Da Mu Crazy Bus!!!

On Tuesday, I ran into two of my co-workers.  They asked me, “has so and so told you about the outing we’re going on this weekend?”  To which I responded that I hadn’t and that it sounded like fun.  The next day, our Foreign Affairs Officer told the other foreign English teachers and me that we would meet the other teachers at the north gate to the school.  I thought that this was strange because the other teachers had told us to meet the bus at the administration building.  However, as we are often the last to know anything and times and places frequently change, I didn’t question this new information. 

The day of the outing came and I stumbled out of bed, quickly packed some last minute things in my backpack, grabbed some breakfast and checked in with Kelsey.  Kelsey and I then headed to the gate.  It was a cold, wet and rainy day and we stood at the gate for a while before receiving a call from another teacher to go to another gate.  We marched on over and found the other foreign teachers all huddled together in a damp heap.  Since no one had shown up yet, we called around and were informed that we were in the wrong place, but to stay where we were because they would soon come to get us.  About five minutes later a tour bus pulled up.  We got on and headed on our way.

I would like to say that the bus ride was calm and not worth mentioning.  However, I must say that it was one of the most terrifying experiences of my life.  The mountains in China are beautiful; filled with lush forests, waterfalls, streams, and beautiful cliff faces.  It is a bit hard to appreciate these things when you are on a tour bus careening up and down a mountain on an incredibly narrow road.  A road that was frequently filled with cars, vans and trucks that were coming straight towards us. At which point, our bus driver would slam on the breaks and honk his horn.  I could not help but think that though the stream beneath the small ledge of mountain we were on was beautiful, it would certainly mean a swift and painful death for us if we got even a few inches closer to the edge.  At one point, I screamed.  It was more of a wail, really.  However, everyone heard it and went quiet for a few seconds.  I was mortified.  After about two hours of near-death-experience, we finally arrived at our destination.

We, the other teachers from the English department and I, were staying at a local hotel.  Kelsey and I were put in a neat room with two beds, lavender curtains, and a television.  The bathroom was a bit scary though.  Chinese bathrooms are not for the faint of heart.  This particular bathroom consisted of nothing more than a tiny sink, a squatty potty, and a moveable shower head all in the confined space of a rather small closet.  It was also filled with mosquitos, the toilet did not flush (we had to use the shower head to wash everything down…), and had a picture of a half-naked woman smack in the center of the wall opposite the door.  Needless to say, we tried to spend as little time in that particular room as possible.  However, the beds were comfortable and the hotel owners we kind so we genuinely enjoyed every other aspect of our stay there.

Shortly after arriving, some of the other teachers and I went for a brief walk and then we returned to the hotel for a lunch with all of the others.  After lunch, we piled back into the dreaded bus and drove further into the woods and mountain.  Now, I am still not quite sure how the bus managed to get up that narrow pathway.  I was instantly concerned when we were all instructed to sit in the front of the bus so that the driver would have more control.  At one point, the men in our party even had to pull a tree down that had fallen across the “road.” This was quite a hilarious sight to all of us women and many took pictures of the poor guys grunting and straining to move the tree. 

We quickly ended up at a farm where we picked kiwi and watermelon for about one or two hours.  It was a lot of fun.  Although that day was cold and damp, the breathtaking view of the mountains surrounded in mist, deep green forests, and vines of fruit made the damp completely worth weathering.  We then loaded up our fruit, got back on the bus and went to the Da Mu Flower Valley.

The flower valley was gorgeous.  I have never seen so many flowers in one place before; yellow, purple, blue, red, orange, you name a color and it was there.  I was also interested in the scarecrows.  There were scarecrows everywhere, but these weren’t your average scarecrows.  They were all of different shapes and sizes.  Each one had a unique face.  Some were in pairs, some were alone, some were people, and some were animals.  I was particularly fond of a wedding procession of life-sized mice.  It was all very nice.  When we couldn’t stand the beauty anymore, we walked back to our hotel. 

It was about three or four in the afternoon when we got back.  The teachers from our department had gathered to play mahjong in one of the rooms.  It was fascinating to watch them play.  They were all so fast and they played on this really cool table that shuffled and set up the tiles for them.  They showed us to another table and another teacher, Andy and two student reporters who came on the trip for the school newspaper, showed us how to play.  I already knew, so they spent most of their time helping Molly, Kelsey and Matt.  Kelsey and Molly did a great job and won quite frequently, whereas poor Matt had a hard time.  His helper also did not seem as good of a player as the other two helpers.  They also taught us how to gamble.  I have always wanted to know how to gamble at mahjong, but my Chinese friends would never tell me.  It was a lot fun and we ended up playing until dinner time. 

After dinner, we all went for a brief walk and then sat down with a deck of cards.  We taught Andy how to play Go Fish and Bullshit.  We played for several hours and enjoyed good conversation, company, and snacks.  I went to the room next door and watched some of the teachers play mahjong for a bit.  It is my goal to get good enough at this game to consistently beat some of my friends (you know who you are!) when I get back home.

The next day I woke up early and went with Matt and some of the other English teachers to the fair they were having that morning.  It was just like a farmer’s market back home. The local farmers set up tables of produce or laid out their wares on a canvas matt on the ground.  There were also a number of squawking geese, chickens, and ducks waiting to meet their sad fate.  It was pretty noisy.  Other than the noises of the unfortunate animals, there were also people bartering over prices, talking with their friends, pushing carts, and driving around on motorcycles.  We wandered around and people watched.  The best part of the fair was watching a group of people prepare a feast for some type of large event.  My guess is that they were preparing for a wedding.  They had these huge woks on the side of the street, sitting over huge fires and filled with vast quantities of meat.  A man stood behind them tending it.  Occasionally, he would take a large hunk of meat out with a big hook and place it on a table where an assembly line of people were slicing and processing it.  Across the street, there were tables set up with bowls and spices.  It looked to me like they were preparing to make dumplings (Jiaozi).  Although I could have stayed and watched this for quite some time, it was time for breakfast and we were instructed to head back to the hotel. 

After breakfast, we got back on the bus and headed to our lunch location.  I have no idea what this place is called, but apparently it is a famous place that government officials often come to eat at despite the fact that it is a bit difficult to get to.  It was some sort of fish farm in the mountains.  The fish from this part of the mountain are said to be so tender and pure, because of the stream water that they are raised in, that they can be eaten raw.  The farm was very pretty and we got to explore the cement ponds of fish and see the complex way they filtered the stream water into and around the ponds.  The fish were pretty and we got to sit near the ponds, relax, and drink hot flower tea (hua cha) while we waited for lunch.  The lunch was super tasty and I enjoyed the fish (both raw and cooked).  With full stomachs, we were loaded back onto the bus and headed back down the mountain.  By this time, I was used to the terrifying mountain roads and was more able to focus on all of the pretty scenery.

Overall, this was a lovely outing.  Even though the trip began with a rocky start, I had a great deal of fun and got to know my fellow teachers better than before.  Picking fruit was enjoyable and we all got some to take home.  I probably have more kiwi than I know what to do with, but it tastes good and I am happy to have it.  This trip only further endeared China to me.  China is a beautiful place full of astounding beauty and wonderful people.  I am so happy that I have this chance to experience it.  Even though there are a lot of people here and I spend most of my time in the city, it is nice to know that I can escape to places like Da Mu and enjoy fresh air, kind people, good food, and breathtaking sights.