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Published: January 27th 2009
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Back in October we were invited by the college to enjoy a day at Black Dragon Pond……Resort?....Park?.......Center? It was not clear to us exactly what the grounds were used for, but it was a fairly close destination to our campus, so the 45 minute bus ride provided us the opportunity to spend a day in a non-city environment. The setting was beautiful, a combination of traditional Chinese architecture, ponds, bridges, walkways and …….forests.
I guess due to the weather, we were the only ones there that day, even though it looked as if it could accommodate hundreds of people. It was dark, cold and rainy, not unlike close to every day last year in Juneau, so we felt at home with being out and enjoying whatever it was we were supposed to do and enjoy.
The reason I say this is because most if not all of our Chinese friends and co-workers made a bee line for one of the lovely buildings where karaoke was available, and for the next 7 hours, drank and wailed along at ear splitting decibel with every mournful song known to man. I guess karaoke goes better with a beautiful out
of doors setting surrounding it.
The rest of us started the day down at the fish pond. When Ya-Li found out there were fish to be had, she was as driven to catch one as the karaoke singers were to sing. A fishing pole was rounded up (from some neighboring houses along the bigger fish pond) which only had one hook. Which promptly got snagged and lost in the pond. But not to worry, Paul, the dad of one of the other teaching families here, was just the guy to figure out how to make additional hooks out of some barbed wire we found bundled in a nearby shack. Bradley, Paul’s son, and I took off to find worms which we did in several puddles up by the parking lot.
For hours the kids fished, but alas with no luck. Fortunately before we approached a state of hypothermia, we were rounded up to enjoy a wonderful lunch in the ”lodge”. As can be seen from the pics, group eating of many dishes which circulate via a lazy susan is the typical way to share meals here. Always accompanied by endless supplies of rice. Because we were
the only guests, it was a little surreal to be the only ones eating and being served. I think the wife of the college’s President knew the managers/owners and negotiated a deal for us to be there. Of all the fantastic weather days we normally have had here, it was unfortunate Juneau weather was what we got that day.
After lunch the kids felt even more determined to catch the big one, so while they returned to the fishing pond, a small group of adults elected to take a hike up into the hills. Had to cross a rickety rope bridge to get started, but once that was negotiated, it was peaceful, quiet and relaxing to explore the area. Fortunately Paul had a pocket knife along which he used to cut bamboo walking sticks.
Yunnan is home to many varieties of wild mushroom, many of which are collected and sold at local markets or served in local restaurants. This particular area was no exception and we bumped into a number of mushroom gatherers who let us peek into their baskets. Paul’s wife Caroline, who is Chinese, helped translate some simple conversations between us and them, including
my comments that I also came from a family of mushroom gatherers back in the states. This seemed to quell some of their apprehension as to why we were so interested in what they were doing. Few of the species looked too familiar to me that day, though I buy a lot of fresh wild mushrooms in the local markets here in Kunming for cooking.
Our return to the pond area found the karaoke singers still at it, but a few had drifted off to the Mahjongg buildings. Ahh, that is what all those other little buildings were used for. I guess Mahjongg goes better with fresh air too. So I sat and watched a few rounds, and was finally invited to try a “hand” myself. It is played similar to a 4-person card game, using Mahjongg tiles which are similar in shape to dominoes. It took several rounds to get the hang of it, but eventually it started to make sense and I even won one round which brought claps of appreciation from my opponents.
Mahjongg is a major game distraction in China, and gambling typically accompanies it like poker. According to many Chinese teachers
and students, it is terribly addicting and I heard stories that afternoon of families left bereft due to the father using most of the money to gamble Mahjongg all day.
I must admit, it was very fun and sociable game. I could have gone on playing for hours, but we were interrupted that our barbeque dinner was awaiting us.
So off to an outside dining room we went, where a central grill surrounded by an eating counter provided the means with which we cooked countless varieties of foods for the next several hours. We had to put on these clear plastic gloves which made licking your fingers impossible, but since it was community eating, perhaps that was the point. It was fun and oh so filling and soon the food and warmth of the grill returned us to a more human state.
It was fun to have had the chance to get to know some of the other teachers better and all in all another great experience in our Kunming life.
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