Experiencing the "Rural" Life

On Sunday we headed out for our homestay in the country. Our itinerary said “Experience the Rural Life,” I'd been a bit nervous about it. My vision was of me sleeping on a mat on the floor of some teeny house in 90 degree heat with no bathroom and no ability to communicate with my host family.

As it turns out, we're staying in this little rural Chinese B&B compound. The peasants (and that's the word they use in Chinese, and it's not pejorative) were forced off (paid-to-move-but-they-had-no-choice) their land and then they had to buy their home here. They no longer farm, but instead run these little bed and breakfasts for tourists looking to get out of the city. Suddenly our rural homestay turned into hanging out with my roommate in someone's living room that has wifi--with air conditioning!. It's not exactly “experiencing the rural life.”

When we arrived at the...I'll keep using compound for lack of a better word, we first met an artist who was taught by a famous painter who was not allowed to continue painting during the Cultural Revolution. Instead of painting, he taught others to paint...sounds like the ultimate way to get back at an oppressive government, right? Anyway, the art was beautiful, and I bought some!

Then at lunch, we got to make dumplings. It was fun, but all we really did was stuff them; we didn't make the dough for the wraps or the filling, but it was still good fun.

Working on my pinching and scalloping.

After lunch our Xi'an guide, Tiger, asked us if we wanted to go on a “little hike up mountain.” Sure! We enthusiastically agreed. So, we set off from the compound and walked up the street to this place that was a kind of river recreation area where people were eating at picnic tables and playing in the river. There were also incredibly smelly toilet areas as well as horses walking around. As we got to the end of the road and the mountain vegetation started, we saw this:

"Endless" staircase

Our trail was an endless, steep staircase. Just a “little hike up mountain.” So, up we went, hanging onto the chain link railing lest one of us fell and took out the entire 2013 Fulbright delegation. After Stairmastering for about 10 minutes, we reached the end of the stairs (OK, they weren't that endless) and got to a little outcropping. The view was beautiful, but the scene was really damped by four main factors:

1. The hazy, surreal view from of the mountains was actually disgusting pollution, not romantic and mysterious fog.
2. The weather was about 85 degrees and a million percent humidity. We were sweating uncontrollably, which normally is no big deal for me, but on this overnight trip we all packed really lightly and didn't have many options for changing into fresh clothes before we were getting on a plane to Chongqing tomorrow.
3. There was trash on the ground everywhere.
4. It smelled like poop. Probably because someone pooped nearby.

Some of us walked on a little farther, but since we didn't really know where the trail went, we soon turned around and managed to descend without incident.

Sweating profusely and the air smells like poop

Our last adventure of the day was after dinner. Tiger was taking us to the hot springs. I couldn't wait! I imagined a little hike into the woods, bamboo swinging in the breeze (not that that's a thing here in the stagnant, humid air) and sitting among the rocks looking at the stars (which also don't exist here in the pollution). Well, we got into the bus to go to the hot springs, and after just a few minutes of driving, we pulled up to a nice hotel and walked into the lobby. Turns out this is a Chinese hot spring:

While it didn't match my expectations, at least it didn't smell like poop.

Tomorrow we are off to Chongqing: the largest city you've never heard of.