Updates from Kunming

Whew, it’s been a while without internet. When I left off, we were getting ready to board a flight to Guiyang.

July 25-26
The flight was the bumpiest one I’d ever been on! I admit I was kind of praying for my life, haha. One of our translators, Sun, Scott’s friend Prolo, and our guide Weixian met us at the Guiyang airport and took us to the Guiyang Sport Hotel, which was a bit seedy but okay. Prolo got us checked in and then we went to Chinese Wal Mart, which was quite an experience. It was two stories, with food on top and everything else below. I got myself a small bag to carry things around in, but had a problem when paying. Apparently, Visa is not everywhere you want to be. Ohwell. I paid with cash.

We then had a long and delicious dinner at a Chinese-style restaurant where they bring out a bunch of dishes and we pick what we want off of them. We had a long meeting with the translators, Prolo, and Scott’s other friend Jacob, who works closely with the Dong people. Then it was time for a short meeting and bed.

The next morning, Ally, Josh, Cory, and I went out to get photos around Guiyang. Ally about got us arrested (not) when she took a photo of a person who did not want his photo taken. We then trooped out to the bus, where the bus driver promptly called me fat and threw a fit over our bags. He was a bit of a pompous twit. That and an eight hour bus ride meant that I was ready to beat the hell out of him by the end of it. The bus ride featured a great eight hour DVD of Chinese variety shows. We kept the iPods turned up high, especially since the stupid driver had an obsession with blowing his horn at five second intervals. It was a bumpy and rough ride, and while none of the Americans threw up, many Chinese did.

Upon arriving in Rong Jiang, we met our other two translators, Nerissa and Wang. We stayed the night in the Rong Jiang Hotel and ate dinner. We had singing at dinner, and you all will be very proud to know that I sang. So ha. We then returned to the hotel for a cold shower and sleep.

July 27
After a bumpy 4-wheeling trip up a mountain on which our second driver had multiple difficulties with  mud puddles, we arrived in the village. I can’t even hope to begin to describe the village correctly. It was a dirt road with wooden structures. Chickens and dogs run around everywhere and it smells faintly of cow and pig. The people wear colorful clothing and the children run in adorable packs. On the way up we learned a little Dong from Sun, and could say “Nyac lail” which means hello, and “Lail jil” which means delicious, in keeping with the food. After a lunch with our host families, which included tables and chairs VERY low to the ground, we dropped our stuff off and began interviewing families. It is very poor in the village, but EVERYONE has a television. The government subsidized satellite dishes, but most people watch Dong songs and operas. That night, we all had a drinking party in which we learned the phrase “Umx kuaot” which means Cheers. We used that phrase a lot in drinking the traditional Dong rice wine, which we taught them the word “moonshine” for. Amanda and I got very happy and made good drinking friends. Apparently another tradition is to sing and present the wine to a friend, and I sang “Viva Colonia” to get Sun to drink. He is Evan’s age and is very funny. Then a whole horde of little girls came and gave us an amazing concert. We taught them the Itsy Bitsy Spider.

The next day, with a miraculous absence of hangover and sleep (the roosters crow all night) we spent most of the day interviewing people. When I get more time (I only have 30 minutes and they want to go to lunch) I will write more about the village interviews. Probably tonight (it is shortly before 2pm here, and I know is 2am at home).

We are now (July 31) in Kunming on our way to Shangri La. This hotel has computer access, so I will get on later tonight. I miss you all and hope all are well.