Kunming (then and now) vs. Xiangyang

Okay, so before I move on, I think I should take this time to talk about the differences between Kunming and Xiangyang. I know I talked about it a little before, but I’d like to make it a little clearer now and add some details I left out.

The foreigner community:

Kunming has a prominent foreign community that is absolutely here to stay. There are permanent residents of the area, those who have started businesses here and are trying to watch them grow. There are temporary residents here, mostly teachers that just want to spend some time in China and/or practice their Chinese. There are A TON of students that are studying here, for extended time or for simply a term or a year. There are students that are here with programs from their school that have established joint programs with the colleges of Kunming, there are those here on the China Government Scholarship completely on their own, and there are those who are also completely on their own but they’re trying to obtain their Master’s in Chinese language or Chinese Studies in general. The foreign community here is several hundred people, which is a lot, but they’re all scattered around the city, and so the effect is such that you get a real experience of China all around you, but if you want to associate with foreigners, there are places you can go…it’s not so in your face that you start questioning whether you’re in New York or China. But as Kunming gets bigger, the foreign population will also get bigger…so that’s something to keep in mind. As for Xiangyang, well, I’m pretty sure the population of foreigners is less than a hundred…it may even be less than 50, and almost every one of them is some kind of foreign teacher or school administrator of some sort…they’re just all in education. Because of this limited number, you’ll find that the type of people here are also limited…so the growth that you may gain from friendships will be much more stagnant (especially if you don’t speak Chinese).

The cleanliness:

Kunming is cleaner. Xiangyang is not as clean. Even though in both cities, people sweep the streets every day and the roads are washed by these trucks that play “It’s a Small World”, people use the bathroom in many places other than the bathrooms in Xiangyang. In Kunming, it’s not as much so. People spit all the time in Xiangyang. And strangely, they used to do it in Kunming too…just as much, I used to have to walk down the street with my eyes on the ground to keep from stepping on the spit…but the spitting has greatly diminished in Kunming. And I’m shocked because it’s all happened in one year. Xiangyang in many places smells like trash and pee. I really haven’t smelled this smell in Kunming since I’ve been back, only the delightful smell of good food.

More English:

Not saying this is a good thing, but there is much more English in Kunming than there is in Xiangyang, and even more now than there was when I studied in 2012. Before, there used to be so many signs that attempted English, but generally failed the grammar in amusing ways. Now, I haven’t seen as much of that anymore. It’s an interesting thing to see the improvement…Kunming isn’t as representing of China as it used to be because it’s becoming more modernized, but I can’t help but be impressed at how much has happened so fast. What scares me though is that probably within the next ten years, shoot probably within the next five years, Kunming will no longer be the city I was familiar with. But hey, that’s life…it’s full of changes, I just have to deal. Anyway, in comparison with Xiangyang, Xiangyang is more like what Kunming was to me when I first arrived there in 2012…it’s just more so. There are English speakers here, mainly students of English, teachers of English, and businesspeople. But there are a lot more people that don’t speak English…if you want to be forced to practice your Chinese, simply walk out your door. I really like this about Xiangyang. I suppose as dirty and semi-rural as it is, I love the fact that it shows me the truth…it’s showing me a more accurate display of most of China. (Hint: it’s not like what you see in the movies.)

More rules and regulations:

