Explorer

That's me. Or at least that's what I've been these past few days. :)

Thursdays are my "no class" days, which is delightful because it allows me to catch up on grading, lesson planning, errand running (which is always a bit of a hassle because Longdongbao doesn't have anything so I always have to take a 1.5 hour bus ride—in the same style of public bus we have in the States, only with 80+ people crammed inside, standing, trying not to fall but unable to move—into Guiyang), etc. This past Thursday I decided that, rather than work, I was going to take a "me" day and go exploring around Longdongbao, which is one of my favorite things to do, by the ways.

I started off my hike at around 2:00 pm, and headed straight to the river behind my campus. I'm not sure if I've mentioned this river before, but it's amazing! It's located between two mountains (my campus is on one mountain, and I'm not sure what is on the other) and is very difficult to get to. Because of the inconvenience of its location, and because most people/students haven't discovered a way to hike down the mountain to get to it, almost no one ever goes to this river, save a few fisherman (who wear the stereotypical fisherman's hat and crouch by the water, so it's a wonderful sight) and local farmers who live along the river. As you know, China is extremely overpopulated, so finding a place where you can be assured solitude is a real blessing.

As I said, I started my hike along the river, as I often do, but this time I decided to go the opposite direction as usual. It was a great choice. The sights were second to none, I met some amazing farmers (who were so baffled to see a blonde laowai/foreigner period, let alone in their farming area), was invited into many of their homes to eat or to play mahjong, and just had a nice, peaceful, quiet hour's walk. Finally, after an hour had passed, I reached the end of the path (a giant cement wall had been built) and could go no further. Rather than turn around, I decided to try and climb up the mountain and see where it took me. I was in luck. It took me right into the heart of Longdongbao.

The heart of Longdongbao, I should explain, is an industrial area. It is where LOTS of coal is produced, it's filled with black smoke, the roads are made of dirt (your inner nostrils are black after 5 minutes in Longdongbao), and lots of auto mechanical work is done here (and rubber burning, but I'm not sure why). It's always lively, loud, filled with cars/trucks driving and kicking up dirt, and there's LOTS to see. I was once told that if I were to go past this area and delve a bit further into Longdongbao, I would encounter the Guiyang Airport. I have never seen the Guiyang airport. As an explorer, I felt that, since I was in Longdongbao anyways, it was my duty to discover this said airport, and so I ventured off.

I knew the 244 bus went to the airport, so getting lost wasn't a concern. I simply had to walk along the 244 bus route. Easy enough. So I did just that. After about 50 minutes passed (filled with lots of curious onlookers, coughing from coal dust, and blisters forming on my feet—I was wearing sandals), I became confident that, soon, I was fated to encounter the airport. Every time I saw a new 244 bus stop I thought to myself "okay! The next stop! That's the airport!" and so I'd march on, only to see another 244 bus stop and would again think "okay! The NEXT stop! That's the airport!". Mind you, as I said, I was in sandals (it was the first hot day since September) and Longdongbao does not have sidewalks; I walked on gravel/dirt roads. The "next stop" was not the airport. 2 hours went by. Then another hour. In total, I had hiked for 4+ hours since my original departure to the river (in sandals!), and there still was no airport in sight. I should mention that, in pursuit of the godforsaken airport, I had stopped checking my watch, forgetting that the bus stops running at 6:00 (and that I had office hours at 7:00). It was now 6:20. And the sun was almost set. Meaning that, if I was going to return home (which I had to), I had to walk another 4 hours on the same gravel road (meaning more blisters) in the dark.

