The WWOOFer series - Part 3 - Haiku Maui WWOOFer Week 1

Previously on the WWOOFer series:

I want a WWOOFer - Where Can I Find One      What's a WWOOFer?- I got a WWOOFer!

PART 3 - We got our first WWOOFer, let's call her Karen, about 10 days ago.  I drove to Kahului Airport and picked her up.  She came from Taiwan!  We had each other's cell phone numbers and pictures.  It was perfect timing, she called me just as I was pulling up to the curb to meet her... right on time.  Her bags hadn't arrived yet so we had a little time to drive around Kahului and sister city Wailuku on a quick tour of "town"... or the "big city" around here on the of the Isle of Maui. 

Karen has her own little cabin down in the banana patch, by an intermittent stream on our Haiku Maui farm.  The MiniPad is a cute 2 room efficiency unit with an outdoor shower, and many people have enjoyed staying here.  The arrangements we have agreed upon will be 4 hours of farm work a day Monday thru Friday - weekends off.  In exchange, Karen has room and board.  She is independent with her own living space and meals, but we provide her with food.  In addition, because she is so well behaved, she can bring her computer by and use the wireless to check her email and BLOG (she was blogging on her first day here - on MySpace - in Chinese!)  She loves this arrangement, and we all know it's important to be connected every day!  So for a couple of hours a day she gets her internet fix too. 

The work she's doing is nothing terribly strenuous... nothing I wouldn't do myself:

• cutting small guava bushes with long handled loppers
• gathering and piling brush, yard work
• picking up fallen palm fronds
• farm building maintenance
• feeding the chickens and geese
• some painting projects  

It sure help us out.  She even helps with laundry and car cleaning!

She's a good worker and this is her first WWOOFing experience too.  If we can always be this fortunate we will be happy.

We got an email today from the WWOOF USA people... there's a couple of fake WWOOFers out here in the islands, a couple posing as WWOOFers!   They aren't doing a good job we hear.  I'm so glad we got the real thing!

When Karen's not WWOOFing, she's studying English at University.  Her English is already quite good and she's practicing while here. 

FIELD TRIP - Today we had to visit our tax preparer in Wailea and brought Karen along for an afternoon off the farm.  (It's hard not treating her like a visitor and guest)  We dropped her off at the Shops of Wailea for a couple of hours.  She compared the upscale shopping mall to Scottsdale Arizona!  On the way back we took a more scenic route back along South Kihei Road, and through Wailuku so we could stop at John Deere, and  Home Depot to pick up some paint.  While waiting for the paint Karen commented that in Taiwan the paint colors come already mixed up.  She was quite impressed with the paint clerk mixing up colors on the spot... she took pictures of him... maybe she will blog about it!

So all in all, it's working out just great so far.  The Maui weather has been mostly cooperating, with only a few days of showers making it a little difficult to work outdoors.  If it rains I can get her doing cleaning inside the office, and windows.  I love it!

And Russell likes her too! 

At this point I would recommend getting a WWOOFer, if you get the right one.

When buying on Maui, please contact a specialist in the area - Georgina M. Hunter R(S)

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