A first break

Just a quick glance at the three days off.

(Yes, three!)

Since Yunita and Ridho have to be at the mosque at 1:00 pm on Fridays, and the way back from the farm takes such a long time, we got a surprising day off!

How did I use that? I slept until afternoon! Ohhh finally some REST!

On Saturday it was sunny again! Got to know the campus dogs during a stroll into the nearby Tsinghua University.

Rusydan took Herlina and me to some event at the nearby community development center, where he and two new interns from Germany & Luxembourg (who stay with a host family) work.

Nice sight both for muslims and vegetarians:

We are super lucky that this year's Lantern Festival's main city is ours! Went there with my Indonesian housemates Ridho and Rusydan and Sôhei from Japan who only stays in the trainee house during weekends.

 It was so full of people that busses, trains and taxis where basically unavailable. Got our exercise by walking half the way.

Nasi Goreng and the spirit of farming

Today is Indonesian cooking day! We were very punctual this morning and went to the market to buy red onion and tomatoes - all other ingredients we have on the farm!

Of course, till lunchtime there was still much work to be done!

We had to prepare making fertilizer (?) out of the peeled off rice skin...or something like that?

...then continuing the weeding we started yesterday after we had finished clearing the wire off the withered beans...

...and finally: Kitchen time!

...sit dong bao dong bao!! REAL full...

...means: Time for some brokkoli harvesting!

Quick catching up with friends or...?

Playing time is over: Now let's finally get this weeding over with pleeeeaaaase~~

 

They're sprouting!

This work day started later than usual. One of us overslept, so when we got to the street where auntie & uncle pick us up at 6:30 every morning, they weren't there anymore. 

The very first time I visited the farm, together with the local AIESECers on Sunday, we had taken the bus, so I knew how to da that.

I got a private lesson in veggie growing that day! 

Most of the seeds we had planted showed there little round white heads and where therefore ready to enter Phase 2: 給水給陽光 water & sun

 So I moved them to another greenhouse and onto a tray and was showed how to water them correctly. Next time I need to get that on camera. Since the shower head (no idea what the correct term is) keeps falling out it's quite funny to look at I'm sure.

I learned so much today!

First Hakka Lesson / Packaging needs Practice, too!

While ridding the wire of the withered beans, the farmer taught us our first phrases in the Hakka language: 

a gung

(grandfather)

a po

(grandmother)

sit bao mang?

(Have you eaten/are you full? = Hello)

Sit bao le!

(Yes, I've eaten/I'm full)

ngai he... 

(My name is..)

ngai loi nguan kiao hok zhong yu gi choi 

(I've come to Ruan Qiao - the place of the farm - to learn growing organic vegetables)

 He seemed to have had a lot of fun seeing us struggle with the pronounciation.

 

It started raining, so we stopped to go inside... 

Auntie called me over... what happened?

In this farm, the chicken's main job is weeding! After harvesting all that is to harvest in one of the greenhouses, that place is the chicken's temporary home until they ate all of the leftover plants and did a good job digging for worms. As this one got adventerous and jumped out, the whole flock on the other side got exited about it!

Lunch: 炸年糕 (zhà nián gāo), 

rice cakes (lit. "year's cake" - since eaten around Chinese New Year), in it's  deep fried version... so yummy!

 

 

Rice packaging...

...turned out to be quite a challenge 

Some of the bags were not sealed off completely, so we had to cut them open again - one bag costing 20NT (0,50€)... sorry uncle :(

Tired and not as contended as the day be for we brought the goat back to its stall for the first time before we went to have dinner with auntie & uncle farmer.

We'll get better as we learn and practice!

Backup

Picked up at the trainee house at 6:30 for the first official workday!
Not alone after all! For now - with Yunita and Rido from Indonesia, who both finished their projects but join in with me for almost two weeks.

Sorting crops:

Growing veggies, first step: preparation for Phase 1

 

lunch break

choosing :)

 

 

planting seeds

chatting

watering

All ready for Phase 1!

(給水不給陽光 water, no light ~24 hours)

What is the next task?

阿姨 auntie <3

...and ready for resting!!