Kunming is on top of its game for a lot of things. There is a lot more encouraging of recycling, litter is being cracked down on, and so much more. You don’t see as much chaos as you do in Xiangyang, there is so much more order. And beyond the rules and regulations, Kunming people are much more used to foreigners and so they’ll be a little more “respectful” to them…and once more, this is something that has improved since last I was here. By respectful I mean that many of them know not to stare at foreigners two feet away from their faces (I had a lot of that last time I was here, this time not at all), I’ve hardly heard them say the ever-popular term “Lao Wai” when we go by, etc. In Xiangyang, things turned out to be worse than when I was in Kunming. In Kunming, people used to try to say hello to me…but in Xiangyang, this “culture” of saying hello is a completely different thing. When they say hello to me (or any of the other foreign teachers), they’re not actually trying to communicate with me and they’re not intending to start a friendly conversation…but rather, they’re saying hello as if their friend just bet them fifty bucks to say it to me…in the sense that they’re doing it because it makes them feel braver, like they just did something really cool. How do I know this? Well, on a regular basis, I’ll be walking down the street and then some group of guys (mainly guys, it’s rarer with girls) will be walking in the opposite direction. Once our paths cross to pass each other, they’ll snap, “HALLO” in my face right as I'm passing so that there’s no time for me even to respond in any way. So I continue on, and then you can hear the laughter of the guys as they continue on their way. Not fun. That never happened in Kunming. I’ve had the occasional really rude person, but most of the time I just got stares…and they were stares of curiosity. I know the people in Xiangyang are curious too, but how they deal with it is much less passive, and in this case quite often passive-aggressive.

Emotion of the City:

In Kunming, the city altogether seems much happier. People (and I’m referring to Chinese people this time) do not leave Kunming (for the most part), they come to Kunming for opportunity and the hope of a better life for themselves and their family. One day this week I went to get a blind massage…blind massages are very common all over China, even in Xiangyang- and it’s not that the massages must be done by blind people to be special, but rather blind people go to massage shops to find jobs because they have no choice, it’s the only job they can do. So anyway, I went to get a blind massage and I asked the guy who was giving the massage if he was from Kunming. He said no, he was from another province. I asked him if his parents were with him in Kunming, to which he replied, “No, they’re at home.” I had thought that seeing as this guy (who was quite young, definitely in his 20s) was blind, then he would need to be with his family so they could take care of him. But it looked like he was the one that was taking care of his family…he was the one who had traveled to the big city to earn money for the family. And that’s basically what most of the Kunming population is, just like the majority of the population of Shanghai. They are people looking to thrive and increase their status and lot in life. Because of this, the place seems much happier and hopeful…full of opportunity and room for growth. In Xiangyang, life is very stagnant. The people (Chinese once more) that live there aren’t going anywhere, only a few of them are. They’re going to stay in the small city and not get out and see more places. When I did final oral English interviews for my students, I asked them where they had traveled to in China. While some of them had seen a few big cities around China, many of them had only been to cities within Hubei province…they hadn’t seen much at all, and they weren’t really expecting to. It’s okay to live like this, but for me I find that I can’t live the simple life. I can live amidst it for a time to learn things and gain knowledge, but ultimately I need to be in a place where growth can happen, be it physical, spiritual, emotional, or economical.

So those are really the biggest differences between Kunming and Xiangyang. My personal preference is Kunming, because the city how it is and was in 2012 is most compatible with me. Others will find Xiangyang a more interesting city, I’m sure. My ultimate conclusion about Xiangyang is that though it is a harsher life (for someone who is used to living in America or any 1^st world country), it is an important place to be aware of, an important place to see and understand because it is probably the truest reflection of the majority of China and Chinese people that I’ve seen yet, without going all the way into the Nong Cun, the countryside.

Keep this in mind: Xiangyang and Kunming are in fact strangely connected. In a way, Xiangyang IS Kunming, and Kunming is Xiangyang. Had I traveled to Kunming perhaps five to ten years earlier, I would most likely have seen what I see now in Xiangyang. And what I'm seeing in Kunming now is what I'll see in Xiangyang in five to ten years time. In time, Xiangyang will surely have a massive looming airport like Kunming does. People, Chinese and foreign alike, will be flocking to Xiangyang for the hope of finding a good job or starting a business which will ultimately result in making much money, whether for themselves or for their families in need. And as the city improves and more foreigners flock to Xiangyang, the provincial mindsets of the people will change too. They will be more aware of foreigners and the world, as well as being more aware of the different people of China. The place will become cleaner, and rules will be made to prevent chaos and unnecessary filth. And the city will thrive as the new capital of Hubei province, as Kunming is the capital of Yunnan province. As much as I don't like change, one can't help but be extremely impressed by the swiftness of China's improvement...because you can be sure that Xiangyang and Kunming are simply two of many cities that are going through this very same process.

