Surreal Bowl XLVI, China-style

(Ed. Note: This is a special posting from Randy Hoover, geography teacher at D-S Middle School and 2004 Exchange Group member, currently on sabbatical in China.  Last week, Randy spent some time with our group in Kunming.  He sent this piece to NPR's Only a Game, where it aired on February 11.  See their website or listen to the audio HERE!)

It was already halftime by the time I got up and out of my apartment, rode my bike across Kunming and finally found O’Reilly’s Irish Pub, which to my knowledge was the only public establishment in the city that was screening Super Bowl XLVI, a.k.a. the revenge match-up between my beloved New England Patriots and the nasty New York Giants. As if it wasn’t disorienting enough to be going to an Irish pub in China to watch American football – my first and only game of the NFL season since arriving in August to teach English here for a year -- it really seemed weird that the air was not cold on Super Bowl Sun…make that Monday; a 7:29 a.m. start, China time – the 15th and final day of Chinese New Year celebrations.

A Day of Amazing Food in Xi'an

(Emily)

Today was a day of amazing food. Richard took us to the Muslim quarter for dinner--highlights included sticky rice with rainbow sprinkles, deep fried persimmon cakes, and indescribably delicious eggplants that Mel and I determined we could eat forever. They were in some kind of sweet, spicy, tangy, garlicky sauce, and melted in our mouths.

Free Coptive Anlimals (sic)

(Emily)


I was rather afraid that I would experience furry animal withdrawal while in China, but the country has exceeded my expectations and offered many animals, furry and otherwise, for my enjoyment. In Lijiang we went to a market that featured more vendors for the Lantern Festival. There were turtles, both large and small, for sale, as well as parakeets and another kind of bird that looked like a large wren with long tail feathers. We also saw a cage full of small Russian hamsters, which I hope were for pet purposes only (I have been telling myself that they are too small to be worth eating). One street vendor was selling live chickens, and many others were selling live fish who swam little circles in buckets on the streetside. One man had a cart with a cage full of live rabbits. On our way home we passed a girl and her mother feeding lettuce to a fluffy white baby rabbit who was about the size of a fist. It was incomprehensibly adorable.

Cultural Revolution II

(Andrew)

The morning started with a highly anticipated breakfast. For days all of us have been craving a western breakfast. Although all of the Eastern breakfasts we have had have all been excellent, nothing beats fruit and/or yogurt. So, as Mr. Hoover, and team GOAT entered the dining room, we all headed towards the yogurt and fruit. And it was delicious. The yogurt tasted just like Dannon yogurt, and it hit the spot nicely.

After our satisfying breakfast, Mr. Hoover led us to Wal-Mart.

Deep In the Shibao Mountains

(Allen)

The past couple days have all been a blur as we moved from one traditional Chinese city to the next, spending no more than two days each. For me, having been in China a couple times already, many of the things weren’t so foreign. Temples, caves, busy metropolitan areas are all great but it was nothing new…that is until went to Shaxi village.

Shaxi, located in the heart of the Shibao mountains, is packed with history and culture. To give you a little history about the village, Shaxi used to be a pivotal stop along the Tea and Horse Caravan Road, which is an important branch of the Silk Road. So it still has that border-town kind of feel, with many of the same cobble-stone structures that were originally built over a thousand years ago. It is the oldest and most culturally preservative of all of the villages in the Shibao mountains.