You don't even want to KNOW how long it's taken me to get this posted. It's been 45 minutes thus far, and it's not even uploaded yet. I apologize for the time gap between entries- China blocks a large quantity of websites, blogger being one of them. Facebook is another. So, to update this blog I have to visit a friend's house with a VPN and suffer through the slow loading process. So I'll have to make this a good one. Oh, and it would take too long to put in pictures, so you'll have to wait till I get home for those.
Well, to begin, I arrived in Kunming safely on the night of the 28th (China time) and my aunt met me at the airport and took me to a friend's house for the night. The next day we took a bus to Dali and arrived at my aunt's house. My cousins and I took a short trip out to buy a plunger, so I got a small opportunity to see some of the city before we left for the village. We left on the afternoon of the 30th and took a bus to a city where we met Molly and her family. Molly is a Lalo woman who speaks Lalo (her minority language), English, and Mandarine, and who works for my aunt and uncle. We then took a second bus to her village. From the bus stop to Molly's house we had to walk about an hour. Typical Chinese village houses are built around a central courtyard. There is usually a barn or stable on one side, a kitchen on another, rooms on another, and a fence making the fourth. Meals are served on low square tables, everyone sitting on low benches. Everyone gets a bowl of rice and the dishes are placed in the center of the table, within reach of everyone. Everyone helps themselves to what they want with their chopsticks. Guests, however, are usually offered more food than they can eat, all the best dishes. Everything is fried in fatty oil and tastes delicious, although the meat is very fatty and bony, and is very different than carefully cut meats in America. Anything you don't want gets dropped on the floor for the dogs to eat. On the 31st, they killed a big black pig for the New Year. They wrestled it to the table, tied it down, stuck a knife into it's neck, and let it bleed into a basin until it died. Immediately, they shaved it, beheaded it, and began to cut it into pieces to be sorted and cooked. I've never seen anything like it. We were not allowed to do any work- the Lalo are hospitable to a fault. So instead we sat on low stools before the charcoal brazier and ate seeds- sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and marijuana seeds (no, they don't get you high). I got to try a lot of interesting pig parts, including liver, brain, and tongue. I don't recommend them. We visited the market, where were sold pig meats, bean curds, sugar cane, noodles, and so much more. There was even an outdoor dentist who fitted the willing with dentures to replace their rotten teeth. We also went walking to pick Chinese olives, which were so sour they tasted sweet after you'd swallowed. The illusory sweetness was even greater when you dipped the olives in salt. I almost couldn't stand the flavor, but when it was gone, my mouth tasted sweeter than honey. Maggie and I taught several of our hosts how to play Crazy 8s and Egyptian Rat, which helped pass a lot of time. For New Year's, we ate lit firecrackers and ate tangyuen- sticky rice balls swimming in brown sugar soup.
It was the most incredible experience, being in the village. But knowing that we could come back and shower and change clothes was what got me through it. We used the bathroom in an outhouse with a hole in the floor, washed our feet, faces, and occasionally hair, in basins in the courtyard, and didn't change clothes in the 6 days we were there. In the mornings and at night the air was frigid, but during the day we burned in the sun.
It was a different experience than any I had before had, and one that I was glad to have had. But I really enjoyed my shower after the walk (uphill at 5:30 in the morning) and two bus rides back. We have a lot to be grateful for, we Americans. We just don't even know how much.
I can't guarantee when next I'll be able to post. I'm back and my aunt and uncle's house in Dali. Next week, on the 15th, my cousins and I leave for their co-op in Kunming. So far, I'm enjoying the food, the culture, and the people immensely. I'd love to say more, but I don't know how long this will take to upload, so I'd better stop. I have so much more I'd like to say and share, but it will have to wait for a faster internet or a face-to-face encounter. Love you all!
~Monica
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