Yuan Village

Yesterday, my host family took me to Yuan Village. We ate lunch, then they shuffled me from shop to shop, tasting a nibble of homemade food at each stop.

At lunch, I met a Canadian. As I walked by his table, we made eye contact, and we both singled each other out as the only other white person in a 50 mile radius. He immediately engaged me in conversation; his eagerness to talk was palpable. In the US, he would have never given me a second glance, but because we were of the same minority, my presence fascinated him.

All of the shops at Yuan were dedicated to selling one item: honey, vinegar, yogurt, etc. Bizarrely enough, there were two shops which each merely sold dead scorpions: supposedly scorpions, when eaten, help treat colds. (Personally, I would rather wait out the cold.) We all squealed when my host father ate one, carefully avoiding the stinger.

As we were walking back from the shops, I noticed a man poking about ten different skewers into someone's ear. Upon inquisition, I learned that he was a professional earwax-getter-outer. What a job!

I thought I had gotten the gist of China, but I keep getting surprised!