Adventure at Home: My First WWOOFing Experience [Part 1 of 2]
One Man’s Dream is Another Man’s Inspiration
A couple of years ago, I went out to grab drinks with a close friend of mine named Miguel. He and I were friends from college who ended up working as software developers for the same company post-graduation. He had just been promoted to a senior position, something I was proud but slightly envious of, and we got on the topic of life and ambitions.
“Nico”, he confided in me, “I have this dream of stepping away from it all and working on a farm for a bit. Y’know, do something more down to earth. Software development is cool and all but I want to do something more tangible for a time.” Miguel peered off in the distance, as if imagining it for himself.
I took a sip of my beer and nodded. I had just transferred to a new division within the company and wasn’t looking to make any drastic life changes myself. I had some gripes about my previous position and was optimistic about my new one. But I could sympathize with his perspective.
“Well, I hope you get to realize that dream. Maybe I’ll do the same some day.”
Ever since that conversation, Miguel’s dream had stuck with me. Over the years, I too caught myself having a drink with a friend, peering off in the distance, and imagining myself chopping imaginary wood or tending to an imaginary garden.
It wasn’t until a few years later that I was introduced to a program called WWOOF. And it was soon after that I found myself chopping non-imaginary wood and tending to a non-imaginary garden in the mountains of North California.
Wait, what’s a WWOOF? 🐶
WWOOF stands for World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. It’s a homestay program geared to individuals with an interest in farming, gardening, homesteading, and other agriculture-related disciplines. It also has a secondary goal of promoting cultural and educational exchange.
WWOOFing is unique in that there is no exchange of money. Instead, the host provides free food and lodging in exchange for work around the farm (the expectation is around 20 hours a week). This makes it a convenient option for budget travelers or those looking to garner experience without any upfront cost. Or people like me, who just want to do something different.
There are also no binding contracts: WWOOF is simply a platform to match volunteers (“WWOOFers“) with hosts. If you find the hosts or accommodations or work disagreeable, you can simply leave. The platform operates on a review system where WWOOFers and hosts can rate each other, so this tends not to happen too often.
Due to a sudden change of plans, I found myself with two weeks free around Thanksgiving. I took this as an opportunity to make my dream a reality. I signed up for WWOOF USA and searched for hosts with immediate availability.
Enter Jim and Sharon Lieberman, affectionately known as…
The Lieby’s
My initial correspondence with the Lieby’s started with a questionnaire. I wrote them a long-winded response detailing who I was, how I recently quit my job as a software developer, and how I was new to WWOOFing but eager to learn.
Jim had this to say:
Dear Nico,
This all looks good. I was talking with a friend the other day as we handed out food to poor folks at the local food pantry, both complaining about programmers and capitalists and you looked like both! We want to hang programmers up by their toes and do all kinda nasty things back to them! You sound great, though!`
Hah! I could tell we were going to get along.
Seriously, I like what you say here and hope we can supply what you are looking for. Mostly, we’ll be cutting and stacking firewood, maybe a little garden work. Jian, a Korean woman around your age, will be starting her WWOOFing stint the week before.
I appreciated his willingness to take me on with such short notice. I also appreciated I would have a fellow WWOOFer present. This sounded like the perfect foray into WWOOFing.
Unexpectedly, Jim finished with the following note:
You said you’re new to guitar? Bring it. I’d be happy to give you some lessons, if you like.
And so it was with that I set off to California, guitar safely tucked in the back seat of my car.
Arrival
I pulled into Jim and Sharon’s homestead in the late afternoon after two days of driving. The ridge surrounding the property blocked the winter sun, giving the appearance that it was almost nighttime. An elderly man in worn jeans and a hoodie stepped out of the woodshed to greet me.
“You must be Nico. Nice to meet you.”
“You must be Jim. Nice to meet you too.”
Jim let out an outstretched hand, and I met it with a firm handshake. His hand was calloused and grooved, tempered by decades of work outside. A worker’s hand.
“Glad you made it. We were worried you had gotten lost.”
Indeed, I had been lost. I was almost an hour late and the sun set fast here in the mountains. I had been without signal for the past two hours and my GPS had taken me to the wrong location.
Luckily Jim anticipated this, and in our correspondence had attached detailed directions to his homestead from the highway. I was able to use this information to go back to the main road and find my way. This would serve as an introduction to a lesson Jim and Sharon would echo throughout my stay: never trust technology over your own wits.
“Are you hungry? Sharon and Jian are inside making dinner. I’ll show you around tomorrow morning.”
Jim showed me to the main cabin. He opened the door and made his way to his favorite spot in the house: his dining room chair.
Sharon stood perched over the stove top, tending to a chicken pesto she was making. She looked up, wooden spoon in hand, smile on her face.
“Welcome Nico! Make yourself comfortable. Dinner will be ready soon.”
She motioned to Jian, who had just finished setting the table. She and I made eye contact.
“And this is Jian. She arrived right before Thanksgiving. Her English is intermediate level, but she is improving a lot.”
Jian greeted me with a gentle smile. Anticipating this meeting, I took this as an opportunity to bust out the only Korean I knew.
“Annyeonghaseyo. Jeoneun Nico-ibnida.”
“발음이 좋으시네요, 한국어 하세요??”
“Uh…”
Jim and Sharon got a kick out of this. I’d later find out that Jian was the first Korean WWOOFer they had hosted, so they weren’t used to hearing Korean. I also imagined they laughed at my American arrogance, thinking I could make a splash with rudimentary Korean.
“Your pronunciation is good,” Jian said in clear English. “Where did you learn Korean?”
I explained that I had visited Korea two years ago. But I admitted I didn’t learn a lot of Korean because, like her, many of the Koreans I met spoke great English.
“Dinner’s ready!” Sharon announced to the group. Not a dull moment in this household.
We all sat down. Jim and Sharon put their hands together, bowed their heads, and started saying gra– ah who am I kidding, my hosts were devout atheists who had no patience for such rituals.
Jim eyed me playfully. “So Nico, have I ever told you how I hate programmers?”
And thus began the first dinner of many that went late into the night, fueled by good food, good wine, and good conversation.
Preview for Part 2:
- Zen and the Art of Log Stacking
- Everyone Should Build a House
- Lesson from a Water Tank
- Home-bound yet Homesick
Until next time.