Am I Dreaming?

There are times in life when you look around and think, “Is this real? Or am I dreaming?” I definitely had several of those experiences this weekend. My Chinese roommate – JianJuan, invited me to go home with her on Saturday, spend the night, and come back on Sunday. She is from the Chinese countryside – about 1.5 hours from Kunming. I was excited for the opportunity to get out of the city and see how everyday Chinese citizens live. That being said, I didn’t realize the journey in store for us. There were several legs of the trip: first, we took the city bus 30 min to the bus station. Next, we traveled on a greyhound-like bus for over an hour. Once we arrived at the destination, JianJuan told me that because she lives in the countryside, we must take another small bus to get into the village. Well, by small bus, she must have meant an incredibly small van (like the little European vans). The van was already full – all seven seats were taken, but they decided that we could squeeze in. Funny thing was, I was the last one in the van. I sat on the floorboard between the middle bench seat and the sliding door. Because I was next to the door, it was my responsibility to close the door. I tried to slide it shut, but my hips were too wide and it wouldn’t budge. Everyone starts laughing! I blushed (go figure!) and wanted to say, “It’s not my fault I’m American, have hips, and weigh more than 100 lbs,” but I didn’t. haha!

Anyways, the van twists and turns for twenty minutes into the country. It was so beautiful! Rice paddies were completely surrounding both sides of the road and the mountains were in the background; the people were out working in the fields. It was truly picturesque!

After the van dropped us off, we got into a cart that was pulled by a bike. This was our final mode of transportation to get up to the village. JianJuan’s village is amazing. Her whole family lives here – and it is a true community. Many of the homes are very old and made of mud and clay. There are dirt roads that may not even be able to be classified as roads. They are basically alleys that wind between all of the houses. There is no indoor plumbing, so there is a community bathroom instead. The house did have a water faucet outside though.

Pictures of the village

The village only has rice paddies that stand between it and the base of a mountain. If you stand on JianJuan’s doorstep, you look directly out over the rice paddies with the mountains in the background. It is breathtaking. I had one of those, “Am I dreaming?” moments as I stood and looked out over the rice paddies. I was so moved by the fact that all of this is His creation. The world seems so big to me right now – with all new experiences and a lifestyle and culture that I never knew existed. But as big as the world seems, He is bigger than all of it! He created it, and He has the “whole world in His hands.”

Once arriving in the village, I met all of JianJuan's family. They had never met a foreigner before – so they took lots of pictures and were very curious. They were so warm and friendly and welcoming! All the girls in the family (mom, aunts, cousins) and I had dinner together. We sat around a table that was metal and had hot coals underneath it. We cooked all of our food on it.

Dinner?!?

The main entrée was roasted duck – the village is famous for this dish (see picture) – and we had tofu, potatoes, squash, and the infamous chicken feet! (I respectfully declined). We sat around the table for almost two hours, everyone laughing and having a great time – even though the language barrier was difficult at times. The community of women is so interesting because you can tell how deep the bonds are. The men are all out in the fields (rice paddies) for multiple days at a time, so the women truly stick together. It is almost as if they become their own family and raise their children all together.

Eating dinner together - Cheers!

JianJuan's family

JianJuan's Aunt and Me riding into town on the cart

The next morning I woke up to roosters crowing (at first I thought it was Katie’s cell phone alarm clock – haha!). We all got ready and walked to the village market. Here we purchased everything for lunch that day and saw more of the family. After the market, JianJuan took me out to the rice paddies. The labor and work that goes into harvesting rice is phenomenal. It was incredible to watch these people cut all of the stalks by hand and bundle them together. All I could think was, oh my goodness this is such hard work and must take them forever. Next, we had lunch with the family, and then we headed back to Kunming.

Working in the Ride Paddies

The trip to the countryside impacted me in several ways. First, it was so eye opening to see the way these people live and their hard work ethic. They lead a challenging life, yet they take it all in stride. Secondly, being in the country and around all the farmland made me miss Missouri! I didn’t realize how much I associate home to open land and crops and hard work. Once again, I thought, “Am I dreaming?” With the exception of the fact that the crop was rice, I could almost see Uncle David and Neal out combining in the fields. I also realized that the work ethic and dedication it takes to farm is universal, regardless of the country or the crop.

Needless to say, I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to gain further insight into the way of life in China. I am blessed to have a wonderful roommate who is welcoming and sweet, and who has a very gracious family!