Chiakartu(I'm making up my own spelling here)

We spent three days in Chiakartu before coming back to Urumqi due to Ziya's illness. Chiakartu is very small, and we spent most of those three days walking around the area, checking out the shops, talking to people. Lots of cows and goats and snow. I no longer feel embarrassed by my snow boots. There is really no vegetarian option out in the country, so I've been eating around the meat, which doesn't bother me as it's better than starving. The Kazahks think I'm crazy.

Yesterday was the New Year, so there were lots of firecrackers being set off everywhere, it sounded like everyone in town was making popcorn all night long. We'll be heading back out to Chiakartu in a few days, and we'll be going to the breeding center and one of the enclosures to talk to people about the horses. We're finding out things we hadn't expected in regards to the monitoring of the horses, mainly how ethnocentric it was to assume that there is monitoring. There have been a lot of things that I'm finding I took for granted; though I came in knowing things would be different, I subconsciously assumed there would be some commonalities. It's proving to be an eye-opening experience.

This is Chiakartu.

Cow.

Crossing the frozen River.

Cashmere Goats.

This is the building we're staying in.

Han Chinese Cemetary.

And just in case you think I'm not really in China:

I have ice forming on my eyelashes everytime I go outside.

And yes, that is ice forming on my scarf from my breath.

Separated at birth?

Remember the end of Edward Scissorhands?

Managed to take these before my camera's battery died. I haven't charged it since I've been here(which gives you an idea of how little I've used it, 'cause I'm a dork who is too shy to take pictures). These are for the Ice Festival. The one that looks like a tower with a long ramp on one side is used for sledding!

I went to a wedding reception with Karalygash and Ziya a couple nights ago. It was really cool. There were lots of disco lights and everything had a pumping techno beat behind it, but there were traditional; dances and performers in traditional dress and the bride wore this amazing goen with a traditional tall feathered hat and a very long veil. She remains veiled at the reception until a special unveiling ceremony involving relatives giving gifts and recitation of poetry. Ziya was the belle of the ball, everyone was so taken with him.

We're leaving for the country in two days, and won't be back to Urumqi until mid-February, at which time I expect I will have lots of video and pictures and stories to share. I won't be updating from the road, however, so in a couple days this page will be dormant. Talk amongst yourselves, I'll give you a topic; Rhode Island is neither a road nor an island. Discuss.

No More Pickles

I finally found something that I can't eat. Everything so far as been delicious, until the pickles. Not pickles like we think of pickled cucumbers. This was something different, something alien. And I couldn't handle it. It smelled horrific, and I had a sneaking suspicion it would taste exactly like it smelled, but I try to be a good anthropologist, so I tried it. It tasted worse than it smelled. The moment it hit my tongue, my eyes started to water and I had to wage an epic battle with my gag reflex just to get it down. I've been having some stomach issues the past few days, and this did not help. No more pickles while I'm here.
We got them at the supermarket, which is literally a Super Market. It was huge and sold everything imaginable. We went to the two grocery floors. The produce is obviously not organic, they had the biggest carrots I've ever seen. As well as this watermelon-sized fruit that is lumpy, brown and covered with spikes. It smells very strongly of feet, and it's inside is creamy and tastes like banana ice cream. It's like being on another planet.
I stopped by a Japanese import market where they carry Dreyer's ice cream and Pringles potato chips, so if my craving for American junk food gets the better of me, I have somewhere to go. I may have to stock up before we leave for the country in a few days as we will be there until about mid-February, since we're collapsing two shorter excursions into one long stay.
We went to the fabric markets yesterday. I'm having to change my research question, but I'm having trouble coming up with a new one. And until I come up with a new one, I don't really know what kind of questions to ask.

This fabric is popular with young people. It reminds me of Northwest Coast tribal art.

Fabric produced in Western China for use as bedding in rural communities.

This is a wedding fabric. That's the double happiness character.

