Day 43: Carpentry and weeding

We did more weeding in the rice paddy. Despite a back and shoulder ache that I'd developed overnight, I felt more at ease with walking around in the rice paddy. Although some rocks still hurt me, it wasn’t too bad, and I think I felt it less. My feet once again got bruised and torn. I think I was also bitten by several insects. There was a spider hanging around my weeding machine. But all of that bothered me less. 

Somehow, I feel hungrier and hungrier as I spend more time here. It feels good to eat after working in the field and it feels like I've earned the food. 

After lunch, we worked with Sayaka-san's father whose visiting for a few days. First, I painted a table that Sayaka-san’s father had bought second hand (just for 1500 yen!). Then I sowed some green onions. This was my first time sowing. I was surprised to find that while sowing, you aren't required to bury the roots too deep. Just one or two scoops of soil is enough. Then, I picked some vegetables from the garden. After all of that, I helped Sayaka-san's father with the wooden deck he was working on building. I helped Celso carry wooden planks from the work shed to the wooden deck area and then drill nails into them. It’s quite fun.I never thought I'd do carpentry. Its just always been one of those things that I assumed I would never need to do. 

The wooden deck in construction

Over dinner, we had some sake and chatted with Sayaka-san’s father. At night Sayaka-san, Celso and I watched the movie the Grand Budapest Hotel. It was hilarious, I'd definitely recommend it. 

I think today was my longest day. We did outdoor work for about 6 hours. I realized that being here and doing different tasks everyday pushes me outside my comfort zone daily, which is exactly what I'd hoped for.