Saturday, January 29, 2011

An Evening in Wu-Yi

So after a long and busy day, we headed back to the Training Center for dinner and sleep.  Mrs. Wen had mentioned that she wanted her son to join us for dinner, as he had been taking English classes and she wanted him to practice.  Honestly, I can't remember his Chinese name, as he wanted an English one and we named him Matthew!  Matthew is 14 and such a great kid.  He loves basketball and studies very hard.  His mom worries that he likes to play too many video games - so typical!  The dinner table was very festive, and we were excited to visit with everyone while we ate.  The first course of soup came out in a covered bowl.  When she took the lid off, I really couldn't tell what was in the broth- it looked like some kind of green vegetable.  Then Dave's lid comes off and his eyes opened wide, and then Mike, who saw a foot sticking out of his.  At that point, Louie is translating the dish for us and saying something like "I'm not sure what you call it, it is not really a frog, but does live under rocks by the water".  Then I really took a look at it and asked Dave if it was a salamander.  He and Mike were quietly laughing, especially when they saw the look on my face.  I did my best to work on the broth, but there was no way I was nibbling on that little reptile!  Dave thinks it must have been something like a mud-puppy, if you know what that is.

There were a few more meal surprises to come, but I have been trying hard to at least sample as much as I can.  Mrs. Wen always discussed how the food was totally local and fresh.  Each meal was carefully planned to be completely balanced, and she would tell us what each dish was good for.  Like, the certain vegetables were good for your skin, certain dishes good for your liver - each one had a purpose.  Surprisingly, they don't eat much rice with their meals, or drink lots of tea while they eat.  The conversation was so much fun, especially including Matthew.  He was so enamored with Michael, as he wanted to be a businessman someday - a CEO!  I told him that when Mike was young, he said he would major in CEO when he went to college!  

I had mentioned to Mrs. Wen that I was hoping to get to see some local artisans, to see if I might find something to take home.  Again, she had arranged for the large van and a driver to take us to a fabulous shop that does wood carvings.  It is impossible for me to describe the incredible scale and skill of the pieces.  Utterly amazing work - and not all that inexpensive.  There was a 20 foot table that was made from a single slab of wood that was truly one of a kind.  It had a price on it of $100,000 US.  I was looking for something small that I could take on the plane, and found the most beautiful carved tea pot.  The wood and the craftsmanship was crazy beautiful- it was small and I felt destined to buy it.  When I inquired about the price, it turned out to be very rare, one of their best small pieces and was priced at approximately $3,000 US!  Darn!  After visiting another store, I did find something much more in my price range.

Did I mention that it is freezing cold???  The stores have no heat and their doors stand wide open.  Sure doesn't give you an incentive to browse!

Mrs. Wen had made arrangements to then take us to the home/establishment of a local tea grower.  The tea growers are doing very well, as indicated by the home we visited.  The owner was so gracious and invited us into what is the first floor and his place of business.  He had a wonderful tea room and brought us in and we spent the next 2 hours learning about tea, sampling and visiting.  The owner also had a 17 year old daughter who is studying English, and she was there to have an opportunity to talk with us.  Her English name was Andrea and she was so wonderful I just wanted to take her home with us!  We hit it off right away and agreed to be email pals.  Then she gave me her phone number, made that little hand gesture like a phone and said "call me!" in perfect English!  What an amazing evening we had with Louie, Mr. Wing our driver, Mrs. Wen, Matthew, Andrea and her father.  We sampled lots of tea and learned all about the process of really having tea the right way.  We finally realized it was almost 11, and headed back to the Training Center - with plans to have lunch with Michael and Andrea the next day. 

Two pair of long underwear, wool socks and a stocking cap are featured on our model! That's what he wore to bed and was trying to change his clothes in the only warm spot in our room - under the heat lamp in the shower. We skipped showers completely - with so many layers, who could smell us??

So, did I mention that it is freezing cold???  Our room had no heat and we were pooped and couldn't wait to get into bed.  One small note is that our beds did not have mattresses, just the box spring, and it was hard as a rock.  There was only a bedspread on the bed, but they had shown us where the comforters were.  We put 2 heavy down comforters on the bed, then 2 lighter weight ones, and then we found 2 large wool blankets.  We were each wearing long underwear, with multiple layers on that.  I had on 2 pair of socks and wore a shawl over the top of my head - while Dave wore his stocking cap.  Even then we had to snuggle way down into the double bed to cover up as much of our faces as possible.  We just laid there and laughed so hard!  We hoped we didn't have to get up in the night to go to the bathroom! 

Deb

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