It's Great to be Female (and foreign)

During my many times of traveling in the Asian countryside I have found that my extra X chromosome has many advantages. I assume that this is mostly because locals do not fear females but instead have the desire to protect and provide for them. A few days ago my friend and I were walking down a country road and a motorcyclist pulled over to offer us a ride to wherever we were going. Not knowing exactly where we were going, and not wanting to pay for the ride, we politely refused the offer. A little farther down the road we found that the motorcyclist had stopped to wait for us and again offered us a ride. This time we accepted. When it became apparent to us that we were going in the wrong direction the motorcyclist kindly turned around and tried to help us find where we were going. Upon reaching our destination he continued to offer his services and finally left us to our business. A few hours later we were walking down another road and van pulled over to offer us a ride. One person got out of the front seat and moved to the back so that we could have the most comfortable seat. When we reached our destination I tried to pay but they would not let me.

Children in the countryside love cameras. I was trying to take a picture of them gathered around Kim's camera looking at themselves but they turned to say "qiezi" (eggplant) instead.

"One of these things is not like the other. . ." Bet you can't pick me out of the crowd:) Ok, so maybe it isn't too hard. Peace, victory, and bunny ears to all.

Many of the baskets that you buy in America that say "Made in China" aren't actually made in factories, but in little shops and homes in the countryside. We walked by a group of women making baskets for export.

Aren't these women so cute!

When you travel to the countryside it is pretty easy to draw a crowd. These children have not started back to school from the holiday yet so they decided to follow the foreigners around. Fun times for all!