post-Christmas post

Well, what's happened...

Boxing Day- We went to Lige Isle, a pretty little village being quickly overrun with tourist motels, cafes, etc. An odd feature of these developments is that accomodation springs up long before there is anything to do in the area, and simultaneously destroys any nice walks or local beauty spots in the process. The isle itself is a bit of land jutting out into the lake to one side of the village, but we were unable to stroll out onto it because of a huge development (motel, cafe, bar) being built all over it and blocking access to it. The best views of Gemu mountain had therefore been spoiled by powerlines and the surrounding mountainside was a mess of newly built winding roads, regular blasting can be heard in the distance as new roads are set into the mountainside. Amidst this building site sit fancy Western style cafes, with Chinese language menus and excessive prices. The lake is really beautiful at this spot, but there is nowhere beside the lake to sit (only dirt / mud roads) so you have to sit in the cafe or bring your own banana lounge!

While we were sitting there (in the cafe) we unexpectedly saw our host mum out the window. She was in the village visiting family. She told us to wait there and then we all shared a taxi back to Yongning (Only 20 mins) an hour or so later. Her husband turned out to be there as well, so Scott got into the back seat of the minivan, they sat in the middle seat and I was told to sit in the front. As the minivan lurched off, the middle seat where Dad was sitting apparently came loose and the whole seat went sliding back, narrowly missing taking out Scott. I am not sure whether this was a regular event but we all laughed, Dad moved over and Scott kept well away from the renegade seat. The taxi driver seemed unperturbed.

The next day (Monday) I had hoped to sit down with the young woman in the house and do some work (linguistic) with her, but everyone unexpectedly went out. So we decided to be adventurous and went and climbed a large hill just outside of the village (I hesitate to say mountain, but with my fitness levels, it felt like one!). It was quite steep, but we managed to find a goat track (Really! Actual goats walk around on these mountains as do donkeys, etc.) At the top there was a pagoda and a shrine, both hung with tibetan prayer flags. We hung out up there for a while and admired the view, before descending back down to the village. (Do I get to say we climbed to around 3000 metres???)

Tuesday was our last full day in Yongning, so we desperately needed to do some washing- Actually, lots and lots of washing. Down to my last pair of underpants, and into my third day in my last pair of jeans. The twin tub washing machine was duly carried out into the courtyard and plugged in. We filled it with buckets of water from out the back and set the miniscule loads of washing going. It turned out that the spin cycle no longer worked, so the next part of the procedure involved carrying all the washing into the backyard, putting on elbow length rubber gloves and bending over and rinsing the clothes in large tubs of cold water on the ground, squeezing each item out individually and hanging it on the line (no pegs). Within fifteen minutes of hanging the first load on the line, the clothing started to freeze and we could be seen shaking ice off our clothes, and madly squeezing them out in the hope that they might dry by nightfall and we wouldn't have to pack them wet. It got windy in the afternoon so we walked to the store and bought some pegs. Having devoted nearly the entire day to the task, I am pleased to announce that nearly everything got dry. In the evening I worked with a few of the family members on some linguistic stuff for a bit, and then they all took us out to have a barbecue in a village cafe of tiny pieces of chicken stomach, pork, capsicum and sliced potato dipped in spicy powder. Scott wants one of these clever bbqs for our backyard.

Another of my endeavours in this household has been to learn to cook breakfast. Tuesday and Wednesday mornings I got up at dawn (7am) to help the 17 year old girl make brekky, or rather, for her to teach me. On Wednesday, some of my creations actually made it out of the prep area and into peoples stomachs so I will here divulge the recipe:

YONGNING BREAKFAST
Make a basic dough of water, flour and a pinch or two of baking powder. Knead.
Roll out flat to about half a centimetre thickness.
Spread surface with lard, butter might do at a pinch, and sprinkle with salt or sugar, depending on preference.
Roll the whole lot up, jam roll or coffee scroll fashion and cut at lengths of about 5cm.
Place these little rolls on end on a steaming rack (the kind you use for steaming vegies, or any kind of rack in a large saucepan with a bit of water in the bottom will do. Don't put them too close together because they should double in size.
Put on the lid and steam for about fifteen minutes, or until springy.
Serve hot with hard boiled eggs on the side and yak butter tea.

Wednesday was another long day on the bus that now does not phase me at all. Pizza in Lijiang for tea!!!

Thursday we spent shopping in Lijiang, getting extra overnight bags, a watch for Scott, who lost his in Yongning and a mobile phone for me. My phone number is 1357 837 5714, a necessity since no international phone calls can be made in Yongning or Luoshui. Retired to the prague cafe in mid afternoon to eat fries and watch 2nd Lara Croft movie on DVD- annoying since pirated and movie froze at critical moments.

Went out and had some drinks last night and played dice drinking games in cafe.

Today is new years eve, and Scott's last full day in China. He is flying out to Kunming tomorrow morning, from Kunming to Bangkok tomorrow night, and after an 8 hour stop over, should arrive back in Melbourne around midday on Sunday. I am going to miss him heaps, so we are going to go out and have a fun day together (climbing a mountain) and go out and celebrate new years tonight.

love and miss you all,
Laura