Circle of Life

A training session on Mini

This is a fuzzy pic of Eric the donkey!

Okay, I am trying out a new way of life: simple, relaxed, completely uncomplicated, which for me is really hard because I am by nature an overthinking, silly and ridiculous girl.

On the road to Tocchi there is an abundance of wild berry bushes that no one takes care of. They are coming into bloom and the blackberries are so ripe, sweet and delicious. Every time I go down that road I stop and eat a few. They are usually dusty and hot from the sun, but somehow amazingly refreshing. I spend the next few minutes after passing the bushes picking seeds out of the grooves of my teeth. Tuscan blackberries, wild Tuscan blackberries…they bring great joy to my life, and I can’t even really say why…I just love eating them on that dusty road, on that part of the ride. I never fail to smile in complete enjoyment. I wish I could package the experience and ship it home.

I also wish I could package and send home the experience of donkey’s braying at 3:18 in the morning. Just before leaving for Switzerland, Vittorio brought us a bunch of baby donkeys to train. Well, four – two males, and two females. We have named them Poncho, Ewic, Galena, and Ducky, bringing us to a total of 6 donkeys when you include Rusty and Tonka. Oh donkeys. Donkeys are social, and putting them in individual stalls helps them bond to us, but causes a lot more vocal rukus. Ewic is not your typical donkey, he is a bohemian donkey, complete with a little beard. Our socializing attempts are relatively successful, as in…Claire has been kicked once, and no donkeys have gotten loose. Fortunately we have thirty one pages about how to train a donkey, so we should be experts by the end of the summer. I almost feel inspired of how to become famous…they have dog whisperers, and they have horse whisperers…maybe I could become Tracie the Donkey Whisperer this summer and then sell my fantastic technique!

Remember Giovanni the Pig Chef from 4th of July? Well, I guess he was in need of more pig. The night we got back from Switzerland Giovanni pulled out his gun and pointed it at a mother boar, which was right in front of Agatha and Tosca (two of the horses). Claire yelled “Don’t shoot the…” and before she could finish her sentence there was a loud BANG, the boar was no longer standing. They dragged her away and buried her in our straw in the barn. What?! I know crazy right? So for a day and a half we had a dead boar in the hay barn underneath the straw. I wonder if Disney had any inspiration like this when he had “Circle of Life” written for Lion King.

Since getting back from our vacation, life on the farm is…well, typical La Ripa. Kitchen ants have replaced the flies, lizards now decorate our window screens on random occasions, our shower still leaks, and the stove still randomly leaks gas. Side note: When you light a gas stove after it’s been leaking, it tends to have an explosive type reaction to the match. I am convinced that if I don’t die from the horses, metal in our water, or our stove nearly burning my hand off, then I will certainly die from some other cause, duh! Hay bales still have more personality than I thought possible, providing opportunities to laugh as we try to move them with our hands, feet, and elbows. They are a great playground, a great climbing wall.

In the last two weeks I have had three awesome Mass experiences. First was on August 15 for Holy Day. Mass was being held in Tocchi at their Chiesa (Church) and afterwards Padre showed me some frescoes behind the sacristy that were over 600 years old! They were so super cool to see, a hidden little treasure in the hills of Italy. On August 16, the Palio was going on, so I had to find my own transportation to Mass. Taking a look around, and with Claire’s help, we stepped back in time, back to the days of no cars. I rode to Mass. My sturdy steed carried away to meet my savior! It was fun, and I laughed at it, I enjoyed it, and yet, despite my wishes to live in the horse and carriage days…I am a modern day girl and have a greater appreciation for the speed of cars. Getting there by horse is one hour one way (short way), plus tack up and untack time versus ten minutes by car. Crazy. Yesterday I went to Mass in San Lorenzo at a simple church with only six pews, white stone walls and one small crucifix. I have noticed here in Italy that sometimes the simple churches take my breath away more than the glamorously decorated churches. It is true, less can be more. I walked away from Mass with the Holy Spirit in my heart…a breath of fresh air!

Lessons of the week:
- Italian commercials are so ridiculous they make my ridiculousness look normal
- Through all the laughs, adventures, tears, and fun I think of home a lot and take time to appreciate the blessings in my life. It is true, I am living a dream, an opportunity that I am incredibly blessed to have. I have found many challenges along the way, of how to be more independent, to rely on my own common sense (yes, I do have it!), to persevere in difficult situations when I want to sit on the ground and cry. I have found appreciation for communicating through body language and facial expressions, for ovens, fast food, Target, cars, milkshakes…for luxuries that I do not have here. Wishing that I had more clothes with me, or that I could just go for a ten minute drive to get toothpaste, or being hungry because we can’t cook anything when our stove is broken has given me the opportunity to appreciate my life, to reflect on what life might be like in a poorer country (not just visiting, but living there). To offer the times I don’t feel human or feminine up in prayer for those who don’t even have a choice to shower or brush their hair, or look in a mirror, to embrace their humanity is an honor and opportunity I never expected to have. I guess in being dirty nearly 24/7, and eagerly awaiting a room with no dirt on the floor and clean sheets has increased my appreciation for amenities available to me in America. In Peru, I remember the look on a little girl’s face after we washed her hair (it was matted and looked as if no one had touched in months, I think it had been months, we had to cut out her hair tie). I am starting to get a small understanding of what it might have felt like. Some days I feel so unfeminine wearing the same clothes, dirt tan lines and dirty hair (I can and do wash it, but its gross again within 12 hours). I don’t mind it too much, and it is not miserable, in fact I am lucky to have free rent, to have a mirror, a table, chairs, a bed, couch, running water, refrigerator and now a paycheck and food provided. I am blessed to have a shower available and an opportunity to work internationally. It is often tempting to complain, but in the large scheme of the world, of the economy, I have nothing to complain about. God is with me, I have food, shelter, family, friends, and faith. I panic a lot about my future, the idea of a career, its easy to stress about what will happen when I get home…very easy. But at least I have a home to go home to, friends to laugh with, family to share life with, and a God who won’t lead me astray.
- Yelling out loud will not stop bugs buzzing in your ears on trail rides