Ungghhh...

I didn't get to sleep through the night...I was awoken constantly by my stomach being SUPER uncomfortable. I was sick again. :(

Well...I was just sick all night. That's pretty self-explanatory, even when I thought I had cleared my system of whatever could possibly remain, my stomach said, "Nope, there's more!" even after I felt completely empty and depleted.

So that was my night. And in the morning it was all over, and all I could do was just sleep. So I slept the whole day. And that was my day.

But it was okay. Because I think honestly I needed that. I think I was actually sick even in Xiangyang with all this mess in my system and not eating right and all. I think this was my body detoxing, so in reality it was just another part of my recovery. So it was a good thing. After that, I took it fairly easy for the next few days, and then I had no problems after that. I could still enjoy my epic adventure.

Sometimes you gotta completely purge yourself of all the bad, as painful as it may be, to move on and become stronger than ever. And I mean that symbolically as well as physically. Oooo, now that's something to think about.

Familiar Places and Delicious Delights

I woke up the next morning feeling the same way I did in Shanghai, refreshed and ready to go! I hadn’t felt that way in weeks…but it felt like forever ago. I keep on saying this, but it’s just really amazing how nice simple comforts really are in comparison with not actually having them. You don’t realize how important something is until it’s no longer there. Anyway, it was a great feeling.

We got ready and used the coupons we were given after renting our room for a free coffee. We took our coffees and sat at the balcony and watched the action of the morning unfold.

#simplehappiness

It was so peaceful just sitting in the cool (but not freezing) air filled with the smell of delicious food, watching the people of Kunming below. In the plaza not far from the two gates, a group of Shaoshu Minzu (少数民族), ethnic minorities, formed a circle and danced traditional dances while going around the circle. Some of them were dressed in full traditional garb, others in partial traditional garb, others wore no traditional garb at all, and some carried traditional instruments and played them as they traveled around the circle. It was a very interesting thing to watch, similar to what I saw the Nakhi tribe (pronounced NAH-shee) do when I went to Lijiang with my friend Min Dan.

If you look closely at these pictures, you'll be able to see some of the people holding traditional instruments and others in traditional clothing. Some pictures you'll see this clearer than others...remember you can click on them to make them bigger.

One thing that I was reminded very quickly of being back in Kunming is how Yunnan province is filled with different ethnic minorities. Not all of them are native to Yunnan, but migrated there as Chinese imperialism spread. Yunnan province is home to the largest amount of ethnic minorities in all of China, harboring 26 different ethnicities, including the largest ethnicity, the Han group. I think I took this for granted when I was living in Kunming, because I really hadn’t seen any other city in China (Shanghai not included), and so I didn’t know what it was like to NOT have this kind of culture being a large part of the culture of the city. Now I’ve seen what most cities are like in China (Xiangyang is a city with no ethnic minorities- or at least very few- which is like most cities in China), and so now this ethnic minority culture stands out to me very vividly and is even more fascinating to me than before.

It’s so interesting to see the different outfits, music, physical appearances, and dances of these different groups. It is a small whisper of a reminder that China used to be many many different cultures…in fact, I am certain that what is now China at once point used to be much more like what is now Europe: a large landmass filled with many different cultures all over the place, each with different art, dance, music, foods, religions, and languages. An event that occurred later in my epic adventures really drove home this idea, but I will talk about that when the time comes…no spoilers.

So after we had our coffee and hung out there for a while, we made our way to the place that is the hub of Western deliciousness in Kunming: Foreigner Street, “Wenhua Xiang” (文化巷).

