Day 11: Visiting Sophia

Today we met with our Chinese friend Sophia again. This time we met her where she lives which is a half-hour bus journey away from where we are staying. We were met by her smiling face at the end bus-stop and we were taken up a street crowded with street-sellers. Sophia lives with her mother, sharing a reasonable sized apartment on the top floor of an apartment block. Her mother did not speak any English, but she made up for it in overwhelming hospitality. First we were introduced to the famous Lanzhou honey-dew melons, which were sweet and juicy. It was easy to eat more, and the encouragement was there also! Next, Sophia's mother brought out walnuts which she smashed the shells of for us and we were able to feast on the tasty meats. This is walnut season in Lanzhou and there are always several farmers selling walnuts along the sides of the streets.

Sophia teaches English part time at a school and so she showed us the books that they teach from. Both Andrew and I were suprised at the level of language students were expected to learn, which was incredibly stilted and overly complicated. I am not au fait with the serving of quail, but I don't think students need to know about it or many of the other terms used. It was very odd.

Fantastic, though, was the photos that Sophia showed us of her travels to Henan and her mother's book on Hainan, which is indeed a beautiful place. Andrew will be spending a few days there at the end of our trip, so I am very envious! We went for a walk through the campus grounds and saw a bust of Rewi Alley and statue of George Hogg, the founder of and the first headmaster of the Shandan Bailie School. Rewi is famous for his great work as a New Zealander in China from humble New Zealand beginnings.

Sophia's mother showed us through the factory that she works in and we were surpised by the lack of safety gear! Metal shards and sparks happily flew out from the machinery to the ground, and there was a fair accumulation of shrapnel!

Finally, Sophia, Andrew and I went for a wander around the village and sat down for a meal of choice lamb-cuts which we would dip in salt-and-pepper before eating, and a big bowl of lambs-broth which we dunked chunks of a thick unleavened bread in. This filling meal took us to the end of our time with Sophia, then Andrew and I hopped on a bus to return to Lanzhou University. Another wonderful day in Gansu!