ah ha! the long await. new post. but there will be delay.

Back!In a flash.
BOOM!
ok.
So it has been a few days since I last posted anything. I have gotten a little sloppy, I am sorry.
Let me up date what has happended to me in the last week.
-got malaria-did not eat for about 5 days-realized i am getting super duper skinny-got better-went back to work on Thursday and Friday we had awesome irrigation training sessions-learned a whole lot about irrigation and have planned an awesome activity about irrigation for back in canada with the chapter-weekend hit, life slowed down again. started to realize how lonely life is here-church again on sunday, starting to get used to the things that go on there. feel little bit better about it.
So the last few days I have been hurting to have real connections or conversations here. I feel very lonely at times and although my family and kate talk on a somewhat regular basis I can't help but feel alone due to the lack of human interactions. It gets hard at times when you don't really have serious conversations because of language barries, lack of understanding, intimidation (thus leading to people not really talking to you but just answering your questions, I feel as if I am interrogating people 80% of the time when I really just want to talk) or some people just make friendships in order to get your money then stop talking to you (this has happened twice, its a bummer. people have befriended me only to end up asking for money which i do out of sympathy. then our friendship suddenly stops, no calls, no more hangouts, i feel pretty pissed. i will not be lending out anymore money, fuck that).
Anyway thats my biggest shock right now.
Other than lack of interactions with friends here (I have good connections with others, mom/dad/julia, madavine, katy, sk8..thank you all for keeping me company when i really need you. it helps alot) things are going well. I am starting to get a better understanding of work. I spoke with my boss about the problems I was having with work which then lead to a awesome discussion about marketing where I get some really good details on what I can be working on. This has lead me to look into working with the buyer's side of marketing and creating a stronger relationship with a giant farm here called Stravendale.
Stravendale acts like a middle man who buys produce from rural farmers and then re sells it to large markets. This farm is really great because they WANT to help small scale farmers by doing all sorts of great things for them such as free transportation, training and input for exotic produce (here lettuce is exotic) and very good prices. Stravendale does not impose any restrictions on them (they even pay when they get the produce, unlike most other large middlemen who pay 14 days later) but the only thing they ask for large quantites so that it makes it worth doing all these things for them. This is were the struggle is coming in because farmers have not been able to produce exactly what Stravendale needs. But this is not a dead end, there are options such as group bulking, where many farmers get together that have grown the same crop and sell it together to the farmer. All they have to do it coordinate they grow scheduales (is it that easy? we will see).
I have learned all this only from my boss and their previous experience with the farm. I am going to meet with the ministry of agriculture and the farm in the coming weeks to get a better understanding of their side of the story (and then hopefully speak to the farmers who participated before but where unsuccessful in the eyes of Stravendale to get their side too). I hope in the next months that I will be able to forge a better connection and get some farmers hooked up with these guys again.
But today is a big day too! I am leaving for a village stay and shall not return until Sunday or so. I will be in a place called South Downs where I will experience the cabbage harvest! I have no clue what to expect and I am kinda nervous but hell, why not, this is what this whole summer is all about. Getting nervous and seeing/doing new things.
I will post again soon my friends. Along with many overdue and far dates photos.Promise.
Love you all,
Take care.
Tony.
(i couldnt have gotten this far without you)