On this street, if you haven’t read my Kunming blog (I think it’s mentioned there), there is a line of different foreign-style restaurants owned by foreigners, and by some Chinese (not too many). There is a French cafe, a Mexican restaurant, an Indian restaurant, a few Korean restaurants, and many restaurants with certain Western specialties as pizza, pasta, sandwiches, and more.

Most of these restaurants are cafe/bar/restaurants, evolving into these different things at different times of the day. In the morning, they are more of a cafe which serves breakfast foods (most of them at least). At lunch and dinner, they are more full-blown restaurants, especially at dinnertime. At late night, they turn into a bar, and snacks and light meals are served alongside the drinks. In the in-between hours of the day they switch back into a cafe, where people just chill out, use the internet, do homework, and mingle. Of course, you can get anything you want at any time of the day (ex. Alcoholic drinks for breakfast, breakfast for dinner…that is, if you REALLY want to), but in general, most people don’t do that. I’ve had some really great times at these places, and some not so great times. But these restaurants (only a short walk away from Yunnan Normal University) kept me going when I needed some Western food to alleviate my culture shock in Kunming.

There’s something about knowing that something you like exists in a place near you that keeps you from craving it too much…but if ever it’s completely out of sight with no hope of getting it, then that’s when you start to crave it more. Bread and cheese (as I think I mentioned before) was my main thing that I crave when Western food is completely out of sight. There are other foreign restaurants at other places around the city (there’s an Irish pub, several very nice cafes, a New Zealand style pizza place/deli, and of course The Hump Hostel/Bar), but they’re generally isolated and spread out in different places around the city. Foreigner street is probably the biggest smorgasbord of foreign delights in the whole of Kunming.

Anyway, the place we went to first was Salvador’s, the Mexican style restaurant on Foreigner Street. We were all craving some salsa and refried beans. And boy did we get it. I ordered some nachos, and boy did I get some…I thought it would be small, but it was more than I could eat and I needed my friends to help me. But they tasted like heaven. I picked up the first nacho, scooped it into the pile of sour cream, salsa, refried beans, and lettuce, and took a bite. BURST OF DELICIOUSNESS IN MY MOUTH!! It was amazing!

And you have to realize that this is all relative, I’m coming from Xiangyang where the food is so-so and if you’re not SUPER used to Chinese food then you’ll be craving Western food before long, and so I’ve learned to take pleasure from certain simple foods like bread and cheese. Maybe if you’re coming straight from America to Kunming you’ll think, “Oh, the chips were just normal chips, nothing special; the pizza’s too small and thin; the drinks aren’t sweet enough.” But hey, to me, Kunming was the very paradise I needed to recover from Xiangyang. Kunming had been my home, and it will always be like a second home to me even if I never go back there to live, and the fact is that there’s more than just good food here…there’s LIFE. So if you ever decide to come to Kunming, or if you simply just want a true perspective on what Kunming is (and truth once again is all relative), what I’ll say is this: there is hope and happiness here, the people are nice and happy and the environment grows happier every year. The friends you make here will give you a closeness like that of a family, because everyone here has come for a reason and they value the friendships they make that help them get through the day or serve to enhance their great adventures. So if you come here with any form of an open mind, Kunming will welcome you with open arms. Ok I need to stop now because I’m not actually trying to advertise the place.

Anyway, so that meal was really good, and we proceeded on our way. We wanted to visit the schools that me and Malcolm studied at while we were here. Malcolm had studied at Yunnan University, and I had studied at Yunnan Normal University. Both schools are excellent schools and I can’t really compare specifics between them because I only know my own school, but I do know this: what everyone says is that Yunnan University is a great school for Chinese students trying to obtain a general education. Yunnan University is a MUCH bigger school, it has far more diversity of subjects and majors being offered and it’s just a nice place…the campus is huge and beautiful. I had friends that went to school there, foreign and Chinese alike…and it does have its share of Chinese programs. ON THE OTHER HAND, everyone says that while Yunnan University is the better school for Chinese students trying to obtain a general education, Yunnan Normal University is the better school for foreign students trying to study Chinese. At Yunnan Normal University, the program is pretty intensive, and the teachers of Chinese are specifically trained to teach Chinese to foreign students. They have learned teaching styles and learning patterns of efficient ways to teach Chinese to foreigners. When I arrived in Kunming, I could hire a cab and order food at a restaurant and hold simple conversation. When I returned to the United States, I could call myself fluent in Chinese and received an Advanced title after passing my Oral Efficiency Test for my major at Carnegie Mellon University. Because of my time in Kunming and Yunnan Normal University. You be the judge of which school to choose to study Chinese.

