The Interns

Mr. Buchholz with his happy interns

The interns? Ah, the interns, the Buchholz Nursery interns! They are so-called because when you tire of them, then you "turn" them in. Ha!, a weak Buchholz joke. The only problem is that some you never want to turn in; some you want to keep forever, adopt, leave in your will, marry if necessary.

We have had interns, or "trainees," for 25 years, and they come via various visa-producing organizations such as Ohio State University, IFAA (International Farmers Aid Association) and others. We treat the trainees humanely, respectfully, patiently etc...and then eventually we see just who we get; i.e. somebody who is happy and hard working, or sadly, in some cases, those who are not. The first intern was Harald from Germany, who was wonderful, so we continued with the adventure. Some others have been spat upon, kicked and ultimately canned, or should I say shit-canned?

But this year we have two goodies, two girls who have made it onto the "A-List," two girls who will bawl when they leave, and so will we. I present: Mayuko from Japan and Dryelle from Brazil. Very different, but they complement each other, and appear to get along very well. As you can see from the photo above, I have managed to position myself in-between, as I will always pose with pretty girls.

So today's blog features their autobiographies, with [sic] applying, because it reveals their cute efforts with the English language. They're such sweet girls, and we definitely lucked out this time. They have included a few of their own photos to tell their stories.

Reports italicized, beginning with Mayuko:

Hello, My name is Mayuko Nakato.

About myself

My birthplace: Okayama, Japan

Age: 22

Blood type: O

Occupation: Ryukyu University Student (Okinawa)

My specialization: Civil Agricultural Engineering

Hobbies: Volleyball, Sake, Music

My favorite plants: Autumn Moon, Eskimo Sunset, Shojo no mai, Hokkaido, Carnival...

At Buchholz Nursery

At Osaka

At Tokyo

About work

I came to U.S.A as this nursery’s trainee on the end of April.

contents of work: potting, trimming, cutting, weeding, sweeping…

A coming of 20 age with grandmother, aunt and dog

A coming of 20 age with mother

Okayama Castle

Okayama Castle Garden

About my hometown(Okayama)

Appeal point
The most sunny days in Japan . Mild climate. Less disaster.
Fruit is good
Natural sea, mountain, 3 of large rivers ...  country wealthy in natural resources

 …So Okayama is nice for agriculture

Okinawa

Okinawa

Okinawa Guardian Angel

Okinawan Taxi

Traditional House

Ryukyu University Field

Volleyball

Volleyball Team

Friends

After finish full marathon

About University(Okinawa)

Appeal point of Okinawa

The most beautiful sea in the world

People is warm-hearted and kind

Leisurely. Peaceful..I were always sleeping with opened the door and windows.

In this Okinawa, I study about agricultural engineering like a irrigation system, dam, landscape of an agricultural village, disaster(landslide)…

I belonged volley ball club 

Other trainee at Oakland stadium

Monterey, CA Pink Carpet

I’m glad to come here, because when I was kid Japanese Maple is very close to me. And I can study about plants(apples, conifers, other rare plants) and American agriculture and culture and so on. Everything is great experience for me. I love Oregon!!!

Thank you.

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I am the Brazilian Buchholz & Buchholz trainee and my name is Dryelle Sifuentes Pallaoro. I study agronomy engineering in Mato Grosso Federal University (UFMT). This is my last year in college and I decided make something different for my TCC so, I came to the US for live this experience.

Brazil, Mato Grosso, Cuiabá

 

On Buchholz & Buchholz Nursery I learn about maples and conifers and their management. I work on several activities since weeding to cutting propagation. 

Undergraduate research -- Microbiology

University classes - Corn Field in Mato Grosso

Amazonia fruit that is used to produce soda; Guaraná

Tomato field in Goiás - University classes

 

My thoughts about American techniques - my first expectation - was opposed the idea that I have now. I could see that while there are similarities with the Brazilian system we also have many differences, but this is not the most important thing...

Transplanting basil; Horticulture farm

IFAA Summer Seminar in Wisconsin University: agricultural studies

Working with flowers in Iowa

 

The most important thing is based in my personal growth. I'm learning about valuing human and how good relations are indispensable in personal and professional life.

Tea Party in America

4th July

Furthermore I live in my host's house with his family and the Japanese trainee - Mayuko. At the same time, I learn about American and Japanese culture what is very interesting. We always do stuff together like play, talk, dance, cook, swim… and, one of the coolest things was go to "Mt Hood" where I knew the snow.

Mt. Hood

Mt. Hood -- Haruko Buchholz and Mayuko

The weather in Brazil is mostly tropical so, snowless... especially in my city, Cuiabá, where we have usually 100ºF. To refresh we can visit the "Chapada dos Guimarães" - 50 minutes from Cuiabá - a National Park with 487 waterfalls or we can go to "Nobres" - 1hour and 30 minutes from Cuiabá - the limestones’ city that has the blue pond.

Chapada dos Guimarães

Blue Pond -- Nobres

In Rio de Janeiro

I can stay hours and hours here talking about our natural beauty but is very easy, you can type on Google and find everything, but maybe, you will not find about how the people are happy and cozy and I can say that I really love my country in this aspect. How about spending your next vacation in Brazil?

Brother -- 15 years ago

Family, my treasure! In order: Celso Luiz (brother), Me, Celso (father), Aucilene (sister in law), Renan (brother), Rosana (mother), Pedro (brother)

Pedro Silvério (Boyfriend) in “Salto das Nuvens” waterfall

Theater group

Festa Junina - Brazilian tradicional party

Carnaval - Brazilian tradicional party

One of my favorite things Dance...

 

On October I'll come back home and I'll take the good things with me... I feel that I'll miss them (Buchholz and Mayuko) but at the same time I'm happy because this means that I could make real friends.

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Dryelle's first encounter ever with snow

The interns caught eating ice cream

Cooking dinner with Haruko

Don't play with your food, girls

Learning how to make s'mores

Mayuko and Saya playing with a new friend

Dryelle after winning horeshoe throwing contest

Harumi and Dryelle, such a sweet pair

I will add to their stories, as they do not give themselves enough credit. Mayuko appeared rather bewildered when she first arrived, but so would have you. Work was physically challenging, and the language barrier was enormous. She has been immersed in botanical nomenclature as well as English and Spanish from some of her co-workers. It's not obvious for a newcomer to even understand why we pot, prune and move plants around. She stumbled into an atmosphere of rapido, where everyone worked twice as fast as she did. But I'm happy to report that she is catching up. She has learned many plant names and even has some favorites. My children love her dearly, and the only problem with that is that they pester her constantly.

Dryelle--do not pronounce as "dry," but as "dree," as in tree--comes from the cowboy lands of eastern Brazil. She is a university student, and her internship here is a project-related requirement. Never before have I seen a 22-year-old who is so poised, alert and calm, but then can burst out laughing with her entire being over something silly. It's fun to be around someone who appreciates life, with all of its different people, and Dryelle adds happiness to all who meet her. I should also mention that she is Brazil's horseshoe-throwing queen, and has never lost a contest.

At Multnomah Falls in the Columbia River Gorge

There you have it: old man Buchholz with a house full of women. It's all out of balance, but I definitely love it.