Rural China
posted by CC
We have arrived in Shu Cheng, Anhui. We got up at 3 AM to get to our flight on time, it is now 9:00 at night, I have had most of a bottle of red wine that Ling’s parents got for me so I wouldn’t have to drink Chinese alcohol, while doing continuous toasts at the dinner they arranged with their best friends to introduce us. I am exhausted and more than a bit overwhelmed.
Already I have nearly been hit by a few bikes because they were staring so hard at me (cries of “foreigner”) that they steered right in. I have signed an autograph, had a stint doing an endorsement as a local celebrity, and been given a Chinese name.
I’m not kidding.
I don’t even have the energy tonight to touch on how incredible Ling’s parents are, and how welcome I feel even though we don’t speak the same language. In a single day there are so many stories to tell.
This town is so small, there are only about 800,000 people in it — that’s why you get images like above.
April 26th, 2008 at 8:19 am
The bike riding problems I can understand. The endorsement is another matter. Can’t wait to hear more about that one. I hope you have pictures. I imagine you must love the small rural villages. In a small town that is bigger than all but a half dozen cities in our entire country! Sounds like the two of you are going to enjoy this week.
April 26th, 2008 at 5:09 pm
After a night’s rest, I’m feeling better, and ready to face the day again! I nearly passed out at dinner last night, just from exhaustion.
There are a lot of stories to tell, I haven’t even completed writing about Beijing and Shanghai yet! I’ve given up on the concept of one per day, I can’t cover everything if I stick to that.
Writing is going to start coming out of order, and continue long after we’ve returned home. I’m starting to act like a professional travelogue writer now! I carry a notepaper and pen everywhere to jot down thoughts, the regularly (often on a plane) scan through those papers and sort and organize them into topics, so I can come back and write later.
Hopefully that way I will remember more, and not run into what I did in Fiji, where I forgot half of what I wanted to put down!