Saturday we woke up and shook off the night before and jumped on a bus to our host's house in Cadalso de los Vidrios. The small town is about an hour and a half drive by bus West of Madrid. The drive was beautiful, lots of hills and agriculture flying by the window. This place reminds me a lot of the Texas Hill country (I said this several times and Aldo told me to stop because it was ruining the experience for him, hahaha).
We got off the bus and were instantly spotted by Maria, our host. We exchanged formalities and jumped in her car to head to the "finca," or farm house. On the way she talked about herself and listened to our stories from the D.R. She is originally from Finland and met her husband, Houston, while studying at Texas Tech.
We pulled up to the house and unloaded our backpacks. Houston came out and once again we exchanged our information. He is half-American but was born and raised in Spain. He and Maria built their house from scratch and the place is virtually self-sufficient. There is also another American, Emma, volunteering here with us over these two weeks.
Over a dinner of carrot soup and pork, we talked about the house and our expected duties. Houston installed solar panels and a wind generator to supply the house's electricity. The only living expenses they have besides food is 22 Euros a year on propane! They are looking to grow their own food, so soon their cost of living will be even less. The house is small but comfortable, and the meals are delicious.
Sunday through Thursday we put in hours of work on some projects that Houston needs accomplished. We split firewood, cleaned up around the house, demolished a concrete slab, dug into a greenhouse excavation, and mixed concrete. Yesterday, Houston let us try our hand at laying bricks for his new water storage tanks. We are learning a lot about sustainability and green living. The schedule is flexible and we can choose what work we want to do. After lunch we get to take a "siesta" then keep working until the sun goes down.
The independent feeling is very welcome. No ties to phones, computers, TVs, or anything else that most people value more than silence and nature. The food is awesome (for some reason I finally enjoy eating the foods that I pushed away as a kid, mainly vegetables), and the fellowship is even better.
Now we are in Madrid for the weekend, trying to find something unique to do until Sunday. The internet cafe won't let me upload pictures so they will wait for another day. Expect a post next weekend when we get to a city again. Until then, we will be enjoying our peace and feelings of accomplishment!
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