Street: So, you’re an intern. What are you doing? Catherine Darin: I’m WWOOFing [working with World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms] on a farm on the Big Island. I do a lot of weeding, and taking care of animals, and feed chickens, sheep, dogs, cats…and I water plants. Just whatever needs to be done — the work never really stops.
Street: Where are you staying? CD: I’m in a tent, actually. I have an inflatable mattress pad! The town is called Hawi, and [it’s] kind of small and rural.
Street: How did they prepare you for the farm life? Was there any training? CD:We weren’t really in contact beforehand, they were just like, “Make sure you have a tent,” and “Come here on this day, we’ll pick you up at the airport.” So I was like, “Oh my God, where am I going … I’ve only Skyped with these people before.” Everything was fine but like coming here I thought, “This could turn out horribly, what if these people are bad people, or what if this is a scam?” I would have been left in Hawaii totally alone.
Street: Luckily you made it! What’s been the most fun? CD: I like doing things with my hosts, they’re these old hippies and they’re very spiritual. They’re just really fun to work with — they do a lot of meditation. There’s also this older couple, and the older woman, her name is Natalie, shows me around the herb garden. She’ll point out every single herb and explain it to me. There’s this one herb called lemon balm and literally every day she tells me that it’s good for treating herpes.
Street: What? CD: Yeah, she talks all the time about how it’s really good for herpes…she’s this 70 year old lady.
Street: What is your favorite animal on the farm? There’s this one sheep — it’s a girl, her name is Rory. I think her mother abandoned her. She was bottle fed, so she loves people. Even if I’m really far away, she’ll run up and start baa-ing at me.
Street: Are there any animals that you don’t like? CD: I don’t like the chickens—they’re kind of gross to feed. The other day, actually, I was feeding the chickens and I got stuck in the coop for 15 minutes because I closed the door and I wasn’t sure how you get out. Eventually I found this little string that you pull but it was funny being stuck. There was no one really nearby…
Street: How intensive is it? CD: I have to work 30 hours a week, but it’s all an honor system, and I can do it whenever I want. So at the end of the week, I’ll be like “Monday I weeded from 9 to 11, and then I fed the animals from 2 to 3” and we add it up.
Street: What are you most looking forward to for the rest of the internship? CD: I’m excited to harvest pineapples in a few weeks, and for more of the fruit to grow. Right now it’s a lot of greens. I eat a lot of the produce here…and I’m excited for more people to come.
Street: What’s the food like? CD: A lot of greens and coconut milk. There’s a lot of coconut milk here. Like for lunch I went to the garden and I picked some kale and broccoli, and I sautéed that in coconut milk. A lot of vegetables, a lot of quinoa — everyone on this island is gluten free, dairy free, soy free…you’ll talk to an 18 year old guy, he’ll be like “Oh yeah, I’m really into eating healthy.”
Street: What do you do when you’re not working? CD: I’ve only been here two weeks and I’ve met some really cool people, but I want to do more adventures and hikes…find some secluded beaches, that kind of thing.
Street: Would you recommend this program? CD: It definitely depends what type of person you are. A lot of people, especially at Penn, would be like “WHAT is this?” because it’s very slow-paced, there’s not a million things going on. But it’s definitely a very reflective place, and you get dirty. I’ll take a shower and five minutes later I’ll be muddy. It’s impossible to stay clean here. You can’t not like dirt, or bugs. There are rats here…there are some cockroaches, and some pretty gross bugs, and you just kind of have to get used to it or realize that it’s just part of nature.
Street: What do you miss most? CD: I miss a real bed. We don’t really have any comfortable places to sit or lie down… I miss couches.
