Southern China Adventure....the Finale!

Today, a day off, I took a 1.5 hour bike ride around my community!  It was nice and cool and before I returned home a full moon displayed itself in the sky.  Hazy at first, it soon rose above the haze and was absolutely bright and beautiful!  I'm getting better and better at negotiating around cars, buses and people when biking.  I rode down one street that is not that commercial so it was an easy smooth ride with no bell ringing! ha  A bicyclist here uses their bell to warn people and cars that they are approaching so they will step to the left and let you by or, in the case of a car, not suddenly open their car door on you as you pass.   A bell is essential!  As Americans we are used to passing on the right so when I was approaching a girl riding her bike I negotiated to the right of her but she also negotiated to the right (uh, I guess it was her left) so we both came to a full stop in front of each other....smiled....and then continued on our way! ha  Yesterday, also a day off, I met up with Colin and James and we took a taxi to ZhongGuanSun where Bravo's, an Italian eatery, was our destination. I enjoyed a delicious smoked chicken penne pasta dish for 16 RMB ($2.25) and we also shared a delicious pizza for just 25 RMB.  We then walked around the area for a while (known for all kinds of deals on electronics and right in the middle of some famous universities here) before returning home.  A nice, relaxing evening.  I will most likely book my ticket home for a visit this week.  I'll be arriving sometime in November, most likely.  It'll be a relatively short visit which I'll spend mainly with my immediate family members with a short stay in Knoxville to see friends and take care of some business.  I am so accustomed to ways of living here that I wonder what it'll be like to visit the U.S.  By the time I arrive, we will have a president-elect.  Will I go into a restaurant and expect the kind of service folks receive here in Beijing?  Will I yell out "Fu yuan" (wait person) and expect them to trot over with a smile on their face to attend to whatever I need?  Will I look at the price tag on something and say "Tai gui le, pian yi diar" (that's too expensive, give me a lower price!)?  Will I get laughed at?  Will my senses be overloaded as I will be able to understand all the conversations around me while here it's easy to tune out all conversations as my brain doesn't process the language?  Will I be depressed that random folks on the street don't yell out "hello" to me and generally don't care about my existence? ha  It'll be interesting for sure!  It'll give me a taste of what I can expect when I return to the States for good next Fall.  I've read a lot about reverse culture shock for folks that have spent an extended amount of time in Asian countries and am already preparing myself to experience many of the symptoms.  Still, it's not going to be easy.  Okay....onto the last of my photos from my recent trip while listening to a little Chicago Transit Authority (their debut album!):

Local housing high up in the mountains of Longsheng.

A local walking path between residences.

In the States, we call this "feed corn."  Lots of chickens and animals around to enjoy it!

I was proud of myself for not taking the "easy" way! ha

I talked a few minutes with this woman (in my limited Chinese abilities).  She showed me many beautiful things that she had embroderied by hand.  I bought a couple for very little money and did not haggle with her over the price.  She was so nice to me and also showed me photographs of herself with some of the things she had made. You can see a bit of her "long hair" in the front of her cap that covers the rest of her hair.  She makes her living from tourists like me trekking up to the top of this amazing mountaineous region to view the incredible terraced rice fields.  I was happy to contribute.

See?  These elderly ladies make their living by carrying tourist luggage to the top to their hotels.  As I said, it's just a bit sad to me.  I realize it's their living but it does so much damage to their spines. 

Incredible loads as these woman cross a covered bridge with benches where I was relaxing. The umbrella is as much for the glaring sun as it is possible rain!

Incredible loads!  She was bringing down loads of fruits and vegetables to sell.

Breathtaking scenery!

After returning from the top of the moutains by mini-bus, I thought we'd be continue on to our next hotel stop (a famous hot springs hotel in the region).  But I was wrong.  We had yet another great local minority tribe experience to behold.  It began with walking across the river to their village.  Our guide thought it cute to cross first and then shake the bridge for all who crossed after her! ha  I was undeterred and made my way across though many wooden planks were splintered and broken.

After most of us had crossed, our tour guide, holding her wand with teddy bar atop, decided not to shake the bridge for our youngest tour group member to cross! ha

Trekking along to the village!

The villagers put on a nice show for us with singing and acting.

The locals served us a delicious "soup" of oil and uncooked rice which, surprisingly, was very very good!  

The Yao long-haired ladies unwrapped their long hair and showed us how they wrap it on their heads.  don't be fooled by the hair that they are holding. It's their own hair from where they cut it when they married.  I have a video of this and will post it soon and let you know.

As we left the "theater" where they put on such a nice show for us....they served us a thimble-full of potent local liquor and pinched us on the butt!  Can you see the local woman grabbing the butt of one of our group?  They caught me by surprise and I whipped around and ended up stepping hard on the foot of a local lady which caused a few squeals and me saying "dui bu qi, dui bu qi!" ha (I'm sorry,  I'm sorry).  So funny.  The locals were also very aggressive in trying to sell us their wares.  One lady just persisted on following me out of her village with her basket of silver bracelets.  It took buying one for 10 RMB for her to quit following me! ha  I gave it to my friend and colleague, Seven, who liked it a lot.

After leaving, we continued for 2 hours along a very bumpy road (if you can call it that) to the famous hotsprings hotel where we would stay the night, only to return by the same bumpy no road route the next morning!  I had my swimsuit with me but went down to the hotsprings and told the folks I wanted to see the hotsprings first.  They repeatedly showed me the sign which said no further entry without having a swimsuit on.  I repeatedly said, "Yes, but I just want to SEE the hotsprings!'  They showed me the sign again.  I said, "Yes, but WHY?" This went on for quite a while during which time I also told them that I had paid a lot of money to stay in their hotel and wanted to SEE the hotsprings before using them.  After we went back and forth many times and I had just about given up hope, they decided it was okay to lead me to the hotsprings without a swimsuit on! ha  I decided it just didn't look clean enough to "swim" in so went back to my room and taught my students, Linda and Nicole, how to play SkipBo! ha  I had a much better time with them than I think I would have had in the hotsprings.

Linda and Nicole posing for me the next morning before we left and continue on our way back to Guilin to the airport.  It's a good thing we arrived at this hotel under cover of darkness.  I learned on our return to Guilin that the "road" we had traveled on (which was much like riding a horse for 2 hours) was being completey reconstructed and there were parts where we were literally inches from the edge of the "road" which plummeted down a steep cliff to the river below! :(  I prayed a lot!

The road might have been "iffy" but the views were amazing.  We made it back to the airport in Guilin without a hitch and arrived safely in Beijing! :)  It was an incredible trip/adventure and one that I'll always remember.  Stay tuned for news about posting my videos on youtube.  Hopefully tomorrow night.  I'll let you know.