Part VI: My experience and learning in China

Overall, China was a wonderful trip. Other things we did included boating down the Li River on our way to Yangshuo, watching the Impression Sanjie Liu show directed by Yimou Zhang on the Li River, and also checking out Reed Flute Cave among other things. These were all beautiful and wonderful experiences.

Boating down the Li River.

How many horses do you see?

Impressions show on the Lee River, directed by Yimou Zhang.

The Impressions show has a production crew of over 600.

Overall, a very beautiful and impressive show. It was performed on the river and uses the nature behind it as it's backdrop.

Inside the Reed Flute Cave.

Most beautiful spot inside the cave.

The Miao/Hmong Chinese villages were the highlight of the visit by far. One thing that we noticed, was that these villages mostly had older villagers. We asked our tour guide, and according to him, a lot of the younger villagers no longer live in their villages. Many will attend universities and then remains in the larger cities after school. However, due to their large crowded cities, the Chinese government is offering incentives for people from rural communities to attend universities and then return to their rural communities to give back and provide for the community to help them grow. China's major cities are currently facing an overcrowding issue.

Last Miao village we visited, here they are standing waiting to welcome us into the village. The experience here very much felt like I was coming back home.

My biggest regret of this trip was that I do not speak any Chinese. In a global setting, I should know Chinese. Every where we went, because I look like the locals, everyone spoke Chinese to me. It was very challenging to tell them that I am a foreigner, and speaks only English. To which, they would laugh and speak very minimal English back to me. Everyone in China knows at least a little bit in English, that is because they all learn basic English in elementary school in China. Whereas here in the United States, you can only take Chinese as a foreign language in high school, that is if it's even offered beyond the very Euro-centric curriculum of just offering Spanish and French as world languages.  Fortunately, some of our students who went on the trip were taking Chinese as a foreign language at our high school, and this was a wonderful opportunity for them to practice their language skills. They also had the adventure of helping translate for the majority of us who does not speak Chinese. Nonetheless, the students all enjoyed the trip and many misses China. It was a great opportunity for them to get out and explore the world and to experience what is out there. Learning about a culture and its language is one thing, it is a whole other experience to be able to live it, especially to get a taste of life half way around the world.

Part V: Miao Villages

The Hmong people originated out of China, and were called Miao, a name given to a diverse group of ethnic minorities who resided in the mountains. The Hmong and Miaos fought numerous battles with the Han Chinese and many were driven out of their homes into southern China. While many of the Hmong fled China south into Laos, Vietnam, and eventually into Thailand, a large group of the Hmong remained in China. Today, the majority of Hmong or Miao, still lives in China. In truth, there is no way of telling which Miao group is who, but they are labeled more by their traditional clothing styles, such as Miao Butterfly, or Miao Flower, due to the respective designs on their clothings.

One of our main purpose in going on this China study tour, was to go visit some of the Miao villages, to interact with them, and hopefully learn more about our history and story. We ended up visiting three villages. The first one was a bigger village, coincidentally, the name of the hotel we stayed in was The Hmonger Hotel, and this village was the biggest and most touristy of the three. The next two we visited, were much more remote, smaller, and less touristy.

The first village had a lot of shops and restaurants. There was a small man-made river that runs through the village, splitting it into two, but necessary to irrigate the rice fields. They even held cultural dances and performances in the center of the village. They had long roads filled with souvenir shops on both sides of the streets. This village also had several hotels towards the back of the village. This was where we stayed at The Hmonger Hotel. This Miao village was clearly a tourist village, as evident by the amount of shows, shops, and restaurants they had in the village center.

The second village we visited, was just a brief tour. It was a very small remote village. The village was located on the mountainside, and we had to park at the bottom and climb up to take a quick tour of the village. We saw some men working, in the process of constructing a building. They built and used a bamboo structure to help them climb and transport wood. We saw some kids wondering around, but very few people. There wasn't much to the village, other than houses made of wood and bamboo. There were also small gardens off to the side on the steep slopes of the hill.

