My experience living simply

This past summer, I spent one month living and working on an organic farm just outside of Granada, Spain. I lived with very limited technology, and I loved every moment of it. I went through a program called World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms, or WWOOF for short. In exchange of working on their organic farm for 6 hours a day, 6 days a week, the farm managers provide you with free room and board. This particular farm was high up in the Sierra Nevadas and very isolated. On a typical day, we woke up very early to cultivate crops, make and eat lunch together, and then go back to work until mid afternoon. We then had free time to do anything ranging from mountain biking, hiking, running, rock climbing, swimming in the lake, kayaking, and star gazing until a late dinner meal that was also eaten all together. The only means of electricity was a generator that they used very sparingly. It was put on for only a few hours every night to watch a movie together or to use a specific appliance after a work day.  This meant that they didn’t have the resources to have a refrigerator and we ate mostly vegetarian meals using crops we grew. We composted all of our food scraps and reused and recycled most and produced very little waste. Their carbon footprint is completely neutral and their lives are completely happy. We had no access to the internet and had to drive or walk to the nearest small town for service to make phone calls, or to pay for a computer at an internet café.

            I would say that I am normally very connected to the internet and social networking, as well as texting multiple people at once. But as soon as I stepped foot on the farm, I felt I was completely in my element. I do all those activities they had to offer during my spare time normally, in between my busy schedule of school and work. I never felt like I wanted to check my facebook page, nor had a desire to see what other people were up to. I was very happy living that lifestyle, and kept in touch with my family and a few friends every couple of days via a phone call. I had so many lovely distractions around me, and I love working there that I almost completely forgot about technology.

            The next month, I stayed on another farm in Italy. It was more of an ecotourism business, for they had a large organic farm, a restaurant and a bed and breakfast like type of establishment. Because they accommodated guests, they also offered wireless internet.  As soon as I had this as an option again, I found myself desiring to browse the web, mostly facebook to see what my friends back home were up to. Though I never carried my iphone around with me while I was working or when I was with my host family, I often used it during my downtime or before I slept in my room. I was excited to be in touch with my friends and family back home and was constantly catching up with them. I realized that when I didn’t have the option of internet access I was completely content without it. But now that I had the choice, I opted for staying connected.

            It made me reflect on my use of the internet. I became more aware of how often I used it to stay connected with people. I felt as if since I was capable of starting a conversation with someone halfway across the world, I should. When I was still in Spain, I had no problem waiting to call someone I really cared about. I thought about how I can be more patient and remember that constant internet access is indeed a luxury, not a necessity.