Rural Life in China

Sometime during my life, I spent four years living on a quiet rural farm in Southern China with my Grandfather. In the beginning, I was skeptical of living in a farm with a bunch of people so far away from civilization that probably didn't even have electricity, much less a TV. My skeptcism proved correct when I arrived at the farm and saw how different it was from the suburban life I was used to. The first week was like Hell; I woke up every morning at six o' clock because a over-active rooster felt a need to disturb the peace, followed by a simple meal of oatmeal and bread. Gradually, I began to get used to the lifestyle after a few weeks of torture.

The second week I was living there, I started working on the farm and helped with the crops. Each morning, I watered the fields and fed the farmstock; I even learned how to milk a cow. And I gotta say, cows apparently don't like being milked. Day after day, it was the same old routine: Get up, yell at the rooster, water the field, feed the cattle, and then breakfast. Slowly, I got used to the lifestyle and the simplicity of farmlife, but one thing still bothered me: There were no TVs or computers in a 50 mile radius. I was literally dying each day with nothing to do but stare at the wall and chase geese.

After about four years, I became a regular rural farmer, the kind people associate with whenever they think about hillbilly hicks. I completely forgot everything I knew about city life and thought my life compeltely revolved around feeding chickens and plowing fields. One time, I was taken to a harvest festival by my grandparents and witnessed rural culture at its finest. Surprisingly, the harvest festival in rural China wasn't as different from the festicals and carnivals you see in some backwater place in Kansas or Tennesee. There were Farmer's Markets and contests over which cow was the best. Apparently, if the cow wins first place, it's prize is that it's butchered and served as the main course in the buffet. I'm pretty sure the cow in second place was very happy that it wasn't better than the other cow.

The next day after the festival, I hopped on a plane and flew back to the good ole' US of A. But having lived four years as a farmer, I had a hard time readjusting back to suburban life. But that's a story for another time.