Well its bedtime after our last day here in China. We wandered around Beijing, saw scorpions and geckoes being offered as food items on the street, Didn't buy an orange that was $3, and generally rested most of the evening. George bought some studying Chinese books today, about the history of Chinese characters.
On this trip we've seen a LOT of things- roosters being sacrificed to protect a new car (complete with blood splattered on the new car and dripped all around it), beautiful friendly Miao ladies doing their daily chores, and flashy Beijing in all its modern glory. We've smelled a LOT of things too- several of our hotels had bad drainage, many villages had open sewage drains, our lunches smelled amazing, and we even smelled the lovely perfume and shampoo smells of Western tourists as they walked through the villages. Noticable by our own lack of lovely smell courtesy of no proper washing facilities and pants and sweaters worn for 17 days in a row. We tasted a LOT of things, from pickled hot peppers to pig intestines and bits of chicken you wouldn't think were edible. Fantastic fresh local veggies we'd never seen or heard of, tasty fungus, bamboo shoots, and fresh tofu. Dirt in the air from all the construction. We've heard SO many "Helloh! helloh! You want to buy?" and the cacophony of honking on city streets. People shouting loudly everywhere, spiting loudly all over the place, and the lovely sounds of Miao local dialects and beautiful music. We have also felt some unusual things- like pig intestine in your mouth as you're chewing it, sore backsides from hours of bouncing around on mountain roads, aching ears from cars honking 6 inches from you to get you to move, people shoving you from all directions into the person in front of you, village paths beneath our feet, and beautiful sun on our skin. It's been an amazing 17 days for me here in China.
I will miss a lot of things about China- the lovely people, fantastic food, ancient culture, and beautiful language. But there are afew things I'm looking forward to about getting home: my own bed, a bathroom without mold, a toilet that doesn't need squatting to use, clean clothes, quiet streets, proper sanitation, toilet paper, green grass, petting my cat, seeing friends in Cambridge, driving on smooth roads.
It's late here, well after bedtime. See you on the flip side in the West. :)
--
361 Photography
14 Parsonage Close
Burwell
Cambridge
CB25 0ER
t: 01223 850343
m: 07961 530780
e: kristi@361photography.com
w: www.361photography.com
Follow us on:
LinkedIn
Twitter: kristidunlap
Facebook
No comments:
Post a Comment