Knobcottage in China

Because I have not found much to do in Jiangkou, I often wander the streets in the early evening.  Everything is a small restaurant or hotel!  Here are a few pictures.  Sorry, they are not particularly good and a few are out of focus! People often look surprised to see a foreigner, but I never feel unsafe.  In three months I have only seen one argument.  The usual drunken 'let-me-at-him-walk-away-let-me-at-him' argument you see in the UK, chest out, chin up, with friends keeping people apart!  Even they were out of towners whose bus had a flat tyre!  Unsurprisingly  no kung fu was offered by either party!  That's for the movies or a town other than Jiangkou where, much to my surprise, Tae Kwan Do from Korea is the 'go to' martial art, at least for the younger generation!  More or less the same in England, and like in England it owes its success to its marketing rather than its form.

There's not a lot to this post but I had to include it! Yup, it's a cow, a real cow in the back of a pick up truck! A lorry full of breeze blocks.  Nothing holding them there except for friction! What could possibly go wrong!

The friendliness of Chinese people never ceases to amaze me.   This story starts at the end of the conference.   I was out very late the night before the end of the conference, and I had decided to stay and extra night in the hotel.   I got up in the morning and booked an extra night.   Then I got a message from Angela.   “Did I fancy a day out in Tongren!”.   She had learned that I was there alone and wanted to take me out!   Excellent!   Soon afterwards I got another message telling me the plan of the day and telling me what time she would arrive.   She arrived in a taxi and we went off with all my luggage to the centre of Tongren.   She needed to take a few photos for an official document and then we would go to shopping for some ingredients for a meal that she would cook for us at her friend’s house.   We went to the photographers, but he was not there.   However, we parked my luggage in the back of the shop and went off to explore nearby.   We popped into a milk tea shop

Yet another surprise message from Wendy asking me out to dinner!  Me, Wendy and her friends seem to get on well, and get on well enjoy each others' company, after all I am the foreigner and even Tongren does not have a lot of those!  But also she is doing a little bit of 'guanxi' building.  'Guanxi' literally means 'realtionship' and it's how a lot of things 'get done' in China, because who you are connected with or who you know is often more important than what you know.  So if you know a local government official and there is some local government business to be done, then the chances are that the local government business will go more smoothly and bypass any obstacles because your friend can ensure this.  As for me and Wendy, I am a native English speaker, a rare commodity in Tongren, made even more rare by the fact that I am actually English.  So if I am associated with her school this looks good for her and helps her promote her business.

Well, when I got the message of "to all: tonight 10pm BBQ and beers donstairs confirm hotel please"  I woud neve have imagined that I'd be getting a communal massage at 1.00am in the morning whilst watching a Jackie Chan horror tyoe film and eating watermelon, but I was.  Let me explain. It all started with a message from Wendy at about 8 pm. " have you eaten Mike?"  "No." "Where are you?" " In the hotel" " Ok Ill be over soon with some food" "To my hotel?" "Yes!" "I’m room 8248 or do you want to meet me in the lobby?" "Stay there I'll be there soon, I'’ll bring my student!" Half an hour later there was a knock on the door.  It was Wendy and Taylor, her student An and a bag of assorted food!  An is a thirteen-year-old boy.  So, taking everything in my stride, I invited them in.  They set out the table for me and waited until I had eaten. Then An w