April Fool

Did you get my joke? I didn't write a blog post, April Fools! Oh man, I am hilarious.

A random observation I've been meaning to mention, What do you see a lot of in China that you hardly ever see in America? Buicks. Yeah, the American car company. Maybe I was just distracted but I don't remember noticing a Buick in America in years. I see them all over the place here.

I traveled outside of Wuhan for the first time this past weekend. We had Monday off for a holiday, Tomb Sweeping Day. It comes from the Qing Dynasty and is a time when one gathers with their family, in the mother's hometown if possible, and honor their ancestors. Someone told me that the closest American counterpart would be Memorial Day. Anyway I went, with a fellow teacher, to the small mountain town of Yichang (ee-chong), population 4 million. Yichang is west of Wuhan in the Hubei province. The Three Gorges Dam, the largest dam in the world, is right close. And it is also right close to the mountains, it was wonderful. Yichang is a very nice place. One day we drove out into the country and walked along the river for awhile (not the BIG river, a smaller tributary) and got a glimpse of rural life in China. That was my favorite part. And then of course we went and saw the dam. What can I say... it's a dam alright. And big. Sure is big. I had a great time.

And just especially for those who have been hounding me, here are some pictures...

Fields and mountains

Ditto.

The wall of the canyon. Notice the people for scale.

A little pool tucked behind some foliage.

River. More like a stream actually.

Area Girl Crosses Stream

Hubei, China: The mood was electric this past Monday as a local girl prepared to cross a stream while holding an orange. "I'm really excited about [the stunt]," said Huang Hu, 6, "I've been training really hard and I think that I am ready." A successful crossing could be a boost to the local economy said shop owner Ying Yi Ma, "I think people are definitely going to be traveling from afar to witness this historic occasion." When asked what's next for the little adventurer, she replied "Perhaps I'll climb a hill."

Another mountain shot.

Mother and child.

Playing Mahjong.

A tomb decorated for the holiday. I felt guilty taking this picture, I kinda did it on the sly. I didn't know if it might be uncouth.

The blogger thing isn't letting me put anymore pictures so that's all you get for now. I'll come back and post a link to a photo album when I get them uploaded. That is all.

EDIT: Okay, here are the rest of the pictures, with captions.