and turned the greengages into even sweeter jam, Bach playing in the background. I made another friend that night, who talked passionately about midwifery. Or more specifically, how much she loved her job as a Doula, a woman who assists mothers-to-be during birth. As you can probably imagine, I was very surprised to hear that she was 18!
I got home with several jars of delicious jam and a lot more appreciation for organic, homemade food and Bach, and a new friend :)
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| Greengages |
