Living in a small town in the mountains of southern China, life has melded itself into a comfortable, yet never-changing, routine. I pass the same people walking down the street, get lunch at the same noodle shop, and buy fruits and vegetables from the same farmers. The development of this daily routine seems to signify that maybe, just maybe, life in rural China is becoming normal, and the repetition has allowed me to focus on more important things, like developing relationships and trying to decipher bits and pieces of the local dialect. Though most aspects of my life are predictable, from which nights I go for bubble tea to which teachers will remind me to wear a heavier jacket in the mornings, perhaps the most predictable aspect of life here is that many things are simply unpredictable.
Take last Friday, for instance. My co-fellows and I were were sitting in the all-staff meeting, looking forward to our typical Friday night and dreaming of the fried eggplant and mushrooms served at one of our favorite restaurants when we received word from fellows across-town that Erika would be competing in a singing competition that evening. Details were fuzzy, but we ate dinner and headed off, eager to see what this competition was all about.
We arrived to see a trailer and a stage surrounded by a sea of people and dozens of our students playing tag among the crowd. I was talking to one of my students as Erika registered to compete, and before I knew it, I was being told that we were the backup dancers and needed to prepare a dance. As in, "You're performing in 20 minutes. Get it together. Now." Carolyn, Aron, and I rushed to choreograph a few steps and recruited about 20 students to dance with us on-stage. As Erika sang "We Found Love" by Rhianna, we danced alongside our students in the back, laughing as we did the disco and sprinkler amid a cloud of stage smoke. We made it to the finals, however sickness struck the fellows across-town, so we remained one-night-wonders.
Take last Friday, for instance. My co-fellows and I were were sitting in the all-staff meeting, looking forward to our typical Friday night and dreaming of the fried eggplant and mushrooms served at one of our favorite restaurants when we received word from fellows across-town that Erika would be competing in a singing competition that evening. Details were fuzzy, but we ate dinner and headed off, eager to see what this competition was all about.
We arrived to see a trailer and a stage surrounded by a sea of people and dozens of our students playing tag among the crowd. I was talking to one of my students as Erika registered to compete, and before I knew it, I was being told that we were the backup dancers and needed to prepare a dance. As in, "You're performing in 20 minutes. Get it together. Now." Carolyn, Aron, and I rushed to choreograph a few steps and recruited about 20 students to dance with us on-stage. As Erika sang "We Found Love" by Rhianna, we danced alongside our students in the back, laughing as we did the disco and sprinkler amid a cloud of stage smoke. We made it to the finals, however sickness struck the fellows across-town, so we remained one-night-wonders.
That Saturday also lent itself to an unpredictable adventure. One of our local teachers, Qi Laoshi (Miss Qi, pronounced Chi) called us to say that her family was killing a sheep in her hometown, and we were invited to attend. (Living in rural China took the shock out of hearing this. The whole invitation was as casual as her asking us to grab some coffee.) That afternoon, we hopped in her car and made our way down a one-lane road, dodging farmers pulling heavy carts of rice and trucks that blew thick black smoke as they chugged along. After half an hour, we reached the house where Qi Laoshi grew up; a courtyard surrounded by 3 rooms and a small barn filled with chickens. In the courtyard, 17 of Qi Laoshi's friends and family members milled about, a few tending to two small makeshift barbecues--grates balancing atop metal pans filled with charcoal. Next to each barbecue was a huge metal bowl filled with various sheep parts, signifying that we had, in fact, missed the actual killing.
The next 3 and a half hours were spent eating some of the best barbecue that I have ever tasted (there's something to be said for super-fresh meat), picking persimmons off a tree with long poles, and talking with the locals. I even had a taste of barbecued sheep brain! (FYI: DELICIOUS) Around 5:30, we were told that it was time for dinner, even though we had already been eating for hours! Dinner was a delicious meal of sheep innards that had been boiling in pots around the yard since we arrived, vegetables of some sort, and rice that had been grown by the host family. We sat in circles in the courtyard, eating and drinking as the sun set and the stars began to shine. A few hours later, it was time for dinner number two, leading to a grand total of about 6 hours of eating with our new friends. After we finally finished eating for the evening, we sat around a fire, telling stories and keeping warm in the chilly autumn air. It was a wonderful night that truly felt like a Thanksgiving dinner spent with family and friends.
Picture Update: My camera is currently out of commission, and will be until I head home in two months. Many, MANY thanks to Carolyn, who let me hijack her camera for part of the day! Now check out the gallery of pictures!