The last village we went to was smaller than the first and less touristy, but also much bigger than the second one. They knew we were coming, and had planned a welcoming ceremony for us. Before this, we went and met with the village chief. He had planned on his daughter-in-law taking us out to their nearby farm/garden to pick some fresh vegetables to come back and prepare for that night's dinner. Since they lived out in the countryside, the path from their house to the garden consisted of climbing very steep paths and stairs. When we arrived at their garden, only the garden was flat and we had to be very careful walking on the edge of it, as there was about a ten feet drop off to the garden below it. We picked some fresh cabbages, greens, and another type of flower vegetable that is only used for pig feed. The students also balanced the vegetables out on the basket carrier, which had two baskets at the end of a long wooden pole, and carried it back on their shoulder. Once back at the village chief's house, we helped prepared the vegetables by washing and prepping them for dinner. Then we were on our way to the welcoming ceremony. The welcoming ceremony was very beautiful. The whole village dressed up in their traditional clothing, the men performed their lusen/qeej instrument and welcomed us, and the ladies gave us drinks from the buffalo horns. The ladies also sang a very beautiful song as we all walked by. They also put on a show for us, a re-enactment of the sacrificing of the water buffalos to ward away evil spirits and for good fortune. Then we headed back to the village chief's house for dinner. A couple of villagers were also invited for dinner and they came to join us. It was here where we attempted to try speaking to each other in our Hmong language.

We knew there was a strong possibility we were not going to be able to communicate, and that was the case. Our Hmong language and theirs have adapted so much since we have separated. They mainly speak Mandarin now, even when they speak in their Miao/Hmong language, there is a strong Mandarin influence, very similar to our version of Hmonglish. However, what was interesting was beyond the surface level of greeting and casual conversation, once we got deeper into more about culture and religious practices, there were quite a few words that were either still the same, or very closely resembled each other. For instance, when honoring someone, and asking them to drink, it was still the same, "haus dej" and when talking about shaman practices, many words very closely resembled each other.

Not only that, the sewing on their outfits, were very familiar, in terms of designs, patterns, colors, and pieces of garments. One big difference was the amount of large silver jewelry they wore that we typically do not wear, especially on their headwear. Their skirts are very beautiful and colorful, filled with many different designs and patterns, many of which were the same and very similar to ours.

First village, entrance into the village.

First village, one of the many performances they put on.

First village, in the museum, a was figure of a Miao shaman that is very similar to a Hmong shaman.

First village, in the museum, wax figures of Miao women in their traditional clothing. Their dress and shirts are very similar to Hmong, however their headwear is quite different.

First village, museum, these are the Miao lusen/qeej instrument. The only difference here is that their's are straight, whereas the Hmong qeej is shorter and curved. 

First village, some of us walking around, looking at the shops.

First village, a really nice view of the man made river that runs through the village. 

First village, the villagers here still practice slash and burn as a farming method.

A student enjoying trying to talk to a local.

Our hotel in the first village, The Hmonger. 

The second village, a lady walking by carrying her produce.

A view of the farms on the hills from the second village.

From the third village, our students helping pick fresh vegetables for dinner.

Walking back to the village chief's house after picking up vegetables.

Back at the village chief's house, our students helped prepare the vegetables for that nights dinner.

The planned welcoming ceremony for us from the third village.

The Miao men playing their lusen/qeej as part of the welcoming ceremony.

The meal from the village chief that we helped prepare...or what was left of it.

A view of the third village in the evening as we were leaving.

Part IV: Cultural Meals and Food in China

The food in China was amazing and delicious, especially if you like Chinese food. Who doesn't like Chinese food? I don't, and I'll get to that later. The food in China is deliciously good, much better than any you will ever have at a Chinese restaurant in the states. If you are ever adventurous enough, you should try to street food or local hole in the wall restaurants. I noticed a trend with the food in China. Since China is a large country, it's no surprise that the food taste different in different regions of the country. In Beijing, I found the food to be a lot more traditional, flavorful, bold, and sweeter. However, in the south, the food was still somewhat traditional, yet more westernized, more bland, and a lot spicier. They even had western food, such as french fries and pizzas. Perhaps it was because we were in southern China, and closer to Hong Kong, hence the more western influence on the food dishes.

There are two meals that I want to focus on here, the traditional hot pot and the Peking Duck meals we had for dinner in Beijing. The hot pot was very interesting. I have had hot pots in the state before, and although it was similar, it was still very different than this hot pot in Beijing. Not only is the styles of the pot different, it is an actual clay-like pot with charcoals in the middle to heat the pot. The pot is also very deep. Everything went into the broth and everything was shared. This was a very interesting meal to have with students and to watch them struggle using longer chopsticks to pick up the cooked food from the hot pot onto their plates. We had meatballs, fishballs, greens, tofu, mushrooms, beef, pork, fungus, noodles, and even a side of grilled goat skewers. Although students enjoyed the experience, not many of them enjoyed the food. They did not enjoy having to work for their food, as it was a struggle for some to reach and work to get the food out of the hotpot. 