But no matter what school you choose, you will not improve a single bit if you don’t try. A huge part of getting better is entirely up to you…you have to put in the work. You can’t just passively sit in a class and hope by just sitting there and just doing the homework that you’ll magically speak Chinese by the end of it. It’s up to you.

So we visited Yunnan University and Malcolm told us what was the same and what was different. Most of it was the same, but the building he had studied in had been knocked down. The place looked very much like how I remembered it to look.

Then we went over to my school…and that hit home to me much more. That place was very special to me, even though the conditions I lived in were far cruder than any dorm you’d find in America. I think in comparing my time in Xiangyang and my time in Kunming, I’ve learned that it’s not necessarily needing to live in super comfortable conditions that will keep you going…it’s having at least something or a few somethings that keep you motivated that’s important. I don’t really have too many "somethings" in Xiangyang…but in Kunming, I had friends that were happy and open and caring, good food whenever I needed it, warm weather, and the promise of an adventure (even if very small) on a regular basis.

My school hadn’t really changed too much, except for some sort of net wrapped around the trees in front of the library. That was really it. And at my school, there were flowers still growing even in the winter when it should be cold. Every time I’ve been at YNNU, there have been flowers growing at least somewhere. It was beautiful. I saw my dorm, and then I saw my classroom building. I was hoping to see my former main teacher, but upon talking to another teacher I had known from before I found out that she was now teaching in Thailand. Wow, that was a surprise.

This was along the path outside of Yunnan University on the way to Yunnan Normal University. They didn't sell these delicious looking beauties when I was there, they only sold fruit at the time. If they had, you better believe this would have been the place I would've grabbed lunch from on a regular basis. I didn't get to sample these during the first week in Kunming, but when I go back I definitely will.

On the way to YNNU (Yunnan Normal)

This was my old dormitory. I was on the third floor, the third from the right. We weren't allowed to go in this time, but it didn't matter. There was no one I knew in the dorms any more, so there wasn't any point. All my friends had either moved somewhere else or left. Most of them left.

This is the classroom building for the foreign language students. I've had friends from the US, England, Russia, Germany, Israel, Thailand, Vietnam, Latvia, Estonia, Switzerland, Holland, Canada, Malaysia, and Indonesia (and more that I can't think of) that have studied here.

This is the pond that they have by the main gate. It's like the focal point of the whole campus.

So after that, we went down to Green Lake and did some walking by there. It was really pretty, and we happened to be there around the time of a kind of holiday they were celebrating...not an official one,just a kind of festival celebration unique to Kunming I guess . There’s a certain time of year when the seagulls come from, well, the sea I guess, and flock over to Green Lake in very very large amounts. And the Chinese people think it’s really awesome, and the only thing I’m thinking is that I hope they don’t poop on my head or bite me.

Here you can see more clearly some of the traditional wear. That dress the lady is wearing reminds me of something I'd see in Mexican clothing, with the bright colors and the stripes. 

These ladies to the left are also wearing a different kind of traditional clothing. They have these aprons with tassles that hang down. I know that the Nakhi tribe has these kind of aprons, but I don't know if that's what these ladies are.

The baby carrier this lady has is a common one here in Yunnan province...the carrier itself is not of an ethnic minority group, but the design I believe is. I'm not certain though, don't hold me to that. All I know for sure is that many women in Yunnan province walk around with this particular design, and I haven't seen this anywhere else. But as I said, don't hold me to it.

