Recently I've moved from Kyoto to Ohara since my study abroad program ended. I'm working at a place called Ohara Kobo, an organic dyeing and weaving shop. The shop owns a lot of land where they farm organically and I'm doing a lot of work to grow veggies and plants used in the dyeing process. Right now we're laying down manure fertilizer and transplanting ai, or indigo, into the field.
The job is a lot of physical labor and every day is exhausting. We work from around 8am to 7 or 8pm every day with one day off a week.
I'm living above a local restaurant owned by the shop owner's daughter's family. Last week they had me working in the shop one day as a waitress with one of the shop's apprentices. Together me and the other girl made 80 onigiri rice balls and then served a group of around 40 Japanese people who all belong to an English conversation class.
It turned out that the class was being taught by a woman named Venetia who has a gardening show on NHK. I'd never heard of her before but my host mom says she knows her.
Speaking of my host parents, I've seen my host dad around occasionally. I saw him in Ohara the other day while I was working in the fields. He often rides his bike from the house to Ohara and back and he happened to pass by us and we chatted a bit. I saw him again today near school. So funny. Today I'm just gonna chill out and enjoy my day off :D
