Adventures in Guangzhou!

The first home we walked into felt like a trip back in time. The family was dressed in old ragged clothes. The house only had three rooms including the kitchen. The window-less walls were constructed of very thin wood that had multiple cracks and holes. The place was freezing and they burnt huge pieces of dried wood in the middle of the room... without any ventilation. The fire was thus a crucial source of light, heat, and incidentally a ton of smoke. The only electricity in the entire house was a single lightbulb hanging precariously in the main room.

I was loving my hot tea as I took in the scene around me. At one point I turned around and looked inside the kitchen. I thought it was wild/impressive that most other houses cooked without electricity or gas, but made use of charcoal. This place was not even that advanced! No, they were cooking over an open fire. In other words, when the flame got low, one of the guys had to go grab more wood or we weren't going to eat. Wow.

There were two fellows sitting around the fire with us that were completely baffled at David and I turning down their offer of cigarettes. Apparently they were smoking the best stuff available for the holiday season and couldn't fathom why we would not want to take advantage. Different strokes, ya know? Anyhow, they brought out the food and we chowed down. Lunch was good but even I ate quickly because I needed to get out of there. The smoke from the fire was starting to burn my eyes a bit and, despite the cold rain outside, I needed some fresh air. It worked out just fine though because we were off to visit another uncle's house at the completion of the meal.

The next house we went to was a bit more "modern," so to speak, but was still a far cry from the western world. Everything is relative though. I remember distinctly thinking that the "toilet" at David's aunt and uncle's house was gross but I started to yearn for it's pseudo privacy and luxury. I needed to go at this place and they directly me outside to a semi covered but completely door-less hole in the ground. I suppose this would be okay on some days, but when there is cold rain blowing in your face, the last thing you want to do is squat down and do your business. Just sayin'.

Inside was rather interesting though because not only were we using a roaring fire to warm ourselves, but the smoke was actually smoking a couple of ducks hanging from the ceiling. Again, I am just not in Kansas anymore. After about six cups of tea and a dozen youzi's, we were off once again. This time, we headed to David's sister's home for dinner. It was rather uneventful except for the fact that her kids' friends all came by to see me which was funny. They asked me (in English) how old I was and when I told them 25, they were shocked. Apparently they all figured me for 17 or 18. Geez--17 or 18? That puts me back in high school! I hope I've progressed at least a little past that.

The other notable thing from dinner was that we drank homemade baijiu at a healthy clip, regardless of the 75% alcohol content. Now THAT stuff was harsh. We walked outside to catch a couple motorcycles home and I told David I was going to take a leak around the corner (out of sight) in some random field. He was very surprised at this announcement and asked me why I would do that. Umm, well, I had to go, we were no longer by the house, and we were outside--didn't seem to be a big deal to me, especially given the amount of filth and garbage already on the ground. It didn't seem like a little urine in a field was going to hurt anyone but I guess I was wrong. I got the official denial on that request which definitely surprised me. Along the same lines, when we got home I tried to circumvent the bedtime washing rituals and everyone was horrified. How could I possibly go to bed without washing my feet?! Inconceivable!! I guess there are certain things that you just don't do (or have to do, as the case may be) even if they seem a bit illogical.