So did I tell you all the Replacement is here? ;)

[Deleted]

I picked up in the dead of South Dakota last week Tuesday.

He's from Brazil but has a strong Italian background. (Which not going to lie..Serious eye candy this one !)

Was on another farm but had coworker issues (came here with best friend for life and well...we all know how that usually ends up.). Boss man told him they had to figure it out so he asked for a transfer.

Works hard. Knows what he's doing. H and I feel like we got our life back again (I'm actually sitting on my couch doing nothing, H is out fishing with some friends. He hasn't been out since I don't know when!).

No weird habits other than he's perpetually late for everything.

He's so far the perfect housemate. Really easy going. Will drink a beer and chitchat no problem. Very relaxed and polite. Cleans up after himself and cooks..bonus points.

His background and interests are fascinating (drummer in a rock band, a stats whiz to the point it's creepy, learned English in two years from music and one formal class and it's better than most native speakers..lol).

He's here until August.

Doesn't need a nickname. Shares a first name with the elusive advice giver on Home Improvement. Too fun.

 Ask me in another month, but I think we're good this time.

[natablue]

Good to hear! You've had some doozies, I hope this one works out great.

[pugz]

yay!

but boo for no stories!

[emoflamingo]

domer, they're foreign exchange students.

[bunnymendelbaum]

Great! You deserve a good one. Eye candy doesn't hurt either!

[McGavin]

Oh, PIP the eye candy!

[kristilynnmy]

I rather enjoyed your stories of the last few. Good luck with this one!

[Deleted]

Feb 23, 2013 23:52:52 GMT -5 @domerjen said:

I missed the beginning of this saga... what program is this? I gather you guys are farmers, but who are these guys and why do they come to you and do you pay them? I've been curious for months but everyone else knows and I didn't want to be annoying. But I'll be annoying now and ask you to repeat yourself.

There's not much of a saga really.
H and I own a dairy farm in the Midwest. We work with a university exchange program. They bring us kids majoring in agriculture in their home country. They either come and work a year or come and work six months and then head to a semester of school here at said university. In the meantime they live, learn and work with us while I give them housing and decent pay.

It's a pretty great program. This is our sixth exchange student. Our last 2 had some weird habits I talked about on here and wrapped up in paperwork drama (shady home country corruption) so it hasn't been easy.

The other girls on here know all about it because I've been sharing the fun stuff, b*tching about the drama and telling stories since we started this program in 2010.

[tarheels]

Wow, he sounds awesome! Excited for it to work out for you guys!

[SusanBAnthony]

Yay for a good one!

Does the program ever get women?

[Deleted]

Feb 24, 2013 15:14:55 GMT -5 SusanBAnthony said:

Yay for a good one!

Does the program ever get women?

Yes. There's tons of them actually from Western Europe and South America. The less industrialized countries, not so much. There's still the mentality of, "I'm not paying to educate/enlighten a woman." (sadly enough.) Also, we've had a few make our final cut but females don't top our list real often TBH. The females of the bunch also don't select our farm real often in their final picks either.

We actually just had a talk with the program director about this. We're not opposed to women at all. It's just that this farm requires so many long days and tons of physical labor. The females in the dairy side of the program are more vet oriented or only want to milk cows. The drive tractor, pitch calf pens, throw hay bales isn't up their alley at all.

And before I get chewed out for being sexist...I know it. I can do anything any guy can do on this farm. I'd be p*ssed if someone told me I couldn't handle it. However, I grew on a farm, I'm used to it. I know what I'm getting into. Farms in other countries are nothing like farms here. Gender roles in other countries are nothing like gender roles here. I'd hate to have a female come here and be miserable because it's not what she expected or knows.

KWIM? I know I sound horrible...but it's just one of those way of the world things. The program coordinator agreed with me and said historically females don't dare real well on farms like ours either, due to what I described above.

The program does place a lot of females though. They're more drawn to the horticulture/nursery, winery, calf feeding side of agriculture.

[finally]

Feb 24, 2013 7:54:57 GMT -5 McGavin said:

Oh, PIP the eye candy!

I second this!!!

Good luck with this one!  You and H deserve a break!

[ssmjlm]

One question-manpris or no manpris?

[Deleted]

Feb 24, 2013 17:53:47 GMT -5 ssmjlm said:

One question-manpris or no manpris?

No manpris. He wears old man denim overalls in the barn though. Which is equally hilarious.