Dear all,
Thanks all of you that have written and the rest of you why not! Not really - but I am enjoying getting emails and feeling in touch with my friends back home. Whilst we were in the village (see below) had my first real bout of home sickness - I think it's because I was away from communication (although some of you have texted - thanks) and also we were with our friend and his family in his home town and family and home felt such a long way away with none of the familiar (despised and desired in equal measures) McDonalds, starbucks, chocolate, internet etc.
We have just returned from a few days in rural China which was a real privilege to experience - we would never have done so without our friends taking us there. Yujin's parents live in a village which is typical of normal rural life for millions and millions of Chinese people. It's in Shandong province (where Jinan is too, that Coventry is twinned with). Their house is one of the grandest in the village (because he buys lots for it) with heating, a shower (outside) and a big TV. But the toilet is an outside squat toilet like they have used for centuries, and all around we saw people toiling over the land. Especially now it was a great time to go as it is Autumn, the weather was perfect and the harvesting was being done. Corn and beans lined the streets drying and people were working really hard. It's really hard to imagine what their lives are like, even more so in a way being in amongst them. I really dread to imagine life in the winter when the snow is feet thick and most homes have little heating and certainly no hot or running water.
It's very easy to idealise the life because at this time of year, the family plots of land look very much like well-kept allotments - no big agricultural businesses, just smallholdings, but when you think that they really are having to support themselves off that land it really makes you appreciate the easy life that we lead.
The food in Shandong (and China generally) has been rather challenging for us all in different ways. We've all eaten far too much, as much of it is very delicious and our hosts make sure that we have a huge variety of food at each meal. For me and Rosa the challenge has been the variety of meats that get served - dog is a common dish in Shandong as are silk worms and scorpions. Mark and Melissa have taken up the challenge and tried most things (not dog, which Melissa now regrets - but she has eaten a massive load of new foods which I think she will post about on the blog). Rosa has eaten mostly egg fried rice, but rice was not so much available in Shangong though they do have delicious bread. I was a bit off-colour for a couple of days and didn't eat much but fruit - which was probably just as well - but there are a lot of very nice vegetables and tofu cooked in lots of different ways. I don't enjoy the Chinese breakfasts though, lots of savory stuff..
The dogs, as well as being eaten, are treated rather badly in the rural areas to our delicate western standards and Rosa and I were very upset by it a couple of times. People mostly look healthy and well fed and are friendly but the life is definitely not easy. We went to a country produce market and walked around like celebrities - everyone staring and giggling at us - many haven't seen foreigners before. Melissa gets a lot of attention - they think she is beautiful, they think Rosa is big and much older and they think I'm old and Mark is young (not very good for the self esteem I can tell you) and they have no social norms about not asking or talking about age so they tell you to your face too!! I feel old here and I think that I look older than when I left Coventry (but it might just be psychological)..
We left rural China and drove to Jinan, where we were put up for the night in a luxury 5* hotel - amazing place, we were taken to eat in an incredible seafood restaurant (luckily I was still off my food anyway) then flew home to Beijing - from one extreme (almost) to the other.
We're here now for 6 days until we fly off to India - getting excited about that now.
lots of love to you all
- Heather
No comments:
Post a Comment