So after experiencing the hustle and rush of the 成都人 Chengduren, the impressive amount of cars, busses and motorcycles filling the dirty and crowded streets and buildings all trying to beat each other out in height, it was time for some contrast. So that's what I got when my hostfamily took me on a 3 days trip to the countryside, about 4 hours away from my beloved Chinese home. The had planned to show me their roots and visit family they haven't been seeing in years.
First up was my hostmom's family, who lives in a very small town just 1,5 hours away from Chengdu and whose house entrance you would both never find when looking by yourself and never be able to enter with a wider waistline. It was sort of the experience I was looking for the whole time while sitting in my very comfortable, upper class home. The whole family lives together on very little space in the back of their own shoe store. So Saturday we just arrived in time for lunch and were greeted extremely welcoming by everybody. The delicious food was gobbled up in no time and while the family spent some time relaxing in and around the store on the extremely dusty road, our Filippina Ayi aka housekeeper went out to explore and find some good countryside deals. Ha, and we didn't have to look for long. At the countryside I guess I for about 99% of the people I was the very first foreigner to be seen in person, so their interest in talking and staring at me was pretty high. Which is helpful when looking for deals - people hand you free samples aka cake ;-) and they are more likely to lower the price of clothes you might like. After taking a picture of you wearing it. Well, if I get ¥20 less for one pic, I say we have a deal!
So after spending a leisuring afternoon in my hostmom's hometown (village might be more appropriate here) the whole family gathered about 30 minutes away to have a dinner, oh what am I saying, a real feast, to celebrate their reunion at a beautiful restaurant next to an even more beautiful park. While we waited outside sipping tea for the last cousin of 4th grade to join, the kids and I kept staring at the seafood waiting patiently in their tanks to be chosen by customers to be eaten. Good that they had no idea...
So when dinnertime arrived, 3 huge tables were filled by all sorts of relatives and Waigong, my hostmom's dad, made an announcement and gave the 'allowance' to dig in. I think he himself consumed more alcohol than food that evening and was in good company with that by most of his relatives. See, when Chinese people cheer to each other, they go around and cheer everybody seperately, each time with a filled glass. So with about 35 people in a room, you can imagine how many times they 'ganbei!'-ed each other and how much alcohol can be found in their blood system afterwards. I can say the food was great though!
After the last glasses had clung, people slowly started to get restless and eventually headed back home in a big bulk. But my journey didn't end there yet. Together with John, Becky and the kids (not to forget our driver) we started our 3 hours drive to John's hometown to visit his family. The roads were extremely curvy and badly maintained, so while Rex was sleeping tightly on my lap, I was busy keeping him from sliding down the carseat and also keeping me up there.
So when we finally arrived at around 11.30pm, and the only thing I wanted was to take a nice warm shower and fall into a cozy hotel bed, the only thing my hostfamily wanted in the middle of the night were street side cooked noodles. In the middle of the night. But they were not the only ones, many locals were doing the exact same thing and , again, had there entertainment for the day seeing me slurping down a bowl of steaming noodles. Our driver joined our late night meal after rushing out to come back with some firery hot beef kebabs. Exactly what my European digestive system wants half an hour before bedtime.
The next day in the morning we eventually headed about 5 minutes out of town to a place where time really passes slower and people still make their living by either working hard on contruction or selling their own vegetables and fruits grown in the back of their houses. It was so pieceful and idyllic, it really felt like vacation to me. And the air with the small hint of cow dung reminded me so much of home. I did enjoy myself out there, no question. John's family, as well as Becky's is extremely lovely and welcoming, greeting us with plates filled with freshly prepared fruits and serving up a huge countryside lunch and dinner for us. The dishes were darn good, and the fact that the vegetables came right from the backyard made the green beans, potatoes and tomatoes taste so much better.
I was truly impressed by how close the whole family is even though they see each other so rarely. Everyone was great with the kids, especially with 9 months old Xiao Mantou, my hostdad's nephew. And to see how the elderly are treated with so much respect and help from everyone, I was sort of ashamed thinking back to Germany where we have no problem hiring caregivers or even put the elderly in a care home so others will have to do the sometimes " unpleasant" job. This would never happen here, seriously. I was also immediately included into their clan. The sweetest thing ever was when great-grandma noticed that I loved one of her dishes especially and when it was time to say goodbye she made sure I was hooked up with 2 huge bowls full of this fatty meat sticky rice. I was truly touched what effort she did for me, who she just new for like a day. But family is family here!