First of all, I just wanted to say thank you to all of you faithful followers of my entries here. Due to “unforeseen circumstances” I was unable to view my page for the past month. I seriously felt like a piece of me had been taken away. I look forward to sharing my experiences with you, and when I’m not able to do this I feel like there is something missing.
Since my last entry in May, so much has happened. I visited one of the most remarkable and impressionable places in my life – Xinjiang province. Since my best friend Jacinda was here, I wanted her to experience China as much as she could.
When we arrived in the capital city Urumqi after our four hour plane ride from Beijing, I can no idea it would be like it was. It was as if we had entered another country. An Middle Eastern Country. The people look different from Han Chinese, they speak a different language and as you walk down the streets here the smell of authentic Muslim BBQ fills the air. China continually changes for me. Being able to articulate this country is starting to become further and further from my lips.
One of the more memorable parts of visiting this unique autonomous region was getting to visit some local Uygur families. My friend Nancy is originally from Xinjiang (we stayed at her family's apartment while we were here), and her friend offered to take us his car to the local city of Turpan. Known for its incredible landscapes of lakes, snow capped mountains, dry desserts and vineyards, Turpan is simply breathtaking. Mao Mao (our driver) said he could take us to visit a few people he knew in the area. Upon arriving after our windy 2 hr car ride, we were welcomed by a beautiful local family, who grow grapes to make a living. The father welcomed us by setting a simple table, with local Uygur snacks and every kind of grape you could imagine. What little Chinese I knew, it was pretty much useless here as they could only speak Uygur. This family, with the little they had, showed us the true meaning of hospitality. I was immediately put at ease. Sitting under the grape vines, having our tea always topped up, and little children playing with their grandparents, was a beautiful sight to behold.
During our time in Xinjiang, we also enjoyed what the locals call “The Midnight Snack.” Now, since China is all on the same time zone, and Xinjiang being so far east, the sun stays up until around 10pm. Its quite remarkable to see children playing out on the streets until after 11pm here. So, the atmosphere is lively and casual. When you come to one of these open air snack spots, everyone is BBQing mutton, cooking noodles, preparing naan bread…it is not only a feast for the eyes but of course for your palette as well. Being “waigoren” we got many stares, but we didn’t let that bother us, we simply found people to “cheers” with and steal a smile from. Its quite something to look around and realize Jacinda and I were the only two foreigners in the whole place.
While staying in Xinjiang, my dear friend Nancy allowed us to stay at here family’s apartment in Urumqi. Nancy grew up living on a college campus, where her mother taught. This is an arts college and every morning we could hear music playing over the campus wide speakers. At night, we could hear students practicing the local music, and well as dancers in traditional Xinjiang costumes.
While I find it is sometimes very easy to draw conclusions about China or the Chinese, Xinjiang gave me a sort of soothing antidote to this stereotype. The women are beautiful and soft, and extend a visible sort of care to their children and husbands. The men appear as each having a distinct look to them, and can often be seen wearing the traditional minority hat and longer Muslim robe. And the families that we were able to visit, there wasn’t a sort of obligation behind their hospitality. They lived simply and seemingly wanted to share what they had with us.
Being able to meet the childhood friends of Nancy was also very meaningful. Xinjiang people are known to be VERY generous. And that they were. While we were only there for about 6 days, we were treated for various lunches and dinners everyday. We were fed traditional foods from almost all regions of China. One night in particular, we found ourselves in a beautiful, private traditional Chinese room, where we were served every food under the sun. We were also served every type of alcohol under the sun. At times, Jacinda and I felt a lot of pressure because if we didn’t cheers with our host, and drink the ever potent Chinese “bai-jo” – it is said we would offend our hosts. After a somewhat messy and funny ending to our evening, I knew Xinjiang was as generous as its reputation proceeded.
Having my friend Jacinda come to the other side of the world, and see what I do over here and getting to experience it together was so memorable. I love stretching my legs in this country. Seeing the many aspects of it’s land, it’s people, and its beauty is so refreshing.
What an awesome trip that was. Being able to experience it with two wonderful friends was even more awesome.
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