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Under the Weather
Monday, February 14, 2005-9:24 AM
Valentine's Day. It's 9:30 in the morning and I'm still in bed. A horrible sore throat and intermittent firecrackers kept me up most of the night. The firecrackers sounded like people hammering a piece of sheet metal right outside my window. It took me a long time to figure out what they were.
Yesterday we went to Natasha's father's uncle's 70th birthday party. Originally, I was told he lived in a village, but actually it wasn't remote or rural enough to be considered a proper Chinese village.
The five of us, Natasha, he parents, her brother, and I, traveled part of the way there by three-wheeled taxi. The seats on the taxi are arranged in a triangle: one in the front for the driver and two benches in the back facing each other, the middle one big enough to squeeze two people on, and the rear one big enough for three.
Natasha's brother and I sat on the middle bench. Until I figured out how to prop my leg against the door, I felt like I was going to fall out every time we made a right turn.
We stopped at a bridge that is only passable by foot, bicycle, or motorcycle and walked the rest of the way.
The birthday party was held in an empty barn about 70 meters long and 20 meters wide. About a hundred people were there.
Surprise. I was the only foreigner.
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