When we arrived at the bus station we were greeted by Zhao Min's aunt and uncle. I was all ready to shake hands or give hugs all around but that isn't really done here. In fact, Zhao Min didn't even receive any hugs and she only comes home about four times a year! She told me that a warm smile is enough and it is all that is expected. After lunch we drove to her neighborhood to meet her parents, see her house and explore the neighborhood.
This is the house were Zhao Min grew up and it looked like the rest of the houses in the area - tall, concrete two-story structures with tall ceilings and large rooms. Many families had small gardens in front of their houses which were right next to a road and a small river. Sean, Zhao Min, a shy cousin and I set off walking to visit the rest of Zhao Min's extended family who lived over the bridge near more open fields.
On our walk we experienced many sights and smells that were not so common in a big city like Changzhou. There were rice fields, cotton fields, corn fields and several small plants that bordered the fields like peas, beans, peppers and peanuts. The weather was hot (our province is thought to have similar weather to Texas) and we grabbed any shade we could. But the Chinese workers didn't seem to mind and they were all working in front of their houses in wide-brimmed hats. Most of them were spreading out cotton, corn, beans and peanuts to dry in the sun.
One of the most interesting and unusual sights was watching several farmers repeatedly beat their dried bean plants laid out in front of their houses in order to separate the beans from their pods.
The end product?
This girl hasn't invited me to her awesome home yet!
/(ㄒoㄒ)/~~