Last weekend, Erin & I traveled to JianJuan's hometown. Visiting with JJ's family and seeing the rice harvest was a great experience, and we all enjoyed the roommate bonding time : )
Rice fields right outside of JJ's house
JJ's hometown is famous for its roasted duck.
The ducks BEFORE lunch.
The poor ducks are about to be roasted at the restaurant.
AFTER: Roast duck in the center plate. Also served at lunch was a huge container of rice (upper left), pumpkin (center right), peanuts (bottom right) and a few other pork and green vegetable dishes. So delicious!
JianJuan's living room has a coffee table with photos under the glass -- I was so surprised and touched to see that JJ and my Christmas photos were displayed. How special!
Villager standing on the edge of the fields, getting motivated to go back out and continue to harvest the rice.
Bundled stalks with the mountains in the background.
Village girls
Corn drying on the side of the road
In China, the word "Auntie" and "Uncle" aren't necessarily meant literally. These are terms of endearment and are often titles given to close family friends or respected elders. For example, after Chinese New Year, I wrote Liying's mother a thank you note for inviting me to their house for dinner. I wrote the note in English and in Chinese, and addressed it as "Dear Auntie." This is the polite and respectful way to address someone.
I say that to say the woman above in red is JJ's "Auntie" or close family friend. She is such a sweet woman and has always been so nice to me. The girl on the right is her daughter.
Mom and daughter walking through the fields
Little kids play in the fields while their parents work
The rice fields -- the red in the center is a scarecrow (wish the zoom on my camera was better!)
The smallest, cutest old woman in the whole world!! She was darling and literally 3.5-4 feet tall.
Precious.
We love rice!
Walking through the rice fields, being very Asian and holding our umbrellas to block the sun.
JJ's cousin, eating watermelon
Bags of rice in the middle of the field
JJ's Mom (in green) and her "Auntie" in the red shirt. Adore them!
Villager sitting outside the gate of her house, with rice drying on the sidewalk
