Planting Rice is Never Fun

       So I was reading the homework due for today, and came across the lines "planting rice is never fun, bent from morn till the set of sun" (Takaki 335). This phrase actually stopped me dead in my tracks while reading, because I was taken back to my younger days when my grandma sang me this exact Filipino folk song. My Filipino grandmother worked in sugar plantations earlier in her life and portrayed a sense of that older culture to me as a child. So when I'm reading through these lines, I can hear her ancient voice sing to me their rhymes. Or sometimes when Filipino dialogue is quoted, I'll be able to vividly imagine the thick Filipino accent coming out of the words. An accent that I grew accustom to while growing up.  For the most part, Takaki's writing becomes alive for me, because I've seen firsthand the results of the experiences he describes.
        However, I don't think I can vouch for the Filipino's sexual desire for Caucasian girls. In fact, all that bunch about the Filipinos being "hot little rabbits"(Takaki 328) and how they attracted white women was completely unknown to me before reading this book. So I guess there's another plus to reading about my Asian American heritage. Not only can I relate directly with things like folksongs and accents, but I can also learn something new about Filipino culture, no matter how inappropriate.