Farmlife from California to South Korea

I grew up on a farm near the small agricultural community of Winters, California. The oldest of 17 grandchildren, I worked on the farm during summer time from a very young age, as did my Dad and Grandpa and Great-Grandpa. My parents were high school sweethearts and had just turned 20 when they got married.

I remember sitting on the couch with my Mom, turning the pages in the encyclopedias my parents bought from a traveling salesman who knocked on our front door. Mom always said Winters was a great place to grow up, and she also encouraged me to travel the world and experience all those places I read about in the encyclopedias. I know Mom didn’t get to travel as much as she would have liked.

Over the years, traveling has become my favorite thing to do. To visit other countries, and experience diverse cultures, is not only an education, but fun and exciting and, at the same time, has helped me appreciate even more the country I am fortunate to call home. We are lucky to live in a country where we are free to be who we want to be and do what we want to do.

My latest trip took me to South Korea, and the DMZ - the buffer zone between South Korea and North Korea - where people are not free. However, Seoul is an incredible city, full of history, modern architecture, lush gardens, green spaces, and not a speck of litter anywhere. It’s always interesting for me to see what farming is like in other countries. See photos from my travels below:

Me in front of a temple in Seoul, South Korea.

A stream running through the heart of Seoul.

The demilitarized zone between North and South Korea.

Watchtowers at the DMZ.

Farmland outside of Seoul.

More South Korean farmland.

My family farm in Winters, California.