CHINA TRIP Day 12: "Don't think like a Meguo."

-Tim

Saturday, May 29

ur bus got lost a couple of times on our way to the village but we eventually found our way there. I expected a small community of houses in one area but the village lay in the mountains and the houses were lined up next to each other on a path that went down into a valley-like area. For the most part I ended up staying near the first house near where we parked so I didn’t get an idea of the size of the village. At first we all thought we were planting trees but the hike turned out to be just that with the bonus of learning more about their soil redevelopment project and the obstacles they’ve overcome while trying to get trees to actually grow in the area. I wasn’t sure how big of an impact their work was actually making; I was getting a sense that it would take years and years for any noticeable significant improvement, which made me a little sad. It was great that this group was volunteering their resources to such an important cause, one that really needs to be expanded and implemented all over rural China, but I felt that such a small number of people and resources really wouldn’t be able to make a big enough impact.

The most interesting part of the trip was lunch because we got to sit down with village residents and eat the food they eat on a daily basis. However, none of us were expecting the amount of food they had prepared for us. It all tasted amazing as well. We had Justin with us, so we could communicate with our hosts. At one point they asked if I was Chinese or something I suppose and I had to explain (through Justin) that I was Korean. They seemed very surprised but I wasn’t because I’ve gotten similar reactions from all the Chinese students as well as other local people I’ve interacted with. Hong suggested that I might get a lot of people coming up to me thinking I was Chinese and speaking to me. We thanked them profusely for our meal (there was still a lot of food left over) and were told later that the food they had prepared for us was similar to what they would prepare for a wedding. I felt bad that we couldn’t finish the food and wasn’t surprised by their generosity but I wondered how much that would cost them.

After we helped them clear the table they were eager to show us their home. I took pictures of the kitchen (it was neat to see how they made the noodles we enjoyed so much) and their bedroom. Their living conditions weren’t as bad as I thought they were going to be. They had basic amenities and comforts; the home was rather cozy. I could imagine staying for one night, though maybe not for the entire weekend. As a group we headed down to the chapel where we were also going to give a monetary gift as a token of our gratitude for their hospitality. The chapel was very cute and cozy in my opinion; I was actually a little surprised that there were Christian services in the village. I suppose I assumed that just because they lived in a rural area of China they would either not follow a religion or still practice Buddhism or Confucianism.

I did remember reading in our travel booklets about proper gift giving and receiving customs and so we were all prepared to give the gifts to our hosts. However, they adamantly refused (this I wasn’t surprised by because it is the same in Korean culture) and then it got confusing and so we combined all the gifts and offered it to the village head. Words were exchanged and translated but I still felt a little confused. The translations weren’t as clear and were a little repetitive and so I don’t really remember what the village head had said after receiving his gift. We climbed into the bus afterward to head back to the hotel when they made us get back out. Apparently our bus wasn’t working and needed an extra push. They told us at first to climb into the other bus but that one soon became crowded and we climbed into our original bus once they got it working. However, the entire time some of the other students and I looked at each other with wide eyes because the bus was struggling and jerking along. I was taken back to the taxi ride the night before and took a nap to keep from thinking about any pessimistic scenarios.

We were given time to shower before dinner and I felt so much better. It had been a long day and though it was interesting and fun, I really had no desire to repeat it the next day and was glad we didn’t have to. After our group dinner, my roommate and a couple other students watched a movie and went to bed early; we were so exhausted.