The Peking Duck meal was also very delicious. Our tables each got two ducks and we devoured them quickly. We also had other main dishes along with the ducks, but the ducks were the specialty dish. First, the chef would roll the whole duck out near our table. Then, he would proceed to carve the duck right in front of us. This was a big deal, I guess it's seen as a highly skilled trade and a form of art in China. Then the chef also showed us how to eat the duck by dipping it into the duck sauce and then roll it up on this flour-tortilla-flan-like sheet. However, not many of us liked the roll, and simply ate the duck without the roll. Of course, we finished the ducks at both tables. 

The rest of the meals in China were your typical Chinese food dishes. These dishes consisted of fried rice, fried noodles, a tofu dish, a greens dish, a pork or fish dish, a fungus dish, a mushroom dish, a stir fry dish, rice, and every once in a while, a chicken dish. We were told to avoid chicken dishes on the street and in most restaurants, due to the bird flu. We did not have a single beef dish while in China. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner consisted of these dishes everywhere we went. With the exception of breakfast, since they were all at the hotels, some served some western foods, such as eggs, bacon, and sausage. The biggest difference between the meals in China and here, is that they don't offer water or refills. Since tap water is not safe to drink there, every meal each table had a two-liter bottle of Coke and Sprite to share. Tea, on the other hand, was everywhere. I learned to be an avid tea drinker while in China. It was either drink tea or be thirsty. 

My favorite meal in China was not one we had at the hotel or restaurants. Since we normally ate dinner around 5 or 6, we sometimes got hungry later at night. Some of us, would venture out and walk around the hotel at night to tour the area. One night, we were staying at the Crown Plaza, and a few of us were hungry and decided to go out and see what food option was available. We ventured down the street from our hotel. We noticed there were about five small open restaurants lined up next to each other right next to our hotel. After walking by all five, we decided to come back to the first one. While none of us spoke Chinese that night, we managed to point at pictures, and through non-verbal communications, managed to order ourselves the best food on the trip, a bowl of goat pho. Pho is a bowl of traditional Vietnamese rice noodle. This broth was the best I have ever eaten. The goat meat was very tender and flavorful, and the broth had a really good herbal aroma and taste to it. Hands down, best dish on this trip. It was unfortunate that only a handful of us had this meal on the trip. 

Lastly, no matter how good a food is, eventually you get sick of it. After eating Chinese food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for so many days straight, I got sick of Chinese food and wanted no more. The other male teacher/chaperone and I started craving for western food and beef. Sure enough, one night there was a McDonalds nearby. We walked over, and luckily, they had an English menu. While most of their food offering were the same, they also had a few items that were different and only available there. One, which was their McWings, a two piece chicken wing section and drumstick offering and the other was a rice bowl with a chicken patty. We both placed our orders, each ordering a double cheeseburger meal and I also ordered some wings for us. This was the second most satisfying meal in China, after the bowl of goat pho. The burger filled our craving and the wings were surprisingly really finger-licking delicious. It was extra crispy with the breaded crumbs and not only was it juicy and tender, it also had a nice spicy kick flavoring to it. I wish McDonalds would carry these wings in the states. Even the students who went with us to McDonalds enjoyed the wings and questioned why McDonalds don't offer these in America. 

The students really enjoyed the food in China and almost every student I asked, said they gained weight from the trip. While in China, the students constantly made comparisons between the food we were eating and the Chinese buffets here in America. Sometimes they would say the food in China was better, and sometimes vice versa. After a couple of days, and eating the same thing for almost every meal, the students realized how privileged they were to live in America. They realized that Chinese ate a lot of vegetables and tofu, and ate very little meat. They weren't too excited about it at first but came to a realization that perhaps this is how life is for the Chinese, and that there are not a lot of meat for them to eat. Students began to show more appreciation for what they have. This was especially evident later on when we visited the Miao villages and went to pick vegetables to prep for dinner. The students made comments about not over picking as they don't want to waste and gracefully helped with the meal prep. More on this later.

The traditional hotpot meal in Beijing. Inside the hotpot were coals, to keep the broth boiling and hot. We would cook all the food seen here by ourselves, by putting them in the broth. 

The big yellow duck outside of the Peking Duck restaurant we went to. 

The chef carving the Peking duck in front of all of us. 

Everyone staring at the vegetables and deciding what to eat. The ducks were carved and placed into plates spread throughout the Lazy Susan.   

Another meal in China. 

Another meal in China. The power went out.

Another meal in China, this time with fish in the large red bowl.

The goat pho dish. This was by far the best thing I ate in China. Best of all, it was just 8 Yuan,
which is just over one US dollar.

The fruit market nearby one of the hotels. There is nothing better than fresh exotic and tropical fruits. I purchased plenty of fresh longans and passion fruits.

This was the second best thing I ate. After eating Chinese food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, I was craving western food. I was getting sick of Chinese food, and this hit the spot. The wings were delicious as they were juicy and tender.