Seagulls...

More.

Now this is yet another type of traditional clothing...I have no idea which ethnic minority these ladies belong to.

While we were there walking around the lake, and seeing the hundreds of birds, we also saw more ethnic minorities dancing. They had their traditional garb and their traditional instruments. I find it fascinating that their outfits and traditions reminded me of some of the Native American groups I’ve seen. Many of their outfits have feathers and designs reminiscent of what I’ve seen in America, and it makes a lot of sense because if you look at a map of human migration, that was the path that the Native Americans (as well as any natives to the Americas) took to get there. They started in Africa, as we all did, made their way through the Saudi Arabian peninsula, through Asia, up to Russia, through a strip of land that used to exist at the Bering Strait, and then down through Alaska and Canada, and into North America, Central America, and South America (and then after that the Caribbean).

Anyway, it’s cool to see similarities in cultures because it reminds us that we are not a set of races, we are all one race of humans, all connected in more ways than we even know. It’s a pretty cool thing to be aware of, and the more places I go, the more connections I find between two cultures that I thought were pretty distinct and independent of each other…and then I realize that’s not so. Go to a place like Kazakhstan or Tajikistan or Xinjiang in China or New Zealand and see the natives to these places, or simply meet them face to face, and just by looking at them it will shatter any belief you had that there are distinct races of humans. No sir, we are all one people, all connected…the only thing that makes us different is that the places we live (the geography- be it mountains or rivers, the climate- be it hot desert or endless winter, and the wildlife) influence our methods of survival, how we thrive, how we look at the world, and much more. A future event has also driven this idea home for me, but once again no spoilers.

After we walked around the lake, we went back to the hostel. We grabbed some dumplings and rolls called “bao zi” (包子) at the Chinese restaurant on the second floor below us and then took a break. Before long it was time for dinner, and we decided to go to an Italian restaurant we saw nearby the city center as we were walking earlier in the day. Strangely, I was still “full” from eating earlier in the day. We went there and three of us ordered lasagna. It was delicious, I just wish I wasn’t feeling so full. I couldn’t enjoy it like I wanted to. We went back to the hostel afterwards and then went to sleep.

Return to Kunming, the Spring City

We got off the train and immediately I was starting to feel much better. I didn’t know exactly where we were in Kunming, but I had recognized the red dirt from looking out the window of the train as we came in. I didn’t know where in Kunming I was at that moment, but I’d find out soon.

We soon found a taxi, after several tried to cheat us (of course), and we made our way to the hostel we would be staying at. When we were talking about our plans while still in Xiangyang, I had recognized the name of this particular hostel, it being a hot-spot for foreigners living in Kunming. But I didn’t know what it looked like so I didn’t know whether I had been there before…there were a bunch of places that I’ve been to in Kunming whose names I didn’t know or remember.

When the taxi let us off, I realized found that we were at the city center, a place called Jin Ma Bi (金马碧) or Jin Bi Lu (金碧路) (they mean, “Golden Horse and Rooster” and “Golden Rooster Road”, respectively). This was an area divided into maybe three or four huge plazas, with several traditional style gates set in the middle of them. You’ll find a lot of people here looking to make some sort of money: people selling pineapples, strawberries, lychees, and more, people carrying tool kits for cleaning shoes, beggars or invalids begging for money, children selling items or singing karaoke, young guys doing dance performances or singing and playing guitar with an amplifier for the sound, people wearing random Disney costumes, people doing tricks, and more official performances on small stage platforms.

Here there are also many malls, a movie theater, and many restaurants of foreign and Chinese food alike. There are also Western chain restaurants like McDonald’s, KFC, and Starbucks. I had to walk through one of the city center’s plazas all the time when I went to or from martial arts every day. It was an amazing feeling to be back.

But not just this, it was as if the weather had changed JUST FOR US…we had heard (and it was confirmed later by a Kunming friend) that the whole winter had actually been very cold and that it had even snowed…which is very uncharacteristic in Kunming…it had snowed a foot. But this week the weather had suddenly gotten much warmer. And it stayed that way the whole week until we had to leave. The weather must’ve been 60 degrees in the sun, and it got cooler at night. Immediately, I felt so much freer, like a huge and heavy weight had been lifted off of me…and my depression was gone. Me and Melissa decided that as soon as we got to our hostel and found our room, we would change into shorts…even though it wasn’t particularly hot…it's just that it was just so much better than Xiangyang and we needed just a little sliver of time to just embrace the newfound freedom we were feeling.

Our hostel was right off the side of the road from where our taxi dropped us off. The place was called The Hump Hostel, named after an airbase in China for airmen of the 2^nd World War. I didn’t realize until I went in and took it all in for a moment where exactly I was. I had been there once before, only it was at night. The place was a bar/hostel, so the front part of it was a bar/restaurant/cafe, and to the back was the hostel part.

Apart from the large traditional Chinese style gates that were located at Jin Bi Lu, this was the first place I had really recognized here in Kunming. It was a great feeling, even though I had only been there once, but a bunch of memories of Kunming friends and life here came flooding back. And it was really a beautiful place, more beautiful than I even remember (having only seen it at night). It was very open concept, with plastic ribbons hanging down instead of doors, and the environment was designed like a Chinese kind of tropical looking paradise. And inside the hostel part, the place was constantly being cleaned so it never smelled bad (I’m hyper aware of really clean places and good smells now since I’ve been in Xiangyang), and in the mornings walking down the hall the area was filled with a beautiful, fragrant, exotic flowery perfumy smell. It was an amazing place.

This is the sign outside on the ground level before you walk up the stairs to where the hostel is located on the third floor.

This is where residents or customers can sit and eat or use the internet...Wi-Fi isn't offered in the rooms. I'm starting to think that was on purpose, to encourage people to come out of their rooms and hang out in the common area...that way, they are more encouraged to socialize and mingle/network with other customers and residents. And hey, it worked. We all managed to mingle with a bunch of really interesting people on different journeys here in Kunming: some for travel just passing through, some for study.

Half of the cafe/restaurant/bar was inside, the other half was outside. I mean it when I say this place was quite open concept. The outside part had a roof, but no walls or doors, and there was a balcony that you could sit at and look over.

This is the bar counter, where you can order things or just chill. Pretty self-explanatory.

Kunming was better than I remembered it, and I had remembered it quite fondly. I'd had really really great times here. And the reason why it seemed better than before to me was for several reasons: 1. Because I had just got off of a train from sad, cold, dirty, semi-rural Xiangyang, and at this point anything was better than where I had just come from. 2. Because Kunming had in fact (at least at the city center) become better…the place had improved greatly; buildings that were only under construction while I was there, covered in green nets and scaffolding were now complete and running, FAR more Westerners had come to visit or live in Kunming and WAY more black WOMEN…I could probably count on one hand the number of black women in Kunming when I was there and now I was seeing them WAY more. Kunming was turning into a little Shanghai, and it was just going to keep getting better.

Last time I was here, I was just witnessing the last glimpses of what old Kunming used to be: a city very much like Xiangyang. The airport I arrived in was small and it wasn’t international (I believe), and the airport I left in was IMMENSELY HUGE and now international. When I left that time, I was seeing the first glimpses of what Kunming was going to turn into: a fully modernized city like Shanghai. It was really wonderful seeing the changes and I’m really proud to have been one of the early foreigners to have stayed there. People don’t even stare at me anymore…I could count on one hand the amount of stares I got while we were there this time, and only one person called us “Lao Wai” (“foreigners”) the entire time we were there. It’s changed and I am really glad I got to say I was there when living there as a foreigner wasn’t so easy.

