kaili: gateway to minorities

we awoke to chinese music piped in to the hallways of our hotel at 8 am on friday, which our american team found an interesting practice. we gathered in the hotel's dining room for a delicious buffet-style breakfast complete with toast (impossible to find in china), butter and jam (also rarities), and COFFEE (our first real coffee since leaving)!! besides eggs and ham, there was also typical chinese food like fried rice, fried noodles, steamed breads filled with bean paste, meat or sugar, and some cookie-like pasteries that look better than they taste. we greeted rebecca with happy birthdays and also celebrated her during our team devo-time.
we hopped on a bus that would take us to a minority village about an hour outside of kaili.
apparently the ladies there are used to outsiders coming because they greeted us at the bus with their handcrafts which they all wanted us to buy. they brought us into their homes where they proceded to push their wares on us. they were sweet and we all made some purchases and becca jones dressed up in their native attire and looked so cute. imagine her surprise as she went to get back on the bus that they wouldn't let her until she paid 10 yuan (about $1.50) for wearing the clothes! we had some good intentional time there which we can elaborate on later. our daddy is helping us make use of every opportunity he is giving us!
back to kaili for the minority marketplace where all the people gather and put out their handicrafts for sale. it's sensory overload, but by the time we left, all the girls had mastered great haggling skills and how to say "too expensive!" in chinese.
afterwards we walked across the street for lunch at a lovely dong restaurant. delicious! it was neat to see their dress and distinctive hairstyle.
next stop, batik factory, where everyone was able to see the batik process and how our daddy is being glorified through this traditional process. we purchased some "heavenly" pieces and are anxious to share them with those of you at home.
we collected all of our purchases and belongings and headed off to the train station for the 3 hour trip back to guiyang. interestingly, train travel is a step below bus travel, so those who can't afford bus tickets take the train. we weren't necessarily on that tight of a budget (a bus ticket costs about $7) but thought the experience would be intersting.
that was an understatement!
the bus station was crowded and smelled of urine. people stood or sat on their bags because seats were being taken up by homeless people, sprawled across seats in slumber. when the intercom announced the pending arrival of the train, there was a pushing and shoving to get to the ticket gate. the ticket taker let us "foreigners" on to the platform ahead of everyone else, which was nice! but it really didn't help much as our tickets were "festival seating." juggling our bags and maneuvering the crowded aisles only added to our "stare quality" and miraculously, some of us found seats. many of the girls made good use of the three hours making friends with curious seatmates, while i sat in a group of five chinese who didn't speak a word of english beyond "hello." one of the couples had a 3 mo old baby, and because chinese put their children in split pants/bare bottoms, experienced a wet three hours as the baby peed on three of the five adults present (i was spared!!).interesting custom.
by the time we left the train station, many of the girls had made some friends, and one is coming to the birthday party we are having for our host at our apartment (yet another excuse to intentionally interact with students and teachers) today (saturday). it was an interesting three hours for us. . . and them! two of our girls were busy teaching a young boy some english and proceded to teach him the "head, shoulders, knees & toes" song complete with motions. . . much to the delight of the passengers around them, based on the applause i heard several rows away.
i love how our team is using every opportunity our daddy gives them to engage and build bridges with their hearts. it's been the best few days, even if we did have rain. . . even though it wasn't what we wanted/needed, it was exactly what the dry river beds needed, and isn't that how our daddy loves us?? oftentimes not giving us what we want, but what we need.
again, sorry about the lack of photos. something we hope to add soon. computers in china don't seem to like us very much!