We recently went back to spend the night at Pawn's grandmother's village so we could get up early the next morning to help with the rice harvest. We harvested on the mountainside, but I'm not sure the pictures really show how steep the mountainsides are.
We had to do a little hiking to get to the field. The path through the jungle is the shortest distance between the house and the field.
This is the view from the side of the mountain. The views are so stunning! I'm so thankful God blessed us with such a beautiful place to serve.
My first harvest! We cut ours a little too long, and our piles were too large, but we survived. It's always a good thing when you don't end up rolling down the mountain.
The professionals really made it look easy. I'm still trying to figure out why some areas were considered "fun" and some others weren't. The rice that was practically lying down was considered fun, but the rice you see in the picture was not fun. I was confused! I'm not sure if she was trying to use reverse psychology in order to get me to do the lying down rice or if it really is more fun. Ahh...ambiguity can be frustrating sometimes!
Rusty's an old pro at this now. It wasn't his first rodeo, but he did say it was harder to harvest on the side of the mountain than the flat fields of Isaan. But we had a good time, and the people enjoyed it that we worked with them.
The field looks huge, but they were making quick work of it. The fun way to do it is that people help each other with their fields. It's no fun to do all the work by yourself!
They like to get us involved too. If they had asked me one more time I would have been down there too, skirt and all. But unfortunately they only asked me once. I really want to try my hand at harvesting on flat ground.
Our friends told us to walk on and watch the family that was already beating their rice. They told us not to worry since it was another Karen family they would be nice to us, and they wouldn't mind us taking pictures.
As we traveled on we came upon these harvesters who had nifty tools to help carry the rice. The other groups were just carrying bundles on their shoulders. I'm not sure how heavy this would be, but it does seem like it's very productive and maybe a time-saver.
They were loading up their truck getting ready to take it to the next place. I may have to put driving one of these trucks on my list of things to try.