Anyway, digressing. So we got our room, a four bedroom kind of hostel suite thing…the upper room had two beds and the lower room also had two beds. And the bathroom was REALLY open concept…it didn’t even have a door, it didn’t even have a roof. There were a few curtains there for when you wanted to take a shower or go to the bathroom, but that was it. We all made the unspoken decision to use the public bathroom down the hall if we wanted a little more privacy than was offered. :P But other than that the room was beautiful, the walls were painted a rich tropical blue, there were Chinese roof tiles at parts of the room and except for the bathroom, the floors weren’t tile but a wooden looking linoleum…so the room was warmer and more comfortable than the cold hard floors of my Xiangyang apartment. There aren’t a lot of heaters in Kunming (if any) because it’s generally quite a warm place. But in the hostel the bed mattresses had cords running through them so that they could heat up at night if ever you got cold. That was really useful. And the room also smelled amazing, filled with that sweet exotic flowery fragrance that the halls were filled with.

So we tossed our stuff down, Melissa and I changed into shorts, and off we went to explore the city for just a little bit, since it was evening and would be dark before long. We went off to a place behind the city center that I had never been before, I believe it is called the Bird and Flower markets. It’s a place I must have passed a million times while I was here in Kunming, but it was on a road behind some buildings so I never saw it. It was a place like many other places you see in China that sells a lot of souvenirs and tourist merchandise. They sold weapons, ones with traditional designs and toy weapons, cigarette lighters, animals, cheap and expensive jewelry, sculptures and paintings, and much more. It was an interesting place to walk around, and while we were there some of the Chinese people there were talking about us nearby, wondering if we must be cold wearing shorts. It was getting a little chilly by night, but it had been fine in the day…what we were thinking though was that we just came from a frozen city and we just need to break out in shorts for a moment to kind of shake ourselves free of that. We switched to pants by the end of the day.

After that, we went to get dinner…and we had all made the unanimous decision that we were all going to eat anything and everything but Chinese food this entire time, having Chinese food only when we needed a break from indulging in yummy and rich foods. Nothing against Chinese food, we just needed a break from it and we wanted to try all the delicious foreign restaurants that Malcolm and I had been raving about the entire time since before we came to Kunming.

Before we left to go out and explore, we took a moment to sit at the balcony of the hostel and look at the view.

You can see the entire section of this side of the city center, and you can watch the action that goes on there. It's really nice.

This is taken from sitting at the balcony. That's the Hump Hostel below, and there's a tall building (I think it's an apartment) hovering above. You can see the people hanging out at the balcony here, it's a really chill kind of bohemian-feeling place. And all of the foreigners that frequent this hostel are generally pretty much free-spirits that are looking for the adventure in life...very much like myself. This leads to some very interesting conversations about past experiences and future goals for new adventures. I don't think I've realized how much I fit into this kind of free-spirited wanderer persona more than now. When I walked into the hostel and saw all these backpackers and bohemian foreigners, I realized that I'm kind of even dressed like them, with my combat boots and jeans, looking like I'm ready for a long-distance hike. It was an interesting realization, but not unwelcome.

I haven't smiled that genuinely in months. Even though my hair is still just no. #findinghappinessinthesimplicityoflife

So tonight we decided to check out a Thai restaurant very nearby our hostel…we could see its big restaurant sign from the balcony of the hostel’s cafe/bar. It was actually the same Thai restaurant I had gone to on one of the last days of class at Yunnan Normal University...my whole class and our main teacher had hopped a public bus together and had a great family-style dinner there. We went over there and had delicious Thai food and wondered if the food in Thailand was any different than what this Thai restaurant serves. Chinese restaurants in America and Chinese food in China is not necessarily the same, so maybe this Thai restaurant had differences too. But anyway, we had a great meal and then went home…deciding that the next day would be nothing but seeing old familiar places and tasting the delights of the city.

This was a chicken and vegetables in a kind of coconut sauce...really delicious! And healthy too! That's my favorite kind of meal.

Breaded and fried pork with sauce on the side...om nom nom.

This is also minced pork, and that's a fried egg on top of sticky rice.