Howdy Doody!!
I hope everyone’s week has been spectacular.
This week has been a new adjustment, starting with moving into a homestay family in Kunming! My host family is wonderful, I have two very nice parents and a younger sister (11yrs) who happens to speak English very well, which is helpful when the parents speak Chinese a little too quickly for my taste!
Monday and Tuesday were spent in class, quizzes and assignments galore, and then on Wednesday we had a field trip! In the morning we went to a Traditional Chinese Medicinal Hospital where we received a lecture on TCM and then got a tour around the hospital. I got to try cupping, which is a glass that is heated on the inside and suctioned to your skin and left for a bit, then removed. It is supposed to help with muscle pain. For more information see Michael Phelps circa this olympics. That’s what those weird purple circles are! We also were able to see the apothecary side of medicine (see photos). I ate some ‘licorice’ and it tasted horrible and I spit it out. In the afternoon, we saw some people put on a crazy amount of makeup and perform a Beijing Opera, I then donned some tradition clothing, but my voice is not as good.
On Saturday we departed for our “Yunnan Exploration” which is five days exploring wherever we want in Yunnan Province (where I am based). I am traveling with two other girls (Olivia and Alexandra). We left Saturday AM on a 8.5hr bus ride to XinJian, China (near Yuanyang if you were wondering). After some issues finding the bus station, where we were supposed to get off the bus and how to get to our hostel, we made it! Today we were off to see and explore the rice paddies (what this area is famous for). We found them (that wasn’t hard they are everywhere), and ended up hiking 14.5 miles (over 30,000 steps)! We are very exhausted, but are very happy with the trip so far! Off to find more rice paddies tomorrow!
P.S. This article was not in fact written by Elizabeth Ashley Wilkey as you probably assumed. All photos included were taken by Ms. Wilkey, but the article was written by one Olivia Stockly of the Bates College Women’s Rowing Team. Please do not get angry. Elizabeth is sorry.