This is special for the marriage bed, mostly for Han Chinese. They are spectacular in person. I'm going to buy one to bring home. They're definitely a splurge, but a wealthy family might give several as wedding gifts. They come in all colors.

The bag on the left is full of grain hulls that are put in pillows. The bag on the right is full of camel hair that is spun into yarn.

These are songbirds that were outside one of the markets. Old men take them to parks and hang them on trees while they play cards with other old men, who have also brought birds.

It Snowed!

So it snowed, not a lot, just a thin blanket of snow covering the ground. Yet, there are already people out with snow shovels clearing the courtyard and the walkways. I'm looking at you, Spokane.


Yesterday Karalygash and I scouted out a different fabric market. I quite liked it, there was a lot going on even though there weren't that many buyers. Most of the female vendors were busy knitting and talking to each other while the male vendors were playing cards. They were getting ready to close up(I keep forgetting that the businesses here run on Beijing time, so everything is two hours earlier), but we were able to ask some questions.

We stumbled into the notions section(buttons, zippers, trim, etc. for you non-sewers) which was huge. Have you ever been in a room filled entirely with buttons? You should. There were buttons the likes of which I've never seen before. I'm going to have to procure some of this fabric I've never seen before and some notions I've never seen before and make something to wear about Spokane that no one has ever seen before.
The knitting was interesting, too. They were all knitting in the round on, like, size 1 needles. It must take forever! I want to look more closely as they're knitting, because they're holding the needles in a style I'm unfamiliar with(I tend to knit in an English/Continental hybrid style, being left-handed and all). I haven't seen any knitting shops yet, that I'm aware of. Maybe I passed one and didn't recognize it. On the surface, everything is the same, but it's just the surface. It's like being in a parallel universe, except not everyone has mustaches or beards.
Last night I helped AnNar with her English homework, which reminded me of working at Mukogawa and helping my Japanese students with theirs. I should pick up a Chinese language workbook so she can help me with mine. I haven't yet explored the large bookstore here yet, so that's something to look forward to.

Food, Glorious Food!

I am going to have to learn how to eat large quantities of food, since the portion sizes here are quite large, and of course an anthropologist must eat what she is served. What I eat compared to the average is a very small amount. I am told this will not fly in the country. Stomach-stretching training to commence shortly.

In the meantime, here are some photos of last night's dinner. We went out to a "hot pot" restaurant, which is kind of similar to fondue, only completely different. Ass you will see, there is a large bowl in the center of the table which is heated from below and filled with water and various spices, fruits, and vegetables. The water boils, and you put the food you want into the water to cook. It was quite delicious. The bowl is divided into a spicy side and a sweet side. I nibbled on a bit of broccoli from the spicy side and it was far too hot for me, who can only really tolerate Spokane white girl spicy. I mixed up a dipping sauce out of the supplied ingredients of sesame paste and vinegar, forgoing the parsley and hot pepper.

In the first two pictures you can see the divided bowl. The third picture is the lace-like lotus root I talked about eating in Beijing. Prepared in the hot pot, this had a completely different flavor, very delicious. The last picture is my plate, with broccoli, garlic, goji berries, hot pepper, and needle mushrooms. There were also long, noodle-like strips of tofu skin and a kind of sourdough bread, both very good. Everyone else was eating all of these things in addition to lamb and beef. To give you an idea of the process, I took this helpful video(in which you can see Dr. Z, Mrs. Z, little Z, and AnNar):

And to end the post; Ziya the Duck.

Hidden Treasure

Today was very sunny, so much so that I could see the Tian Shan mountains for the first time. They're pale against the sky(which was blue today!), but you can see them here:

I was rearranging my bedding to see if I could find a more cushiony configuration, and I discovered that for the past week I've been sleeping on works of art. Take a look:

These were the bottom layer of blankets on my bed. I'll have to take pictures of them when it's light, the colors are much more vibrant in person.

The top blanket is even more amazing.

To give you a sense of the embroidery: