There is no internet here which is why this post is delayed.
The bus ride to get to this village, Dazhai, is a story in itself. The small bus couldn’t fit all of our luggage In the bottom storage, so we had to sqeeze suitcases and backpacks on seats. The 5 ½ bus ride was crowded. I sat next to Joe who always provides colorful commentary. Mao, who is omnipresent in China and especially in Dazhai, sat on the windshield and stared at me the entire ride. Jackie Chan movies and Chinese music videos played on the tv.
After making a stop in which Joe stepped in what appeared to be human feces, we arrived at a gate lit by neon lights. It was what I imagine the drive to Las Vegas to be-darkness for miles and all of the sudden bright lights and buildings.
I was assigned housing with Taylor, Li Yan, Constance, and Wensess. (Li Yan has since left due to our living conditions and Kristen has replaced her). We live in an arch shaped room that is built into the mountain-essentially a cave. If we walk out of our room there is a courtyard that connects a few other bedrooms, a kitchen, a store owned by the family, chicken coops, and the exit to the main road of the village. There is no shower and no bathroom. Public bathhouses are squat toilets that smell awful and have no electricity. (Thank goodness for my headlamp). A few homes have showers and Western toilets, but we seem to have it the worst. Most of us haven’t showered yet, and won’t for the 3 days we are here. We all smell great. I finally changed my underwear and clothes yesterday. Every room seems to have a poster of Moa peering at us and the whole town follows this pattern. I didn’t feel as if I was in communist China until I was here. The whole town is full of propoganda art, posters, and possibly music (not that I can understand it).
Dazhai was once the model commune, but now is a collective community. The town gives students who go off to college money, donate to the elders of the town and help eachtoehr out, but there are definitely those who have more than others.
All of our meals are served by the family with which we live. Most of the food is tasteless. We all know I am NOT a picky eater so I eat it all, but a lot of it is pretty awful. We all keep talking about what food we would kill for. Mine is a hoagie.
Today Josh and I found a woman outside the school selling spicy kabobs. Best food yet in this town. I got tofu and califlour and quail eggs.
There is NOTHING to do in this town. So far we have gone for a “hike”, worked in the fields, went to a cement factory (as trhilling as it sounds), went to a sweater factory that wasn’t really a factory, played ping pong, TOOK NAPS!, talked about how much we need to shower, went a nonexistanet farmers market, eaten a lot of ice cream (the only food for sale in this village seems to be ice cream and alcohol), I got lost alone and tried to get a ride but failed, played with kids, got soaked and cold on our hike, and threw a cave party where the Chinese men invited our “men” to do shots of bijou (a STRONG Chinese alcohol that is remniscent of nail polish removier). Our “men” got very intoxicated and Josh even fell in front of Chris and needless to say did not join us this morning on our tours. We bonded a lot last night and I expect the lack of excitemnt in this town will force a cave party to happen again.
Tomorrow we are going to play with kids at the school! Tomorrow night we have an overnight train to Xian. From 9pm to 7am. It will be interesting-all of us crowded into a train car 3 bunk beds high, all unshowered and smelling awful.
My nose is really dry from the air and is bloody and gross. Grace made me put tampons up there to soak up blood and then the town doctor put alcohol up there andit burned.
People are really miserable here. I’m used to being gross and not showering from camp, but I will really enjoy going back to a city.
I can’t believe the time here is going so fast.
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