This past weekend I traveled with my two roommates, Whitney and Jian Juan to Jian Juan's hometown to visit her family and see the rice fields being harvested. I was very excited to see where she grew up and see how rice is harvested. After I thought about it, I realized I didn't actually know what a rice plant looked like or how rice is grown. I soon found out, since once we got out of the tuk tuk rice was everywhere!
Kunming is surrounded by mountains and once we got outside of the city to her village, the mountains were more beautiful than ever. It was a gorgeous day, the rice fields bright yellow beneath a clear blue sky.
Many workers were in the fields doing different parts of the harvest. It was truly amazing to see these people bent down chopping the rice stalks by hand. Farmers are the hardest working people I know.
After they chopped the rice plant from the ground, they either slammed the plant on the ground or stuck it in a machine to shake the rice kernel from the stalk.
Once they have gathered all the rice kernels, they must lay out the rice to dry in the sun for several days. This was being done all over the village, in the streets and courtyards of their homes. After the rice is dried, they bag it and send it off to a factory to be de-shelled and packaged. The rice looks brown/tan because it has a shell on it. Inside the shell is the white rice kernel.
Jian Juan was very happy to be home. She does not get to see her family that often because she has to work in Kunming and is very busy teaching kindergarden. Her mom and aunt cooked up some delicious meals while we were there, now if I could only replicate what I eat here at home...
Jian Juan with her good friend and neighbor from home.
The rice kernel and plant up close.
Some kids playing in the field while their parents work.
Yum, the meal Jian Juan's aunt cooked for us: duck, pumpkin, peanuts, pork with peppers, beans, fish and rice!
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