From the view of a banana who came back to the Thor with the KUSis

Since a long time, my whole lifetime to be honest I’m growing on the Farm of Alex on la Gomera with my 57 banana-siblings. It was a good life: Often there were no clouds in the sky and the sun was shining almost all the time very bright. Unfortunately it isn’t raining so often and that’s a bit of a problem for us, because we can’t grow as fast as we could if there would be enough water. Since every day I can remember somebody is looking for us one time per day.

However, last week everything changed: the day started normal like every day before but in the afternoon, I heard lots of voices, not from adults but from teenagers. I would say 15 to 16 years old and they were coming with two backpacks each of them. One was small but the other one was twice as big as my hole banana-shrub was! When they were looking around and inspecting the whole farm I was still wandering what they have planned. I didn’t have to wait long to have an answer: a man named Samuel spoke to the kids and told them that they were staying here for 5 days and are going to help Samuel, Alex and some other workers on this place. I was very excited to watch this people while they will spend their time here in the mountains were the land from Alex is located. You have to know I don’t have a very good memory as a banana, but in the back of my head there is a little voice telling me that one year before something similar has happened: also, a group of teenagers had come who were helping on the Farm. Maybe the same kids? I wanted to find out who they are, I was watching them and listened carefully when they spoke. After the first meal I learned already a lot about who they are, because they were telling their story to Samuel. Now I know that they are not the same kids as last year but the same project. They were having a 3 week break of sailing with a big ship.

In the next days they were working very hard, like cutting cactus and agave with big machete or making char coal. They also collected dried things from the ground. All these ‘ingredients’ were needed for a new compost. The big one from last year was almost completely new soil what they were putting in bags to use it for the plants. To make the new one you have to build like a lasagna: smashed cactus, dry shrub or bushes and char coal. First you put big layers of cactus, also known as guacamole on the ground after that a lot of the dry plants and then just a bit of the coal and then again, the ‘guacamole’ and so on. Because the KUSis wanted to see some more of la Gomera they went on day trips like hiking to the beach or visiting the other Farm of Alex. At dinner time they were always back and told a lot of funny stories about their day. Most of the time they were in a good mood and they were happy and excited, but if the food wasn’t enough for everyone they were grumpy and not very friendly (another word would be hangry). If this was the case we were coming into the game: because we are so many bananas, they could eat some of us and we don’t taste bad, I can tell you! Unfortunately, these 5 days went so quickly and suddenly it was the last night at this farm for the students. In the moment when I thought I have to say goodbye forever, Samuel came to my shrub und just cut us! First, I was shocked but then I understood that this was the opportunity to stay with the KUSis and explore with them the whole world.

The next morning, we went to the bus and then to the ferry and again to a bus and after this exhausting trip someone shouted: there is the Thor! I was fascinated by the ship, so big and so long! For me everything was new, but for the students it felt like coming back home. They knew everything, they were very excited to sleep in their own beds! From the poop deck, where my new place is, I have a perfect view over the ship. From their I could see how they are settling in. It is looking like they enjoy being back on the Thor.