Peacocks, Monkeys and Badminton

Lizzy and I were on our own for the bulk of the day.  Afternoon classes were cancelled as the students practiced for the exhibition tomorrow, an event we are invited to but are unsure of the details.  We realized that Quianling Park was walking distance from our hotel.  Eager for a long walk, we set out around 4pm and wandered through food stands filled with gorgeous produce, watched as rice noodles were formed and displayed, and entertained the locals by simply being ourselves.

Entering the park was the smoothest interaction we've had yet!  We approached the woman at the gate and asked, "Duōshăo" (How much?) and she replied, "Wu" (5).

We entered the park only knowing about the famous Hongfu Temple.  We have plans to explore the temple with our new buddy Jerry (like Jerry and Tom) this weekend.  We wandered about and had the most wonderful afternoon.

I played badminton with some locals and made a poor attempt at learning how to do a dance with a stick using my thumb.  Don't worry, Lizzy took photos.  Since I did the ridiculous stuff and allowed her to photograph, she has the duty of writing about the park on our joint blog:  Lizzy and Natalie in China.   

I am still amazed by the stares, smiles and laughs we receive when walking around Guiyang.  We often hear locals saying, "Mĕiguó" (American).  One guy stopped us to take a picture with us and another woman said, "Very beautiful."  I'm not sure I'll ever tire of all this attention! 

We wandered and wandered, found a tunnel through a mountain that we will explore further later, caves and beautiful peacocks.

We had heard that the park was known for monkeys and I was bummed I hadn't seen any when we heard one of the peacocks make a noise that to me said, "It's monkey time."  We heard rustling in the trees and low and behold the monkeys were on the move.  Running across the top of a building, swinging from the trees, looking for food, you know, monkeying around.  

Here's a video of a couple of monkeys!  So cute!

These three were up to no good.

After the park, we decided we would try to get a meal on our own.  Sounds easy but ordering food can be quite a scene.  We wandered around and looked at what people were eating.  Finally, we saw a table of three middle school-aged girls eating what looked like a spicy tomato broth with noodles, almost Mediterranean.  Lizzy being the resourceful gal that she is, realized that the girls would know at least some English, and they did!  They helped us order and showed us what to point to on the menu so we could order again.  Then, two of the girls left and I sort of waved bye.  The third girl said, "They went to buy you a gift."  The two girls returned, giggling of course (all middle school girls have giggle fits, it's universal) and handed us a jar of the spicy condiment that is unique to Guiyang.  I am continuously amazed by the generosity and graciousness of the people we encounter, both young and old.

Travel tip:  Find the middle-schoolers or high schoolers to help, they will know at least some English.