A Different Life (Torsten Kauter)
Introduction
Living in another country does not automatically mean living a better and happier life. That’s not the case. If you are lucky and speak the native language of the new homeland then you can also participate in the social life of your neighbors. But you always stay “the foreigner.” No matter, you think that even if you don’t speak the language, you can participate in the social life of the people, just find people who speak your native language and have preferences, then it’s all right.
But there’s a little problem: you’ve found people who speak your language but don’t really share your interests. Only when you can talk to people who live in the place of your choice, do you have the opportunity to integrate and be able to lead a social life as you have known it in ancient times. The essence of life does not depend on where you live.
Social life means being with people who have interests and hobbies similar to yours and who should not depend on your mother tongue. It is better that you learn and speak the same language spoken in your village and as a reward, you can also participate in the cultural life of the place.
Or would you like to live like Robinson Crusoe on his island? For holidays, such a way of life is certainly exciting but difficult to implement as a permanent life model. “Other life” theory.
Five years ago we had everything ready to take this step. All that was missing was the implementation. The idea was to buy a house in the countryside overlooking the sea, live in a country where it is hot, where the sun shines mainly and meet new people. We chose southern Spain.
– 1 –
Our dream of an estate.
We were looking for a nice farm is Vejer de la Frontera with views, the sea, and unfortunately there were wind turbines on the border of the farm and with a wind that is very strong … so there’s no farm for us in Vejer. End of this dream
Jimena de la Frontera our new town
After many months of searching a new experience and a new farm, but without sea views, although to the Natural Park of Alcornocales. The nearest town was Jimena de la Frontera on Campo Gibraltar. On the first visit we realized that Jimena is not the place of our dreams (far from the sea …). But after several visits to the small town with its always friendly people, we decided to compare the farm and stay.
– 2 –
My Spanish class
Well, since we’ve been living for five years, we’ve adapted well. It helped a lot that Claudia speak good Spanish as Chilean he is. I had to learn the language. That was very difficult for me. Of course it bothered me that Claudia always had to translate. So I had to learn Spanish.
I was lucky enough to discover Jimena’s aldulte school as a place of learning that made me feel good. It’s also a place of communication. I’ve been learning at this school for four years.
Four years four teachers. With Estefanía I learned the basics of Spanish and with Ricardo I learned to better understand the environment and people and their history. Alejandro focused on the grammar of the Spanish language. I think that was very difficult for all of us. Now Lucy is our teacher, not only is she a very good teacher for adults, she is also a very good presenter. Lucy’s lessons are very famous. Thank you very much Lucy for your work
Jimena Castle and Richard’s Students 2017
– 3 –
Our life in the natural park
Now we live in a natural park, a happiness that few people can have. As residents of the city, we had to learn a lot about how to live not only in nature, but also with nature. It’s always sad when one of our animals dies. We live here with two horses, a donkey, three dogs, three cats and two major roosters for six more important hens yet.
– 4 –
We are still a long way from being self-sufficient, but since Claudia uses only organic fertilizer, the result is good but very little. We also had to learn the irrigation of the plants. It is important to hear from people who have always lived here in nature.
For people who, like us, have been working at their desk for most of their lives, our work is hard and, if successful, a pleasant experience. We are also rewarded with two green seasons, spring and autumn. This is really a great experience for us foreigners.
Spring
Andalufrio
But we have learned very quickly, is that in Andalusia, there is winter. That was a new experience for us. The bad weather came with the humidity and rain and it was also quite cool. We had to buy winter clothes. Our house wasn’t waterproof. It was raining from the ceiling and the water was coming out of the ground. For us as city dwellers a new experience. In addition, we were trapped for days in our field due to flooding. We have solved this problem with a greater purchase of food and beverages. Then, at some point spring comes, and winter is quickly forgotten. Only at the end of the year do you remember the old difficulties of last winter. But every year a little better. We have heating at home and but I’m freezing at school right now. But here the coat, cap and gloves help
– 5 –
We love the guests
From spring to autumn, many guests from Germany are here. We realize that the worse the weather in Germany, the more spontaneously, family, friends or former neighbors decide to visit our farm quickly. This is always a logistical challenge, which usually ends with the transfer of the house. There we moved to the little house in the background very quiet … unfortunately no pool.
People who visit us sometime in winter are upset because it is cold and there are days when it rains a lot! Just bring summer clothes. So we leave them clothes. For the first few years, that wasn’t possible. We didn’t have that many clothes. With each guest I learn more; and I proceed to improve your stay here.
During the visit of our guests, we have the opportunity to get to know Andalusia from a different perspective. That is, from the point of view of the tour guide. This is very interesting for us. For example, we have visited the monkeys in the Gibraltar Natural Park eight times. The train ride to Ronda is always a great pleasure for us. That’s why we like to leave work on the farm.
Holy Week (Round)
– 6 –
It’s all right
I think it’s good that we chose Jimena from the Border. The people here have welcomed us very well and have been very friendly. Here on the farm we can live as we want with small restrictions. We have many opportunities to organize our free time. We can ride horses, Claudia makes pottery and I like music. We meet with friends, with those of us looking for mushrooms. We have many visitors and we have learned a lot about the life of nature in the countryside. Free time is not too short, Claudia learns Sevillian and I learn Spanish.
Thank you for the good life at Jimena de la Frontera.
Alcornocales Park