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View of the village
Taken from the bus, descending into the village Li Ming, Jenny and their classmates are sitting in the classroom. Mr. Wood comes in.
Mr. Wood: Good morning, class!
Class: Good morning, Mr. Wood!
Mr. Wood: Let's begin our lesson. Oh! Look outside! It's snowing! What a cold, snowy day!
(Everyone looks out of the windows. Snow is falling!) Li Ming: The snow is beautiful! But why is it snowing in April? It never snows in April in Shijiazhuang.
Mr. Wood: Really? Spring comes later in Canada. But it doesn't always snow in winter. Often it is very bright and sunny. The days are short and the night are long. But the sky is usually bright and blue. What do you like to do in winter in Canada, Li Ming?
Li Ming: I like to put on my winter jacket, my scarf and my mittens and walk in the snow. I like to look at the blue sky.
Danny: Can you skate and ski, Li Ming?
Li Ming: No, but I want to learn. Can you teach me?
Danny: Sure!
I'm standing on a stage in front of a class of 54 students. I'm reading this dialogue, two or three words at a time. Every time I read
Go carts!
A seriously overloaded go-cart. Wonder how this will end? out the words, a chorus of 54 voices repeats after me in unison.
I'm not describing some strange dream. I'm simply in Xijiang.
How do I find myself in this spot? Well, it all began when I woke up the morning before. The morning started at 6:30am in Anshun. The reason for such an early awakening was that we (Naor, Ayelet and I) were about to hop the bus to Guiyang. This we did. After two hours, we got off in the provincial capital, transfered by taxi to one of the other bus stations in town and hopped on another two hour bus to Kaili, in the east of the province.
We were now at the starting point. Of what you ask? Of the backdoor route from Kaili to Yangshuo. This route, loosely based on the itinerary given by
Chinabackpacker would see us out of Guizhou and into Guangxi province. Quick fried noodle lunch and off we go!
The first leg would take us from Kaili to Xijiang, the largest Miao village. The Miao (yes, it's pronounced like the cat sound) are a minority dispersed all over southeast Asia. There's a big concentration of them around
Xijiang go carts!
Yep... You guessed right.
No Children were harmed during the taking of this photo. southeastern Guizhou. The backdoor route provides a glimpse of many of the minorities in China, the Miao among them. We took what was supposed to be the direct bus to Xijiang, about two hours. Of course "direct" often isn't really that in China. The ride ended up being a three and a half hour affair, with a fair part on a dirt road. But we made it.
Upon rounding a bend, the village is revealed. Perched on a mountainslope overlooking a small stream, the sight is, for lack of a better superlative, breathtaking. This does not begin to convey the beaty of the place, nor do the photos. One thousand houses, clinging to the slopes, with terraces in between them and all around.
We set about looking for a guesthouse. We found one on the hill opposite the main village. The place was sparkling new. They were still building the room nextdoor. We set our bags down and set off to explore the alleyways of the village. This was so refreshing compared to the tourist traps of Dali and Lijiang. Nothing here was spoilt. People were friendly and the place was extremely peaceful. After a few hours of
Xijiang landscape
The view while hiking through the village. hiking through the village we went back to the guesthouse for dinner. At 20Y it was a bit pricey, but it was the kind where you just order dinner (nothing particular) and an assortment of local dishes just keeps coming out of the kitchen. The food was superb. I hadn't eaten this well since Mama's in Lijiang. Well worth the splurge. After dinner, the housekeepers (who hosted, cooked, cleaned and did everything else), at no prompting of ours, requested to sing us a welcome song in Miao. And so we found ourselves sitting, the three of us, in front of three Miao ladies dressed in their traditional garments and singing a Miao song which had an interesting play of tones and which required quite the musical ear in order not to sing out of tune. Besides the beaty of the tune, it felt very genuine, with the housekeepers not seeking any sort of compensation for the display, as you might expect to find in other places. For their wonderful hosting, I'm including in the pictures of this post the contact info for the guesthouse should someone decide to go to Xijiang.
I had noticed a computer earlier in another
Guesthouse dinner
The housekeepers (the ones with flowers in their hair) pose together with the rest of the family after the great dinner. Mr. Yang is seated far left. guesthouse. After dinner I went looking for the coveted internet connection. I reached the other guesthouse and asked how much an hour on the computer cost. The fellow who ran the place replied with courtesy, a smile, and more than passing English. The problem was with the reply. I was welcome to use the internet. However, due to local government policy, only guests of this guesthouse are permitted to use the internet. But don't fret, all you have to do is to run over to the police station (this transpired at 10pm mind you), get a permit for internet usage and come back. Then I would be welcomed with open arms. So much for writing any blog posts tonight!
Remember how this post started? Well, let's cut to the chase. At the hostel, a certain Mr. Yang took a seat at the dinner table and started talking to us. His English was surprisingly good and he was extremely friendly and inquisitive. Mr. Yang is one of the English teachers at the local high school. I've met English teachers in China. Trust me when I understate in saying that not many of them speak English as well as Mr. Yang.
Guesthouse contact info
No phone number, but if you end up in the village, this should be enough to find the place. During dinner, we explained a lot about Israel, about which he was extremely curious, and he enlightened us about Miao culture. When dinner came to an end, he invited us to call on a class he was teaching the next morning. We of course jumped on the invite! These are precisely the sort of things that I hope to stumble upon when travelling.
Next morning bright and early we found ourselves at the entrance to the school where Mr. Yang greeted us. He took us to the teachers lounge, resembling more of a nightclub as far as the smoky atmosphere, but that's China for you. He presented today's lesson and asked us to sit in for the entire period. Walking into class, I was astonished by the number of students. Nine rows of six students each. And fairly quiet. I don't remember droves of 13 year olds being so disciplined back home, even in the presence of visitors. The dialogue above is the heart of the lesson which was taught that day. At first the other teacher (there are two present in each class) stepped up to the podium and read the passage alound with the class reciting after
Dawn over Xijiang
Early morning mist over the village. him. Next he discussed grammatical as well as contextual points in the passage. Then he called upon Ayelet, Naor and I to roleplay the parts in the dialogue. I played Mr. Wood's role. After further discussion of various points in the passage, Mr. Yang asked me to step up and read the passage again for a final time. And thus I found myself facing 54 pupils. Definitely something to remember...
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