So it seems I never cease when it comes to leaving Beijing. I love the city (could definitely do without the smog and spitting citizens though) but when plane and trains tickets range from $15 to a couple hundred the opportunities are endless. Therefore, I went off with a few friends on a long weekend that turned into more of a week (skipping classes is permitted, of course) to the province of Yinnan, which borders Myanmar, Laos, Tibet, Sichuan, and a couple of other provinces in the south of China. This place is incredible in so many aspects ranging from the diversity of minority groups to the climate which allows a variety of exotic fruits to grace every street corner.

So, when I do stay in Beijing my friends and I take advantage of a very useful magazine entitled "That's Beijing!" which informs foreigners of some exciting events in the city that easily cater to an international crowd. So we have attended French films, listened to live Mongolian music, watched incredible Chinese Jazz musicians, visited historical sites, and tasted some incredible foods from all different regions of China.

My experience in Yinnan is unlike anything I have ever done, but was everything I had hoped would happen. We were stuck in a bus station in the capital of a region called XishuanBan'a trying to decide which random route to take and stumbled upon a young girl named Xuedan who happily invited us to here village only five hours away.

The bus ride was bumpy, the passengers were curious, and the village was more than welcoming. We spent two nights, three days, getting to know the lifestyle of the Yi people as rice and bean farmers (I know ... very unusual).

The history behind the Yi people is fascinating. In a nut shell, they are ethnically Tibetan (the only evidence of this comes from their language being very closely linked to Tibetan) but come from a strain, or thick hierarchy rather, of slave culture. Their "God," Maozedong, liberated them in the 1950s and so they spread through several southern provinces and switched from growing maize and wheat in the higher-lands to rice and beans in the low-lands.

After my return, I realized how amazing Tibet will be if my attitude remains fresh and optimistic. I have only about a month left here and plan to spend my time wisely with my Chinese family and IES friends.

Wow, would you look at that blanket of suspended sediment, or at least so it seems. Sometimes you're not sure if it is a foggy day or if the wind is just working against your favor, and sometimes you can't tell if you are being well protected from the sun or just deprived of too much Vitamin D. But here she is, Beijing!

Some very unusual Mongolian music in a quaint bar behind the Drum Tower in the center of Town. Their voices range from leaping howls to deep resonating sounds and their guitars come in shapes that only a true geometrician could recognize. Beautiful music all around!

NOW ON TO YINNAN!

This is the small village of Xiangming. There were two schools, a lively street of food, cheap products, and produce at the top of the hill, and fields of beans along the perimeter.

This is Xuedan's mother cooking some incredible food in this stationary wok that is lit by a small wood fire underneath contained in a small brick structure. We ate bamboo, beans, bamboo shoots, bean stalk, stinky tofu, and even rat! -- all cooked in pig fat which rendered us vegetarians physically uncomfortable on the last night.

To prove that we did have rat, here is its head. Looks fierce, and apparently put up quite a fight in its last minutes.

This is all of us during our last hour with our new family!

This is the back of their home where we hung out quite bit gazing at the moon and the visible stars, you could actually see stars!!!! Sorry, it's been a while.

The first morning a bunch of their worker friends came by during breakfast to chat and to figure out why four white girls were staying with them. Once they got more comfortable with us I grabbed a bucket of beans and headed down to the fields with them to learn about their farming methods. Xuedan was embarrassed and forced us back in the house after a half hour but I was able to get a little taste of how they planted their beans every winter.

We climbed a mountain, trekked through rolling streams and resting fields, climbed up rocks, and of course had to snack along the way. Our new friends (consisting of five 19-year-old guys and Xuedan) were eager to share some natural snacks and hacked down what looks like rhubarb but grows on tall trees, and tastes sour but very delicious.

Xuedan introduced us to many of her "grandmas," "grandpas," "uncles," and "aunties" who had personal gardens of pamello trees and sugar cane. Natural snacking beats packaged goods any day.