saturday Dec 6

Saturday, December 6, on the buses again! The nine buses with police escort are on the move again! We are going outside Ashun City to a small village. We will visit the school there. The bus ride is two hours and we stop at a gas station for a rest stop. We see a lot of the countryside and learn about how the farmers live.
When we arrive outside the village we have to leave the buses behind. The road is too small for the buses and the village is not a big as nine buses. The scene is beautiful. We see a small stream with people fishing and lots of ducks. As we walk down the road, we hear music. The whole surrounding area turns out for our welcome. There are drummers, dancers, and people costumed from the local opera lining the road. It is amazing!!! We make our way through the village. It is a very poor village. The houses are very old and chickens are everywhere. The path leads to a very small school. All of the students greet us there in their best clothes. The students do a small performance for us. So, do the local women with a scarf dance, the drummers with a drum dance and the local Chinese Opera. It is amazing!! It brings tears to our eyes. We take a very brief tour of the school. The school is very small with only a few rooms. It is a two story school with rough benches for the students and small desk.
The whole visit ends with the American delegation teaching the Chinese students the “Hokey Pokey”. It is so much fun and magical. Village people watch from over the walls of the school and enjoy the scene.
We walk back to the buses and go to Anshun City for lunch. Again a turn at the lazy susan and lots of new food to try for lunch. I still haven’t adjusted to fish with faces, chickens and ducks with heads and feet on the tables for lunch.
We load the buses and head for Yunfeng Tunpu (Forest Village). It is a fort built in the 14th century by Emperor Zhu Yanzhang. It reminds you a little of St. Augustine. The fort is built of stone and is on a small stream. The fortress is very old and the Han ethnic group lives here. These families have lived here since the 1300’s. The women still wear traditional clothes, there is an old Buddhist temple and fortress still holds ancient arms.
Again to the bus, for a long trip back to Guiyang. The bus drivers are almost like amusement ride drivers. We never know how close we will be to another car, bus or motor bike. It is the ultimate thrill ride!
We will have another dinner with the lazy susan. This is Farwell Dinner of the formal part of trip. We all say good- bye and share experiences of the conference. I have been lucky to make many new friends. Tomorrow we are going many different ways. Some of the delegates will head back to the USA and others to tour to Xi’an or Shang Hi. I will head with the group to Xi’an to see the Terra Cotta soldiers. I am sooooooo excited!!