Wondering and Wandering

The people of XiaoWei’s village showed a great deal of curiosity about us as we took walks and enjoyed the physical beauty of the mountainside. We got many invitations to come into people’s home and to have traditional New Year’s celebration snacks which are sunflower seeds and peanuts and candy. But somehow it never seemed to stop with snacks. We were then offered drinks of all kinds… tea, beer, rice wine and more often than were plied with all kinds of other food too. Visiting and hanging out together is a big part of the first several days of the Spring Festival. I had many conversations with people where we each had no idea what the other was saying, but it was all so sweet and kind and often with older women there was much hand holding and cheek patting.

While it was a time of celebration there was also the usual work of the day being done so I watched as the water buffalo were led to the fields and as the chickens and pigs were fed. Right after Spring Festival is when more fields get planted so many a water buffalo was at work hauling the single large metal blade through the field with the farmer wrestling the plow to make a long even furrow. The rice paddy fields were beginning to be flooded in preparation for planting. Green manure cover crops were being turned under. The soil smelled earthy and rich and its color made me know that it was well amended. I think I am an unrequited farmer and I

pined to stay and be a part of the spring planting rituals..

All around the village were tools of the farming work that have been used for generations and generations…plows, back breaking shoulder baskets for hauling loads, hand-made bamboo strip baskets loaded with manure or produce, two wheeled carts attached to a water buffalo yoke to haul really heavy loads. Few houses had televisions or a comfy chair or couch to plop down onto… daily life is about the routines of growing and raising food, preparing meals and taking care of household chores. The little bit of leisure time that people have is spent having a little chat and a snack, but soon it is necessary to take care of some other routine.

What a treat to be in this place and to soak in the sights and sounds and to have the novel and heartfelt interactions that I did. I understand so thoroughly why XiaoWei speaks with such admiration about where he is from and about the people in his family and in is village. The time in the village was so special and so rich with sights and interactions that it is hard to believe that we were only there mid-day Saturday, all day Sunday and Monday morning. It felt like so many, many more days.