Rice Terraces

My routine of language classes has begun again, but this time it's crunch time- only three weeks. I am really enjoying having a two person language class- Ali and I can determine the pace and content of the classes and enjoy our teacher's company. Next week we will go out to dinner with our teachers and we have a yoga class date with one of them. Although it is nice to be back in class, I am very thankful that they end at noon, and then the day is mine. I am beginning to make contacts at the local TCM hospital and meet with other possible resources for information. I am also a member to a gym, and to have a membership to anything makes me feel more official here.

However, this weekend, two friends and I decided it was time to leave town and explore. We decided to see Yuanyang rice terraces, recommended by other friends, who gave rave reviews. The terraces are seven hours south of Kunming, so we decided to take a Friday night sleeper bus, arrive early, really early Saturday and spend the day at the terraces, then head home that night. Yes, now I am slightly exhausted, but it was worth it.

My friend, Arielle, just requested I write about the sleeper bus, which she says is always worth sharing. This bus was supposed to take seven hours, but actually took ten. This sleeper bus was more like a commuter trip, stopping every hour to pick up more passengers. The set up of the beds was also different: there were two beds put together with a bigger isle separating the third bed. I can't imagine sharing the two beds pushed together with a complete stranger, especially in light of my last theft experience on the sleeper bus. I guess the bigger isle served a purpose, because when I woke up at 2 A.M. for a late night bathroom run, I realized at some point during the night, mattresses were placed on the floor and I almost stepped onto a mother and her daughter. When we finally arrived in the early morning, we all walked off the bus like a group of sweaty, bug-bitten, zombies, but we made it!

Local market (one of my favorite activities, this one was particularly colorful with many different ethnic minorities):



Arielle sporting the local hat:


Our driver, showing us how to use different products (Hmong/Miao shirt):

Classical Yunnan pipe:


I will save everyone the details of the pig slaughterhouse behind the market: (I just never knew pigs had such a high pitch squeal)


On the way out of town:

My favorite part about traveling through these rural areas is experiencing the subtle things that make life so different. For instance, we hired a driver to take us around the vast expanse of rice terraces, and he used the back row of the van as a taxi service for locals. We switched off who got the lucky seat- the seat that every ten minutes required you to hop out to let local people in and out of the car. I really enjoyed when two people came on with their pet chickens, and all the sudden there were loose chickens lying on the floor of the van with us. All you can do is laugh. What? Huh? I also like "make way for water buffalo." It is simply amazing to watch what happens when modern machinery meets rural life and they begin to interact.