Farming*

I'm not sure how long it'll take the dirt to come out from my fingernails & toenails. Or from the creases in my fingertips, my nostrils, and my scalp. No matter how much I scrub, I can't seem to get clean.

Don't worry - as soon as I can use my laptop again, I'll upload photos for you to see (& laugh at!) of all my adventures here at an organic farm institute in rural Japan where 30 participants from Asia & Africa spend 8 months learning about farming. This morning at 6:30 we all exercised together, cleaned up various areas around campus, did morning chores (I weeded a pumpkin patch), THEN we ate breakfast! ;) After eating, we had a morning gathering / meeting.

And then the adventures really began. I think I was supposed to pick weeds in the pumpkins again, but along with another Minnesotan (ironic, eh?!), we lost the patch & ended up at a rice paddy with a group of about 10 others. Leaving our rubber boots & socks on the sidelines, we rolled up our pant legs & each grabbed a sickle. We had a quick lesson of distinguishing rice plants from millet, waded out into the flooded paddies, & taking charge of 3 rows each, hacked off any millet we found.

You want to see photos, right?! ;)
After a couple hours in the muddy field, we broke for lunch, and just when I needed a nap, it was time to weed a big carrot field! Since I could see definite progress throughout the afternoon I felt so content! By 4:30pm, we'd finished the field, and I smiled thinking of the "before & after." From 5-6pm it was time for "food life" work as they call "farm chores" so I was back (still?) to weeding - this time beans that grew around another rice paddy. At 6:30 we ate dinner, I had a great chat with a professor, and even though it's just past 8pm, I am ready for bed!!

Well, after I do one more thorough scrubbing! ;)

*Next time you eat, think of the process it took to get from the earth to your mouth, and say a prayer of thankfulness for everyone involved in the process!*