How to Plow

As the few westerners in a close-knit valley, we are often invited to participate in ceremonies and events that have nothing to do with our work here.  This week, for example, we attended an event dedicated to encouraging local farmers to use buffalo instead of tractors to till their rice fields (the issue is that, while using a tractor saves a lot of time, the profit from rice isn't enough to cover the expensive costs of rent and gas. Farmers do it all the time even though it makes no economic sense).

So this is how I found myself pushing a plow behind a buffalo, along with my colleagues and a brave state senator, to show how wonderful this method is.  No doubt my technique wowed the locals and will revolutionize Thai agriculture as we know it.  This is going on my resume:

I started plowing in borrowed boots, but they were too big, so if you look closely you can see that I went barefoot, as many farmers do (when in Rome).  The flowered necklace was a gift as part of the ceremony, and it smelled amazing.

Buffalo cooling off in the mud.

"Organic fertilizer" on our feet after plowing.  Conjure this image the next time you eat some tasty rice!