Pictures From A Day At A Chinese Village

Tim lives on the edge between Chongqing and the countryside, so he invited us to his house to go biking and spend the day in the fresh air we never get in the city. We got there in the morning and rented mountain bikes; I haven't been on a bike since I was about 13, so this was quite an adventure for me. We did some off-road biking and I was in last place, but I did make it up the hills! Here's a picture of me on my bike (yes, I did wear a helmet, just not for the photo):

Tim has a Chinese student friend who grew up in a small village near Tim's school, and one of the villagers was having his 30th birthday party. We got invited to the party, so we biked to the village. It was pretty incredible to spend the day there and see what village life is like. Their village is a collection of homes built around an old temple that was bombed by the Japanese during the Chinese/Japanese conflict in WWII. Two families now live in the old temple, and the rest built homes surrounding the temple. There is electricity, but no running water. I forgot my camera (I know!) but Tim and Tristan both had theirs. (Click all pics to enlarge.)

Tobhiyah at our table full of food:

Our host and his mother:

The village babies:

The lunch chef in the cooking area:

Men playing majiang after lunch:

Me helping grandma with baby lunch:

Group shot, from l-r: Tim, Tobhiyah, me, Tristan, and two friends. Tristan has more pictures of me, when he gives them to me I'll post a few.

Sharing rounds of toasts before we left:

After the party, we rode our bikes to see a goddess statue in the middle of a nearby lake:

After the lake, we biked back to Tim's university, then Tristan and I took the bus back to CQ. An exhausting day, but also wonderful!