Harvest time

Rice fields not yet ready for harvest

So it's that time of the year again- the transition of lush, verdant rice fields to cracked, dry and barren land, which means it's time to harvest rice! Harvest season usually begins in November and goes through January, depending on the type of rice that is being cultivated. I have been repeatedly asking all my co-teachers to help with rice harvest, but none of them have taken me seriously. "Why would you want to do that? It's boring and not interesting," they tell me. But I think it's really interesting and such an intrinsic part of life for most Cambodians. So finally, I convinced my co-teacher Pilot to let me help him harvest rice. So I met him this afternoon ready to get down to work. But the sky was an ominous gray which I figured would prevent any serious labor from taking place. When I met him, the first thing I noticed was that he was absolutely trashed. I don't think inebriation is a prerequisite for harvesting rice, but you just never know here. It was the afternoon so I am guessing he had a mini-party before meeting up with me. I was a little nervous about learning how to use a sickle (a very sharp and scary object used to cut the rice stalk) from a drunk man, but there were others nearby, so I figured it'd be fine.

So stumbling a little bit, Pilot showed me how to use the sickle to cut the rice. It's not very hard, but I can't imagine cutting an entire field of it. Gives new meaning to the term "back-breaking work." I cut a few stalks and all the Kmai spectators gave a few cheers. Then it started pouring, which was probably a blessing in disguise. I don't think I would have enjoyed harvesting for a prolonged period of time. Afterward, we sat under Pilot's house, where I was forced to take a nasty shot of rice wine out of a questionably-clean bowl. We'll see how my stomach feels tomorrow...

My co-teacher Pilot



I highly recommend rice harvesting to any of you who have a chance. It's one thing to hear about the laborious work farmers must do day in and day out, but it's a whole other experience to actually do it yourself.

Pilot tells me I'm slow at harvesting...

Doing my best