I'm back!

Back from Kunming Monday morning, eight thirty and stumbling off a sleeper bus feeling a bit carsick. Ugh. It was worth seeing everybody, though, Rita, Aunt Laina, Uncle Tim and Aunt Pat, Uncle Charles and Aunt Sarah, Sandy, Kelly, and Neal. We even saw Matt, the Australian who moved from this lonesome valley (and it is, literally!) to Kunming!

Friday we ate dinner at a Cantonese place which was delicious because they had those little shrimp dim-sum balls...argh, how do you describe it? Okay, if you have a Chinatown or something, and you really want to know about the dim-sum experience (and can't wait 'til I get around to telling you) find a restaurant that advertises dim-sum, or look for one that has people pushing around these little carts. Okay? And if you want stuff like we usually eat (when we eat Chinese, I mean) go to a Sichuan place. Uncle Marty says it's similar. Anyway, this wasn't dim sum but we still had dim sum dishes. Yummy yummy. Then Kelly invited us over for a sleepover and we eagerly accepted. We played all evening, and in the morning, Aunt Sarah produced homemade boisenberry jam from the 'States (they'll probably never read this, but I thank their friends or relatives for sending a care package to Uncle Charles and Aunt Sarah including such delicious jam) to put on hot buttered toast, and some Trix to go with it. Mmmmm.

Saturday we went to the "Yannan Wind Animals Park". Actually, the proper name is "Yunnan Wild Animals park, but it's an example of "Chinglish"--that is, funny English typos, grammer errors, and other stuff some of which is from automatic translators. Anyway, the map says, "Dear visitors, welcome to the Yannan Wild Animals Park to make a sight---seeing," and the tickets proudly boast that they're for "Yunnan Wind Animals Park". There was other funny Chinglish too, like a sign on the grass, "don't trample me" and another, "Breast of Prayer Area." That made us scratch our heads, and finally, Rita said, "I know, it's supposed to be Beast of Prey!" So that was figured out. I just hope if they illustrate the signs they'll illustrate the Chinese, not the English! Oh, yeah, there were wild animals, too, including a trained monkey--

--whom I had to escape by telling the guy who wanted to give me similar treatment with it, "bu shi bu shi bu shi" and ended up stumbling into the (unlit and empty) fire pit! There were also peacocks and peahens and (enviromentalists who don't like this, this was not up to snuff with American zoos these days, but they are on the road to progress) we got to feed them. Uncle Tim and Aunt Pat gave us a photo where I have this extremely weird coaxing expression and Becky's giving me a weird look. I fed mostly the females (they were gentler) but I made "friends" with a blunt-beaked male that really liked my food and followed me around.

After that we had a special time together and dinner (two "dinners" in fact) (don't worry if you don't get it), and then we left. Sunday we had a quiet day, Rita and Aunt Laina and Matt and a colleague of Rita and Aunt Laina's, Anna, and us all went to Pizza Hut and ate to our heart's content. We had a lot of fun.

Then, at 7:00 we had a hairy bus ride, I'll betcha Daddy'll post about that, so I won't bother because I have too many songs I sang to relate, including some I can't post about. Anyway, we're home and I will post more regularly, and here's a poem about being on a sleeper bus. Title suggestions are welcome.

Did you see the night,
I ask you.
Did you see the night?
Did it wrap you gently
In its gray-blue shroud?

Did you see the stars,
I ask you.
Did you see the stars?
Were they dancing their dance for you
While you lay silent by?

Did you see the dawn,
I ask you.
Did you see the dawn?
And was it shining off the mountains
With the sheen of dew?

Did you see the day,
I ask you.
Did you see the day?
When the dawn's fresh brightness ended
And the sun shone on?

Did you see the twilight,
I ask you.
Did you see the twilight?
When the sun went down in glory
And the night started again...