Penny's House
Penny PENG's village is called PengJa, which sort of let's you know how high up on the social scale they are. (Ja means home). They built the new house about 5 years ago. It is 3 stories with the oldest living downstairs. As per tradition her 95 year old paternal grandma lives in the only downstairs bedroom. She is deaf and needs a little help but is aware of her surroundings. Penny's mom is her caregiver. The 2 daughters have not decided how they want in their bedrooms designed on the second floor so they are still cement floors and bare cement walls. The unfinished third floor is for any of their grandchildren. When totally finished it will have 6 bedrooms and 4.5 baths. Her father owns a bus company and still drives a set 45 minute route and her mom is retired. I really wouldn't call her retired, she loves to garden and they have a pig, chickens and 2 ducks (as of today). And she is a great cook
The new kitchen has a gas stove but Penny's Mom still uses the fire fed wok to cook her many varieties of dishes.
You use one bowl to eat and drink from so of course the beer was the first course. She put all the courses in the middle of the table and you get your bite, eat it, the get another bite from another dish, if there are bones in the piece of meat you lay them on the table. Rice is usually the last course and you get up and go to the rice cooker and serve yourself. Very efficient and builds great immune systems. I know all this sounds strange after reading, but I have had the best food here and very little stomach problems if I stick to my rules : it's ok if it's cooked. Fruit or raw vegetables need to be peeled and water needs to be bottled or boiled. (That means no salads and No opening your mouth in the shower! )
To get ready for the 2 big family gatherings, we went into a slightly larger village to visit the farmers market and get some chickens and fish - the population here has definitely not seen many foreigners. It reminded me of Cuba with dogs running around, gutting occurring on the floor, and the freshest looking vegetables that would even encourage me to eat them. The town had been spruced up for the G20 even though the foreigners are very unlikely to drive thru this remote but beautiful area. Roads were newly paved and store front signs were all new and coordinated. Blue skies and a natural spring is located in this area.
Naps after lunch - what a nice tradition!
