China Trip - Post #2

Here I am again, Mom is sleeping (she needed a nap, jet lag) so I thought I would post a few more tidbits of information.  Don't worry, we are not going to post ALL of our pictures or tell you ALL of the things we did.  Just enough to give you the flavor of the experience.

Traffic in China is unlike anything you have ever experienced in the US.  Traffic rules are simply "guidelines" and are totally unenforced.  Reminded me of Brazil.  Picture huge trucks, buses, automobiles, bicycles, golf carts, motorbikes, and electric bikes on the same roads at the same time - some traveling at 70 mph, some at 30 mph, darting into any opening in the traffic they can find regardless of danger to life or limb and you can get a feel for it.  Expect the unexpected!!  For instance, if our bus driver wanted to turn around on the busy highway, he simply stopped in the fast lane and pulled a U-turn without concern for how it impacted other drivers.  It is just how it works.  I actually think it is a form of population control in their country!

Add to that traffic mix pedestrians, especially tourists.  Traffic does not stop for pedestrians.  I am used to that from Brazil and found that I had not lost any of my street crossing skills from missionary days.  But the others just didn't get it at first.  Standing between lanes while traffic rushes past on either side is somewhat distracting to the uninitiated, but we all made it.

We woke up the second day and got into "golf carts" which seated up to six people and ventured out into the traffic storm.  It was exhilarating and life threatening at the same time - I loved it!  We went into the county to visit a typical native home which we found very interesting and compelling.  Very simple life styles, yet they seem  to be just as happy as we are but without the gadgets.

 Mom and I with the grandmother of the house, taken in front of a family "shrine" in the central part of the home.  Photos of dead ancestors and family memorabilia are very important to maintain a family identity.  People generally stared at my height and Mom's blonde hair, even stopping us to take pictures a couple of times.

 Even Scott and his "sample any food" philosophy might have balked at this.  This is called the "5 Poisons Jar" and it contains bodies of a poisonous snake, a scorpion, a spider, and a couple of other poisonous creatures.  They fill it with liquid (must be some kind of strong alcohol) and everyday the grandfather drinks a shot glass of the stuff.  Helps maintain his virility!  No telling how many years these creatures have been in there.  No thanks!!

This next photo is out of order, but I can't figure out how to move it.  Oh well.  That afternoon we went to a tea plantation.  They made a point of telling us that this part of China plays an important role in US history.  It was from one of these locations that the tea that was thrown into Boston Harbor at the start of the Revolutionary War came from!  Very interesting experience from an historical perspective since this was one of the main links between China and the Western world.  The British influence is still strongly felt - our host spoke with a decidedly British accent.  We sat through a "tea ceremony", learning how to hold the cup properly, what each tea is supposed to taste like, etc.  They only brewed decaffeinated teas for our party since they don't do herbal teas. 

After visiting the native home we went a bit further into the country and stopped at these rape seed fields.  This is the principal ingredient in canola oil and has become a big crop for China.  We hit them at the perfect time since the crops just came into bloom and were a vibrant yellow.  The weather was a bit overcast with rain all around us, but never on us.  Made the surrounding mountains look quite ethereal.

Isn't Mom cute?  This picture gives a good impression of the beauty of the surrounding area.

That's it for now.  Tomorrow I will be going back to work so maybe Mom can pick up where I left off and the narrative will be a bit more descriptive.  See ya. Dad/Jim