This Feeds Me Hungry Musings of a Gastronomic Gypsy – NC-based freelance writer Victoria Bouloubasis

” I ended up spending the most time with the goats, and I’ve enjoyed just about every minute of it. I took them day in, day out for a week and also got to milk them. Walking with the goats in the valley afforded me a little peace, or something. I thought the time with the goats was very peaceful.”

Constantly smiling with eyes wide open, Rosana has a keen understanding of her surroundings in a way that makes her seem completely at ease wherever her wanderlust takes her.

This is the first in a series I’ve dubbed “Why we WWOOF”, profiling volunteers I met while farming at Casa do Burro. WWOOFers can be a strange breed. I presume I only have a handful of close friends who would summon their inner Kerouac to skip town for a while; even less who would plunge head first into outdoor labor, working in exchange for a mostly vegetarian meal plan and stiff, rural, caravan accommodations. Personally, I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

I’d rather explore my senses heaped over a sizzling pan, my fingertips spontaneously picking up spices at the whim of my big, fat, Greek nose. You can’t do that with baking. And ramekins are for baking.

Oh, was I wrong.

But I’m back in full swing. And so very excited to be back in full swing in North Carolina. I don’t take this place for granted. No ma’am.