Pedro's Adventure

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I wish I could get Pedro's perspective on this, but he's busy!  His first day of EMS on the went great. Before he got there, it was a complete mystery.  He had no idea what it would be like, and there had been plenty of stories from his fellow classmates that didn't help.  

Yesterday I helped him pack while firing questions at him, trying to figure out what he'd need. All we knew was the farm would house and feed him. We were second guessing things like towels and laundry, so we erred on the side of everything. I walked with him to the train station and made sure he got his tickets printed and got on the train. We set up video calling and turned up our ringers, then said goodbye (for two weeks). 

Pedro sent me updates periodically, letting me know he made his connection, got picked up at the station and whatnot.  Then when he was finally settled at the end of the day, he was able to give me the low-down.  The farm was way waaaay out in the country. We knew his train there was about three hours, but again, google maps was unaware of the farm's existence.  Once he was picked up, the drive to the farm was another 45 minutes, and I'm glad he at least had enough signal to talk to me.  

Then he was sending me pictures. There were rolling hills out to the horizon, huge fields separated only by small stone walls, and sheep scattered throughout. The farmhouse he is staying at is nestled between the fields, kennels full sheep dog alongside the house, and a garden out front complete with homes for the bees. He got a tour of the house and immediate areas, met several animals and got to know the couple that is hosting him, he said they treated him like visiting family.  The room Pedro is staying in has huge windows that overlook the gardens and the sky.  Apparently, there is so little light pollution out there that the stars can been seen in the millions (clouds permitting). 

His first day was busy.  The farm is on 3,500 acres, so it took them 4 hours just to check on things. Poor Pedro sent me a video at one point just panting at the final check point.  But then he had some fun on a four-wheeler with some sheep dogs herding a flock.   He video called me to show me some lambs he was bottle feeding, and I wanted to cuddle them through the phone, they were so tiny! The runt of the litter was probably just bigger than an American football. 

I could tell he was tired, but he was enjoying everything as well.  I hope the rest of the week is great too.  This Sunday marks the real start of lambing season, when the real work begins!

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