Every Little Bit Helps: A Bit of Appreciation Not to Lose Sight Of.

On our long road trip's way to Monkey Mia, JD started to question what he was doing here in Australia and what rewards his job were giving him. Sounding a bit disheartened, I reminded him why he had applied to the company in the first place, that ultimately his concern and interests were in the reduction of energy, for the good of the environment, and that every little bit he is doing helps, even if the scale of work was different in Australia than in America. Even though the commission and the amount of energy that is being reduce is significantly lower, these Australian companies are participating in a lower-energy scheme in times of need then they usually wouldn't be without the help and advice of JD and his company, therefore making their part in relieving the power grid rather than everyone losing out all together. It’s like the probably-more-than $4 plastic bottles of water in Starbucks that donate, I don’t know, 30 cents or so to water-starved places in Africa. Even though you don’t want to pay that much, or know better than to buy another plastic bottle, every little donation is 30 cents more than they would be receiving without the customer’s help. It’s easy to lose our ways and forget about our priorities or our initial reasoning behind doing something, but generally, or hopefully, every little bit helps.

I know there are a couple reasons why I signed up to WWOOF.  One was definitely not to say, “I’m a WWOOFer,” or “I’m here WWOOFing.” OK, but seriously, one reason was a chance to live and eat “for free” in exchange for a couple hours of work each day. This also includes the chance to travel to places I might not normally go to, and meet new people within a new lifestyle in another country. Another was a chance to have a unique learning experience - whether it was learning how to make cheese on a goat farm, or herding cattle (prob not), or learning about organic farming practices, or learning about healing herbs, or being a part of a hippy community, or working on a vineyard - but in all honesty, it was a continuation of a stage I was creating for myself and another opportunity to learn hands-on, as I am a visual learner, by being a part of a production process.

(and really, in serious all honesty, it's because it gives me the chance to be able to stay in Australia for a second year, if I so desire). 

This also includes my way of understanding appreciation. I’m a firm believer that to be able to appreciate something, and to fully respect it, you really have to experience it for yourself. For example, from working in a restaurant, I understand what it’s like to be the dishwasher, to bus tables, to be in the front of the house and the back of the house. From those experiences, I have a better understanding as a customer in a restaurant for knowing why something maybe go wrong or why things go well. This gives me more patience in these circumstances because I know what it’s like to bust my ass and still have things go wrong, or the rewards from a successful, flawless night. To further the example of appreciation and understanding, as I see it, it also means that I may not know what my mother and father went through raising us, until I’m a parent myself. That doesn’t mean that I don’t appreciate them, it just means I can’t fully realize the decisions and choices they made until I am forced to be in that position to make them myself (don't laugh Jess.) I can only hope I can be so good, but I have no idea what it’s like right now. If that makes sense. Anyone that knows me knows that I absolutely adore my parents. And anyone that Really knows me, knows that when I say adorable, I mean it. Stemming from that, I wanted to WWOOF to make this exchange experience a way that I can fully appreciate food/wine by being a part of it’s production from start to finish to understand how its made from a hands on experience rather than just eating/drinking or reading from a textbook (HA! Should I say website? UNISG get your act together)

In terms of appreciation, so far, I have done a lot of manual labour. It’s line work. Repetitive. Almost mindless. I say almost mindless because you’re repeatedly doing the same thing over and over again and it’s easy for the mind to wonder, but actually it’s really imperative to keep up with the work and pay attention. "make attention, people." One pause or change of pattern and the work will fall behind. But this experience will (hopefully) ultimately lead to an appreciation for the work that goes into making wine.

Because it’s still new, I’m still in the excitement mode of the novelty of the process, despite the aches and pains throbbing throughout my body from literally the cramping of my fingers to the blisters on my ankles. The reason for this post is that I was thinking today of the advice I gave JD in the car, and because of all this grueling-tiring-intensive-manual-labour work, I hope I don’t lose sight of the reason(s) behind why I’m here and don’t lose the sense of excitement that I currently have. But I know it’s not a job that I will be doing forever, and that makes it tolerable to endure and manageable with an end in sight (It’s still new, let’s not even begin to think or talk about what comes next after this). 

I sometimes think, as I’m packing bottle after bottle into a box, or picking through grapes, what am I doing this work for when I have a great education, a wonderful background, and a lot to offer. Why am I not sitting in an office like everyone else? Why can’t I be normal? What am I doing here and with my life? But I think about the hands-on education that I am gaining that not many people have: whether it is learning about the in’s and out’s life and work of a winery, the dedication and hard work of the people behind it (especially a family-run estate), the little details no one thinks about as they are drinking or ordering wine based on prices and labels, or just being a part of the process, I appreciate it, and I hope I don’t lose sight of that. I know I don’t have any obligation to stay here, maybe a sense of pride not to give up and no other current option to leave to, but I hope, and I think, that the hard work will pay off and if anything else, the sore body parts will turn into shapely muscles that have never been used before ("heyyy sexy fingers"). Every little bit helps.

So next time you’re in the wine store or "bottle shop" buying a case of wine for your dinner party, or for your Tuesday night on the couch, think about the person who is putting the wine into the boxes, minding the cardboard apparitions, and appreciate it.  Because, I know, now that I have been a part of it, I will.