Monday, February 6, 2012

Nanchang Rice Village

Hello everyone...

Well it has been a few days since we made a post...we have been pretty busy running around Guangzhou finalizing all of our adoption paperwork with the US Consulate. As of yesterday, we are done with the paperwork and just waiting for Kaylee's US Visa...should get today (Tuesday China time) and then will begin our trek back to the US on Wednesday...yea!

Stacie and I have had an incredible journey and have had an opportunity to see what makes China so diverse and unique. While we were in Nanchang (the capital of the Jiangxi province where Kaylee was born) our guide took us to see a rice village. I had no idea what a real rice village looked liked...from books that I have read and movies that I have seen, my expectations were these vast areas of green lands very distinctively marked into squares with ladies in hats tending the fields. Boy were we mistaken...that is nothing like what I had expected. In China, there is definitely a class system. The rice village farmers are considered almost at the bottom of China lower class. What was also more surprising was the location of the rice village...in the middle of city in a very poverty stricken area.

As you will see from the videos and pictures, it was heart wrenching seeing how some of these Chinese farmers live...but the funny thing, they seemed so content. Wow, it was good for Stacie and I to see what we saw...It reminds me of scripture in 1 Timothy 6:6-7 "But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and we can take nothing out of it."



The local butcher...something tells me I would want to be very nice to this lady...notice the rather large knife she has in her right hand.

The village tap water area that is free for public use. This water is used for cleaning pots and pans. The water is not sanitary to drink.

This field is for vegetables and rice patties. The mounds are where the village people bury loved ones. Yes, it is right next to the growing food.

The village toilet.

The inside of the public toilet. This is called a squatty potty. We have seen a vast array of squatty potties while we have traveled around China...some nice, some not so nice. This one was on the not so nice end of the spectrum. We are sure this one worked but opted not to try it.

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