what is an english family like when they've left their home territory and come to a strange land where they don't know anyone and don't speak the language very well?
A more pertinant question in this case would be - what is an english family like when they have a 16-year-old, an awkward and typically argumentative 14-year-old, a dog, two seemingly feral pet cats, 6 llamas, 3 donkeys, a wild and untamed 4-year-old and a chicken with one leg.
It's an often asked question in some circles and the answer is usually far from satisfactory. This one will be no exception.
Things here hang together, just, even though the family currently have essentially no income. They theoretically make their money from giving llama treks through the local woods (evergreen and very beatiful), selling llama wool and renting the luxury gite they own just up the road. Unfortunately the llama trekking website is a bit cranky so they have no punters, the llamas have not yet been sheared so they have no wool, and the luxury gite up the road is actually a crumbling old hovel with no mod cons and even fewer rustic charms.
Happily, this gives us plenty to do during the days. I've been doing a host of jobs I have no qualification to do, but learning lots and doing them reasonably well. Today I sanded and scrubbed two doors, chipped plaster out of a filled rut with a screwdriver and painted some shutters. This was all accompanied by local radio playing "classic" (read "cheesy but hummable") tunes, llama shaped shortbread biscuits and frequent cups of tea. All good fun.
That's it for now. I'll give you more of my thoughts about the family another time.
Love from,
Rob
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