Last Impressions

I had previously written about my first impressions of Siping, my home in China for three weeks. It was only a matter of time before I wrote my last impressions of that place.

Much of what I had already mentioned still held true. All the people I met were kindness and generosity personified. I feel if I had only asked, they would have given me their family heirlooms. And they definitely made it their life’s mission to keep us well fed. Short of throwing food into my mouth every time I opened it, they kept plying me with every assortment of food known and unknown. And yes, though eventually the villagers got used to us enough to stop taking my picture every time and offering me their daughter’s hand in marriage, I still felt like a rock star with the royal treatment meted out to me. It would be just small things, like stopping what they are doing to watch us walk past and wave at us, or smiling amicably at us even if we were slurring our words after a glass too many of rice wine, or waving goodbye as we leave their house until we are just specks in the horizon.

But while the intensity of the villagers’ enthusiasm in having us eat their food, drink their wine, and clog their toilets might have mellowed, their love for us, and in turn our love for them, only deepened. Not just the villagers, but also the other participants and the volunteers.

I have had some amazing moments there – playing a drinking game with people from half a dozen countries, playing the judge in Masterchef Siping, having two Germans outlast me in a sauna (Seriously, I’m from India! It gets hot enough over here to fry an egg on the sidewalk! How did the Teutonic lads tolerate that heat?), learning the Cup Song from a German lass, making rolling r sounds with my Chinese volunteer, walking around the largest wholesale market in the world in Yiwu until my blisters had blisters, eating a pizza wearing plastic gloves (never have I come across this concept before), attempting to paint bamboo shoots in painting class which inevitably ended up looking like bones, on that related note – doing the bamboo dance of the She people, and a whole host of other things.

I met some amazing people, not just from Siping, but also from around the world. I lost my heart to them, and farewell was truly bittersweet – it was great to have met them, and I’m happy for the memories we made. But it was also heart wrenching to bid them adieu. Ultimately, a part of me was left behind in Siping. If it were not for that non-descript village tucked away in a quiet corner of China, I would never have had such marvelous experiences or met such wonderful people.