I was almost in tears. No airport. No bus. Blisters on my feet. No sunshine. No streetlights. And by this point, there was not even any houses or buildings around. Finally, in a panicked state, I decided to just stop at the next bus stop and stand there in hopes that someone would offer me a ride. I knew this was ridiculous, but I was desperate and in pain. So I waited. And I waited. Farmers walked by and all of them coincidentally thought it would be a good idea to inform the stupid foreigner that the buses stopped running at 6 and I'm waisting my time standing here. I, in my frustration, responded to all of them with a curt "ting bu dong" ("I can't understand what you're saying") and continued to stand there, almost in tears. Just as I was ready to sit on the ground and cry, a fancy tour bus rounded the bend (coming from the damned airport, I presume) and low and behold, THEY STOPPED! Not because they were supposed to, but simply because they were probably confused by the fact that a female laowai/foreigner was in Guizhou province, in the middle of no where, at night, by herself, standing by a vacant bus stop. Not only did they stop, but for only 2 kuai (1 kuai more than a public bus) they said they'd drop me off at my school!

Beautiful luck.

Following my first explorer episode, I decided to do some more exploring over the weekend. Joined by Dave and Mary (other PC volunteers who teach in Guiyang), we took a 4 hour train ride to Zunyi, the city where the Red Army was able to regain its power and Chairman Mao took leadership of the China Communist Party (this is known as the only thing Guizhou province has as a claim to fame). Our friends and fellow Peace Corps volunteers, Kari and Andrew, teach in Zunyi so we decided to pay them a visit, celebrate Andrew's upcoming birthday, and see the famous sites of the Red Army and famous CPC meeting grounds.

Upon arrival in Zunyi, we were welcomed with warm surprise after warm surprise. Kari, a wonderful little Betty Crocker, had received a package from home filled with supplies to make Western delights. In only one day she made us homemade syrup, French toast, omelets, apple crisp, chocolate chip cookies, gave us candy, and even chai tea. It. Was. Glorious.

We never made it to see Chairman Mao/Guizhou province's claim to fame. We never even saw any of the city aside from the 5 minute walk from the train station to Kari's apartment. We staid at her house. And we ate. And it was the most amazing weekend … maybe ever. :) You have no idea what a luxury Western delights are until you've ate rice and fried vegetables every day/every meal for the past 4.5 months.

But then we had to go home. And that was terrible.

We, as careless explorers, assumed that, being as it wasn't a special weekend, the trains wouldn't be crowded going back to Guiyang and so we foolishly didn't go to purchase our tickets until an hour before the train was scheduled to depart. Low and behold, the train's seats were sold out. We were left no choice (because we had to lesson plan and then teach in the morning) but to buy standing tickets, which cost the same as a seat but means that you have to stand the whole train ride. There is nothing to hold onto, no where to lean (other than the stinky bathroom wall/door), and no where to put your luggage. The train was, and I cannot do the description justice, filthy. Babies/small children had peed on the ground (babies don't wear diapers here so they pee wherever/whenever, and its acceptable for small boys to pull down there pants and pee in public when "nature calls"--as they like to say in English--), cigarette butts were everywhere, dirt, poop off people's shoes, sunflower seeds, wrappers, etc. Filthy. So for 5 hours (it was a slow train, too) we stood, holding our luggage, baring the grime of the train. Mary, I forgot to mention, is a retired principal so, while her health and spirits are in top condition, she still isn't the youngest thing so it was definitely unpleasant for her.

Now I am back in Longdongbao, resuming classes and my normal life. My school is taking me and the other foreign teachers out to lunch tomorrow (Wednesday) in celebration of our American Thanksgiving, and on Thursday night I'm going to put up a little Christmas tree that was left for me by former volunteers. I'll probably have rice and fried vegetables for my actual Thanksgiving dinner. :) haha, all part of the experience! On Saturday, however, our Peace Corps family is coming in and we're going to have a big feast and celebration (minus the turkey…maybe chicken in its place). Danny says he can make a good pecan pie, and after begging people from home for the ingredients for the past 2 months, he finally insists that he has all he needs to make it, so I'm thrilled for (my favorite!!) pecan pie! It shall be a fun, unique holiday, to say the least!

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!!!

Eat lots of turkey and American goodies for me! :D