{"id":34274,"date":"2016-02-03T12:43:05","date_gmt":"2016-02-03T11:43:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/peregrinusmundi.com\/dure-experience-okinawa\/"},"modified":"2020-07-06T11:41:14","modified_gmt":"2020-07-06T09:41:14","slug":"tough-experience-okinawa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/peregrinusmundi.com\/en\/tough-experience-okinawa\/","title":{"rendered":"Tough experience in the Okinawan countryside"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Monday January 18, departure at 8 am from Nago for \u00d4gimi, a small rural town in the north of Okinawa where my new woofing is located, on a dairy farm. I arrive half an hour later at the konbini<\/em> (small convenience stores open 24\/7 found everywhere) where the meeting place is located. I call the farm using a landline phone and wait almost an hour for my contact to pick me up. A little granny ends up landing. Keiko Kiyuna, the owner of the farm. She takes me in her small car, her foot heavy on the accelerator, on a small path winding through tropical wildlife amidst the hills. The farm is outside the village of \u00d4gimi. Sprawling on the seaside and the small hills covering the north of the island, the dwellings are rural and quite isolated from each other. On a plateau just outside the village are many small family farms, including the Kiyuna farm dedicated to a very small milk production.<\/p>

Arriving at Kiyuna Farm, I get to know the other woofers and discover a very rural small farm. Keiko shows me the accommodation (very very rural, all of that) and invites me to choose work clothes and boots warning me that work is messy. She then abandons me to the other woofers who are responsible for showing me the work. I get to know Saya, a young Japanese girl studying agricultural work and milking cows, on woofing for two months on the farm and three German: Sonja, Martin and another one of whom I regret to say that I do not remember his first name. The two young German men are friends who have been on the farm for a month. They are leaving tomorrow. Sonja arrived three days ago. Sonja warns me that the work is hard and exhausting and that there is little free time. When I am told that the alarm clock is at 5:45 am to gather the cows at 6:00 am, I am a little overwhelmed. It is really early! Without further ado, head for work. I am introduced to how to feed cows, clean manure, prepare food, etc. I also meet Asahide Kiyuna, Keiko’s husband, little grandpa with a big smile.<\/p>

At noon it is dinner in the house with everyone and then we leave, the three Germans and I, to take a trip to the beach. The sea is rough but that does not prevent them from taking the plunge. Back at the farm, we resume work to finish around 6 p.m. I am very tired after this first day and a little disillusioned with what I had imagined. The atmosphere said to be very family and friendly highlighted in the comments recommending this woofing is not really present. Maybe because it is winter. The workload is also much higher than expected.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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