our first stop was the meat "store," an open air, umbrella covered table with chunks of meat sitting, ready to be purchased. We bought about 5 pounds of pork, which they placed in a plastic bag and handed to us. . . not exactly krogers, but then again, we are in china after all!
from the meat section, we headed to the poulty department, where we selected our chicken from a pen of lively, clucking chickens.
rebecca suggested we name our chicken since with a name perhaps our host family would be less inclined to serve her to us for lunch, so we quickly agreed on phoebe, and watched as the man weighed her, tied her legs together, and then fashioned a quick harness for her out of straw.
the man handed her to one of us, and she looked around at the faces, hoping to see if we could be friends, you know, establish a little guanxi. . . but based on the grimaces from the girls, and her being held at arms length, it didn't look too promising. perhaps i was imagining it, but i think i heard her let out a resigned sigh.
we quickly headed to the bus station where we piled on to two mini busses, and because she was causing a bit of a ruckus, phoebe enjoyed the trip to the village in the trunk. poor phoebe. we it wasn't too long out of HP that our bus was stopped by a military outfit who questioned our driver, took a video of the bus and its passengers and checked the driver's credentials. a few of the people who were standing without seats were ordered off the bus (relax, they weren't any of our people, but a few that the driver had picked up after leaving the station) and we continued on. we were told that because there were "foreigners" on the bus, they had to show us that they are in control of the transportation and won't allow unsafe or overcrowded conditions. it's a wonder anyone likes us foreigners! i felt bad about the people who were forced out. . . about 45 minutes later, we were on the outskirts of may's village, and we walked down a windy, rocky trail through rice and corn fields to may's home. having weedled her way out of her harness, phoebe almost escaped from dan's grasp, but william, one of our chinese friends came to the rescue.
may's parents were busy preparing lunch for us, so we all gathered in her living room and chatted and even played a few games. soon dishes began appearing on the tables, and then we heard that phoebe was outside. . . in a tub of water, being stripped of all things feathery. so much for naming the chicken. she was then washed (with soap!), rinsed, and then the next time we saw her, she was . . . well . . . let's just say she joined us for lunch.
potatoes (amazing and they disappeared quickly), spicy cucumbers, corn, pork & veggies, chicken and corn on the cob in a broth, and some assorted dishes that were good, but so spicy i couldn't eat them and had ingredients not clearly identifiable. but everything was tasty!
after lunch, there was some ceremonial miao singing and celebrating with rice wine. it is customary for them to sing a song of welcome and friendship and share a hollowed out bull's horn of rice wine with their guests. it is then followed by a magenta stamp they put on your cheek (and depending on how much you drink, your chin, your eyelids, your forehead). they were not too insistent, thankfully, on our minors partaking, but the adults honored their hosts (but i am happy to report we were not overstamped!! because you come back to civilization and everyone can tell you've been drinking!!) with a few sips. may, her sister and mother sang to us beautifully.
with the last note still hanging in the air, the heavens opened and a huge, soaking downpour postponed our departure, so some of us played cards while the rest continued to chat. at some point we realized we were either going to have to brave the rain or ask may's parents to host some 20 strangers for the night. we elected to slog through the rain, up the small mountain to our awaiting vans who drove us back to the doorstep of our hotel! such service!
we had dinner around the corner from our hotel without becca, who had been battling strep for over a week and was miserable with a relapse. we brought her back soup, which we had to pay an extra 7 yuan for, since that was the deposit for the bowl and spoon, which we later returned. there are no to-go boxes in china. who knew!?
all in all, our day was better (much better) than phoebe's. other than kathryn's ongoing stomach issues and becca's throat, we have been blessed with good health. other than becca missing dinner, we have all been able to participate in everything. and it's been a true joy rekindling old frienships and building new relationships over the past few days.
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