Bees and Honey

I spent most of today at a bee farm (I have no idea what it's actually called). We skipped morning lessons and all walked about two minutes down the street after warm up to the bee farm (aka this woman's house). It was something my director did with her students during the year, so she was excited to do it again.

My director and Sara, my co-tutor, translated the whole story about honey production, as I was the only person there who doesn't speak Italian. After the whole explanation, we got to sample different honeys! They were all delicious, but acacia was definitely the best. The beekeeper also showed us how to make candles with the wax, which was too dangerous for the kids. But Sara and I asked if we could come back to make our own candles after camp, and she agreed. I also got to try on the beekeeper's costume that kind of makes me look like Neil Armstrong.

Camp today was reaaaaaaaally hot, around 95 Farenheit, so it was the perfect day for water games. And right after, Sara and I biked back to the bee farm. The beekeeper... I forget her name... was so nice. She got all of the candle-making equipment for us and explained in more detail the processes of wax and honey, which I mostly understood from gestures, but Sara translated the rest.

Among the things I learned...

Queen bees can choose the sex of their offspring
Bees work 24 hours a day for the approx. 45 days they live
When bees notice their queen slacking off, they elongate the eggs of her female offspring to make a new queen (aka. a coup)

So we got to make candles, and taste much more honey. She brought out fresh bread for us and I don't think she stopped talking for the hour and a half we were there. It was a lot of fun, and such a random experience.

This weekend I'm going to Lake Garda on Saturday, which should be beautiful and very touristy. It's the biggest lake in Italy and less than an hour from here.

Also, I'll be home in two and a half weeks!!