The Agenda

       While getting my bearings at the volunteer house, I meandered into the kitchen and found a large activity board posted on the wall.  I could see that every day except Sunday was divided into three parts, the first being at the rather unseemly hour of 6:30 to 8:30 a.m.  Before breakfast, mind you!  Yes, that's BEFORE breakfast!  And the second being from 10:00 a.m. to noon, and the third being from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Here's our first week's schedule:
       

 And here's our second week:

The first thing I noticed--and maybe the first you did too--was that these people appeared to be REALLY serious about WORK!  Imire was my fourth "volun-tourism" gig, but it was only at Moholoholo in South Africa that there was a serious "work" component.  There we had a rigorous schedule of tending to the needs of the animals we were assigned to.    But at both the Elephant Valley Project in Cambodia and Modisa in Botswana, there was really not all that much work involved.  You definitely got the impression that these places were more educational in nature, intended more to raise awareness of the natural and human issues in those areas and to raise some cash to meet the many many worthwhile needs.  This is no criticism, mind you.  The last thing I would want is to actually take jobs away from the locals.  And I am MORE than happy to make my modest monetary contribution to these incredible causes.
       But, here at Imire, we clearly had serious work to do!  Construction!  Deconstruction!  Rolling wires!  Research!   Interspersed, however, with lots of fun and instructional stuff too like horseback riding and elephant training.  I was confident it was going to be a GOOD TIME!  
       Especially when I discovered a flourishing, but very weedy, vegetable garden in the back yard.  Here it was January.  JANUARY!!!!  And I was about to be given my very own garden to tend for two whole weeks.  I could hardly wait to get my hands in the dirt.