Getting to play with all of the animals!
The Glauser family lives in the village of Cordast on a big farm. They have nearly 2,000 pigs, 12 chickens, a few cats and their newly adopted creature, me. I have suited up a few times to join my host dad in the barns to see the piggies. Let me tell you... They are stinky. I have watched him assist with the birth of piglets and have been able sit and hold the cute little new borns.
We have been celebrating a lot of birthdays recently. Other the past few weekends we have been house hopping for the celebrations and I have met almost all of the family! Most of the families are farmers and they all live on different types of farms so it has been very exciting for me to go and see all sorts of farm animals. My host aunt and uncle have a bunch of cows and my host grandparents have an apple orchard. It is so cool having the opportunity to be apart of this family and seeing how local farming works in this community.
Most of the food that we eat is local and I love that I can go and visit the farms where the animals are being raised and the food growing. I will admit that I was shocked the first time I went into the cellar and there was a dead pig hanging from the ceiling to cure but I have developed a great appreciation for knowing exactly where the meat I eat is coming from. There is a farm where my host mom Doris likes to get our fresh produce. You can walk into the gardens and pick your produce right out of the ground! They also have a stand with produce ready to grab & go and other locally sourced goodies like honey, syrups, meats & cheeses.
I like to ride my bike around the village. It is a good way to be able to explore all of the little spur roads. As I bike past all of these lands my nose can barely keep up. The different smells that come from riding past cow pastures to horse fields, orchards and wheat fields, the list goes on but it is so exciting to me. I know when I am getting towards the house because the smell of the pigs is like no other. But it's growing on me. It is starting to smell like home.