Which one of these reminds you of childhood?

I grow up in countryside, seeing paddy field and sunrise often remind me of my childhood.

My childhood is beautiful, but rather exhausted because we have to work in the farms. At that time, there are no extra labor nor machines to help in farming. I remember about farming, guarding the bulls and fishing.Fishing by using boat?

I did not involve so much to boat since our fishing mainly from the paddy field. I would just go to the paddy field, looking for crabs, and catching fish. In November and December when water dries from the paddy field, it is very easy to catch fish in the paddy field. I really enjoyed that time!

Other boys from our neighborhood would go during rain at night to look for fish, catch crabs or frogs. Luckily, we never did that, we have enough sleep but had to wake up at 4-5 in the morning for the farming!Processing rice after harvesting

One way of rice processing is that my parents would wake us up before sunrise and before school to walk in a circle with bulls on bundle of rice. That way, rice will drop from its straw and mom would collect them later.

Walking bulls to the field to eat grassSunrise after harvesting season

Sunrise when I was a kid is a torture (not beautiful as today) because it means that the heat is coming and you had to endure the heat until around 11 am to stop farming. I never like sun not even now. It is always too strong in Cambodia.Going to the field to get the bull for grass

After harvesting, we have to guard the bulls and the herds in the field as they go to eat grass in an open field. Sometimes, we have to go far from home for like 10km. Mom packed some lunch for us in the palm leaves basket and a bottle of water as we have to go from 6am till 5pm. It was full time job (during school holiday). Rice with some grilled fish smells so good and especially when we are hungry. All kids in my village had the same routine.

 

What about you?