H came to visit.  She’s a W’fer from Japan.  About mid twenties.  She’s been in Canada for ten months but has spent all her time in Campbell River.  Recently she decided that she should get out and see a bit more of the area.  So, she applied through the W’Fer organization and came here.

We are glad she did.

Pretty interesting girl.  Seems her desire is to soon go back to Japan and work her grandmother’s rice patch.  She wants to work in the fields.  H has no time for modern malls, fashion, electronics and all the rules, rules, rules of Japanese society.  She’s much more an independent thinker.  She wants to recycle, grow her own food and maybe have a goat.  She opposes nuclear power and corporate Japan. She does not desire money, status nor even full engagement in anything remotely societal.  She’s like a rebel Japanese hippy-chick except that there is no anger and she seems very grounded.  Sensible.  Smart.  Mature.  Very likable.

H, as from so many of our other ‘W’fer encounters, gives us the feeling that there is hope for the world.  Having w’fers is almost always a good experience.

H and I will go to the weekly Wednesday ‘milling about’ later this morning,  maybe do a bit of work on my boat which is up at the Q-hut and then come back later in the day and make sushi, yakisoba and gyoza for dinner.  Sal’s going to town.  She’ll bring back the sake.  Looks like a very good day is in the offing.

Tomorrow, Sal and H will gather seaweed and dirt for the garden.  I will likely drill some holes for a bit of concrete work (if my bashing hard Reddi-mix bags works).  Stick in some re-bar, wire down some mesh.  Make a frame.  The next day we may continue those two tasks or, perhaps get a bit more done on the funicular tracks.  Plus I could use some small boulders gathered and hauled.  H is strong and sturdy.  I’ll delegate the boulder-gathering to her.  And so it will go for her week here.

After her week with us, she heads off to another week somewhere else on the outer islands.  And then H will be home again in October.  And we’ll both be richer for the experience.

I like this WOOFER program.