I got brave and signed up to go on a Silk Factory tour with the International Club. The brave part wasn't going, but the fact that I had to take Eli with me. We traveled on a bus of about 35 people to a small village about an hour away from town. The area was beautiful! The tour-guide then gave us each a large bag and told us to fill them with leaves from these bushes growing next to some buildings. He told us that this was the time of year that the worms eat constantly. Wow! We had never hand-fed worms before, and many of us wondered how big these worms actually were! We then met the worm-farm owner, who took us into the buildings. They were lined with big shelves full of worms!!!! And, we were only supposed to put the leaves on top of the worms. Eli was pretty disappointed, but tried to hand-feed them anyway. We got back on the bus, and then spent thirty minutes trying to back out of this little village. It was a narrow road, and no-place to turn around. I'm pretty sure we were the first ever to tour this farm. I think the whole town was out staring at us! Next we went to a Fruit farm where we saw how they grow kiwi, and chestnuts. The most exciting part of this was the narrow road we drove on (in the huge bus) that had a 15 foot drop on both sides. We made it! Last, we drove to the Silk Factory. We were told that it was a very big deal we were coming. Our guide told us that he had been by the day before, and that they had cleaned the bathrooms for us, and we would be given toilet paper! (this is a big deal, as bathrooms never have toilet paper) When we arrived we were taken to these fine facilities. All I can say, is look at the picture. The stalls had no doors, and they had a girl like at the fancy hotels, with a basket of toilet paper. Wow-that's an experience I don't need again! They took us through the factory. It was really interesting! I thought about how they would never allow a tour like this in America because of the fear we would sue them if someone got hurt. Especially with Eli running around like he owned the place. Luckily, we all made it unscathed. At the end of the tour, the owner had a surprise for us. They had made us soup! Ok, that was pretty scary for all of us. But I figured it had been boiled, so I had some. It wasn't bad, but I didn't eat the various chicken parts floating around in it. (I think I must be getting used to some things) Well, it was an amazing experience! I loved seeing parts of China that people don't normally get to see. And the amazing part of the whole day, was that Eli, being the only child there, was good as gold! Hope you can see some of these photos.
