1st Rwandan Cowgirl

I want to get a sense of what is happening on the farm and the roles of all the workers. I decided that I would take a day to shadow different workers. Today I began with the cows. I arrived to the farm around 6 and got to work. My first task was to milk the cows. The cow man in the village is so fast at milking. I’ve never seen someone milk the way the he does. As he crouches next to the cow, he looks so compact. I don’t think I could get that low. He puts the bucket between his legs and used both hands. It was my turn next. I held the bucket in one hand and milked with other. I’m left handed and was milking with my left hand. The men kept telling me to switch hands. I tried to explain that I use my left hand. It was hard at first. I’m used to milking goats not cows and began to milk the way to do goats. The cow man said that I could come again and in a few days I’d be great.

Next it was time to take the cows for a walk. They get walked around the perimeter of the village which is 6km. We took 6 grown cows and 2 of the babies with us. I went with one of the workers who is trying very hard to learn English. He also asked me if girls in America work with cows. I told him that a girl can work with cows if she chooses. He seemed surprised (I love to surprise and shock the workers, there are many thoughts here of who does what, I like to think that I’m changing some of those perceptions). I enjoyed the walk…especially when we reached a certain point that has many fruit trees. I (along with the cows) ate many, many mangos. I didn’t think anyone/thing could eat as many mangos as me…I think the cows win. I even ate guava for the first time. I learned all the places with fruit trees that others do not know about. When I brought back many avocados everyone began asking where to get them. I think I’m keep them as my secret.