Day 7: Family Farm and Castle Rock

Moms and Calfs

Baby Calf

Part of Castle Rock

This was my last full day in Quinter. The activity planned for me that day was to go to the Herl's farm. Their farm was for beef cattle. They own thousands of acres a little ways outside of Quinter. This is where the cattle live. Right now is calving season so there were hundreds of baby calfs. Most of the visit was driving through the land that they owned and seeing all the cows and calfs. These cows and calfs will eventually end up in an auction where other farmers or feedlots will buy them. From there, they will probably end up in burgers and other meat products. After that, Bethany and Abby decided to take me to Castle Rock. Castle Rock is a rock formation on the outskirts of Quinter. We explored castle rock for a while before going home to pack.

I've had an amazing time in Quinter. I would have loved to stay longer. I made many new friends and have gotten a peak into the lives of people In a completely different part of the country. This was an eye opening experience for me. I would love to go back again or do something similar.

Day 6: Sheep Farm

Mother Lambs

Bottle Feeding a Lamb

Lamb Born Earlier Today. 

Today I went to a sheep farm. At this farm, the sheep are mostly bred for meat. There are almost a thousand sheep here. There were tons of babies at this time of the year. These sheep are also used for their wool. I was able to bottle feed one of the babies without a mother. There were several lambs without mothers. This is because their mothers may not have been able to take care of them. Many of the sheep have twins or triplets and taking care of multiples is too overwhelming. Especially new mothers. These babies must be bottle fed and weaned onto regular foods. These sheep were some of the most adorable animals I have ever seen. They were so small and made a cute noise that was like a high pitched Baa.

Sorry this went up late! I feel asleep writing. :D

Day 5: Dairy Farm

Newborn Calf and the Farmer's Daughter

Me Feeding a Calf

Older Calves After Being Fed

Today I went to a dairy. A dairy is a farm with cows that are specifically bred and used for milk. Every day, twice a day, the cows that live on this dairy get milked. These cows can produce about five gallons of milk per milking. These cows are hooked up to machine that will milk them and then the milk flows into a giant fridge that cools the milk quickly before it spoils. This milk gets picked up by another company and goes to factories. This dairy's milk is made specifically for cheese. Every single batch is tested to make sure that it is acceptable for export. It was cool to see a dairy because this milk goes to something that is used everyday. The milk produced at this dairy could end up in anything from Pizza Hut to string cheese.

Today was really fun! I can't believe that my trip is halfway over! It seems like I just got here. I have seen so many new things and things that you just don't see in New York. Many of the kids get behind the wheel of a car for the first time between the ages of 10 and 15. Most of the kids in Quinter High School drive themselves to school and have their own cars. The most common type of vehicle here is the pickup truck. Almost every single family owns at least one. I had never been in one before this trip.I like it here a lot. Everything is much slower paced and there is so much space! Its is almost the complete opposite of Manhattan. Going home is going to be sad. There are a couple more thinggs left for me to experience though!

Day 4: Cattle Sell

A Calf For Sale

Cattle For Sale

Cattle For Sale

Today I spent most of my day at a cattle sell. A cattle cell is exactly what it sounds like, Many people who buy and sell cows go to this event where cattle gets auctioned off. Some of the cattle is sold individually but others are sold on groups that go into the twenties. I didn't know how expensive cattle is! They auction off the cattle to the highest bidder. The cattle is sold by the pound. The auctioneer talked into a microphone and talked super fast, to the point where you could barely understand him. On a regular day there are about seven hundred cows for sale. Every single one of these cows gets sold. I thought that it was amazing that this happens every single week at this location alone. There are many other places that do the exact same thing in other locations. The cattle enter a ring and run around for about a minute while the buyers inspect the cows to see while lot looks the best to buy. These buyers look for specific things such as limping, lumps, and other genetic things such as tail length. All of these factors determine how much the cattle costs and who buys them. Many of the people who buy the cattle know what types of cattle they are buying and how much cattle they want (usually by weight).

Today was an experience unlike any one that I've ever had. I got to hear, see, and especially smell new things. I thought it was interesting to see what people do for a living in another part of the country. Tomorrow I am going to a grain elevator and a dairy. It is really exciting to have so many new experiences. Every day there is something new to look forward to.

Day 3: First Day of School and Game Day

The Neighborhood

Cheerleaders!

Sloppy Nachos

My first day of school was today! It was very different from Calhoun. For one thing, there were classrooms and doors everywhere. The classes were even smaller than some at Calhoun. They have 8 class periods in one day and they all last 45 minutes and they have the same classes everyday at the same time throughout the whole year. The classes all started and ended with a bell. During the evening time, there were two basketball games, boys and girls. The girls, sadly, lost but the boys won. The games had a live band, cheerleaders and concessions! I ordered sloppy nachos (sorry Mom). They also had cheesy pretzels, popcorn, burgers, and other stuff like that.

Today was really fun, it was nice to see another school and see how people learn in other places. I'm looking forward to experiencing more new things and seeing what the rest of my days have in store for me!

Day 2: Lazy Sunday

Cornbread

Today was quite a lazy Sunday. I was able to wake up at my leisure and eat breakfast in my pajamas. In all honesty, I spend most of my day playing with their dogs, Scooter and Peanut. I got to make cornbread for dinner with Abby. Dinner was really yummy, enchiladas. After dinner we watched a bit of Les Mis on TV. At around seven some of Bethany's friends came over to play cards. We played spoons for a while and then we played a game of Clue. It was really nice to meet some of the people that I am going to see at school. I'm really excited to go to school tomorrow and meet some more new people.

Day 1: Arriving

The Plane!

The View from my Seat

The Inside of the Plane

Traveling to Quinter was not too difficult. I had to be up bright and early. My flight to Denver, Colorado was pretty normal. I was supposed to get a window seat but someone was sitting there already! Even though the window seat was on my ticket, I didn't want to be a nuisance and ask him to move. I slept through the whole flight and didn't feel the turbulence that lasted the whole end of the flight.

From Denver I was to fly to Hays, Kansas. My flight was delayed but it wasn't too bad. The actual flight was different from any other flight I had ever been on. There were only two crew members, the pilot and the co-pilot. The plane was also different from any plane I had ever flown on. It seated nineteen people and there was no bathroom. The flight had only eleven people. Almost every single seat was a window seat. It was very loud and I could see one of the propeller from my window. I fell asleep on this flight as well.

Almost a second after I walked through the airport in Hays I met the Herl family. They gave me a very warm welcome and I warmed up to them quickly and easily. We drove back to the town of Quinter and the drive was nice. Hays is not to far from Quinter. There was almost no traffic and everything was flat. You could see for miles uninterrupted by buildings or hills.

We drove for a bit more and then we got home. We hung out and I got used to the house. Saturday night happened to be movie night so we had Sloppy Joes and settled in to watch Ender's Game.

So far I am liking it here. The Herl family welcomed me with open arms and made me feel at home right away. I'm looking forward to going to school and meeting even more new people.