Another dinner invite, my first binglang and a painted turtle.

In the evening I went to the park, but it wasn't as good as usual.  There was a huge stage taking up most of the main area and everything else had to fit around it.  There was a huge screen and very loud speakers, which made it difficult to hear anything else.  Then I heard someone call my name.  It was the woodshopman and his son.  We both moaned about the park not being as good as usual, and went our separate ways.  I headed home early but popped in at the woodshopman's shop.  We talked a bit and drank tea, and I was introduced to a bank manager and his younger sister, who was a traditional Chinese doctor.  His friends and his younger sister left.  We drank tea.  Suddenly he invited me out to xiaoye.  Never heard of this before, but gathered it was a late night snack.  He wouldn't take no for an answer, so we locked up shop and headed off in his car.  After a while he handed me a small packet that looked like this:

It looks like a typical supermarket snack pack, which of course it was! Inside there was a thing that looked like this.

Or at least that is what I later found out it looked like, as the car was dark at the time I got it.  I ripped open the packet and put it in my mouth, expecting it to be beef.  It wasn't.  It was semi hard ... a bit like wood.  His son said don't swallow it, so I didn't.  I chewed it a while.  It had an odd menthol taste, but after some of the stuff I've eaten in China I didn't work too much.  It was a binglang or Areca nut also known as Betel nut.  Didn't think much of it until I got out of the car.  My head was dizzy and I had a weird sensation in my throat.  I was drunk or the equivalent of.  Made it to the restaurant and after maybe half an hour the effect wore off but not quite.  Openly available in China from the supermarket.  Weird!
We sat down at a table and ordered ordered beef barbecue.  I tried to pay but he wouldn't let me.

We also grilled tofu and had a dish of vegitable stuff.  Whilst we were grilling, a littel girl came over and started to talk to us.  She came back with a tiny turtle which had a pattern painted on its shell. She and the woodshopman's son paleyed with it on a nearby stool. I suggested to the woodshop man that we stick it on the barbecue.  He told the little girl and she took it away and put it in a bowl of water.  Soup?

The little girl, her turtle and the woodshop man's son

The turtle and its painted shell...sorry about the photo quality, it was just point and shoot!

After finishing eating we went home and I was dropped off at my flat.  An interesting evening, but Ill have to invite the woodshopman out soon as its all one way at the moment!  Tomorrow should be a day out in Tongren, shopping and an evening out at a water park with my friend Angela and maybe other(s)  We shall see.  It was supposed to have been today, but she had to postpone.... and just for your information, as I got out of the car, the woodshop gave me another binglang.  I've just taken it.  Same effect.  Maybe I'll buy a packet tomorrow...just for the sake of experimentation you understand!