Location: Jian’ou, Fujian Province, China

Mid-Autumn Festival is coming up this week. We have 3 days off of school! I know that will bring numerous tales to report, so we thought we would get another update out before then. Despite the fact that the harvest is coming, it feels no nearer to fall in China and we have been seeking solace in different forms to escape the heat. The eclectic lifeways we see each day has us snapping photos and taking videos faster than we can even share them with you all. This photo set was almost painful to choose; between the beauteous views from high-rise apartments and mountain tops and the colors springing from the earth and from calligraphy brushes, there was far too much to take in.

We ventured to the surrounding village and met the entirety of Davi’s family. It was like no home I’ve ever seen. They have their own portion of a mountain, complete with orange groves, chestnut trees, persimmon trees, and a bamboo forest. We spend the day climbing and cracking open chestnuts and saying 你好 to all the locales (we were the first foreigners ever to visit, if you can believe). We saw an abandoned schoolhouse and sorted tea leaves and witnessed lantern production, and ate oh-so-much food. Happy to report that Grandma’s cooking in China is just as resplendent as it is in the States. Oil cakes in the shape of flying saucers, steamed taro root, dumplings the size of apples, and mushrooms that looked like anemones. Amazing to conceive that it all came from their own garden. We were so stuffed we could barely move, and I can’t wait to learn some of these recipes.

Back in our city home, after our first full week of school, our voices are hoarse from belting pop songs for an introductory unit on English music. I’ve been informed that I will have a tutor to teach me Chinese harp. K gets to pick up a brand new guitar tomorrow, as we’re expected to perform a duet for the school faculty next week. Our students have already guaranteed us prime seats at their own celebrations. Anyhow, it’s all continuous floundering and gaping in this strange and magical world.

Enjoy some pretty pictures of the various homes we’ve visited!

Missing our true homes, especially the one that’s wherever you are,

V&K