Playing Charades

Every Christmas my family plays charades after the holiday feast. This skill has come in very handy in China, because our Mandarin is very rudimentary. And while we find the Chinese people fascinating, it appears they are equally intrigued by us.

When we stepped off the boat in Yangshuo a couple of days ago, we were greeted by a chorus of, "Hallo, Hallo, Hallo, Hallo!!!"

The pier in this river village leads directly into a colourful outdoor market.

"Do you want a fan?" one woman asked. "A scarf? A flute? A hat?" said another.
"Do you need a room?" asked one man. "Do you need a guide?" asked a young woman.
"Do you want to rent a bike?" a young man said as he motioned to a rack filled with bicycles.

"Beautiful boy," smiled one older woman, pointing at Louis.

"Successful man," one man said to Pierre. "A wife, a son. Do you want postcards?"

We smiled, we laughed. We said,"no thanks", over and over and over again.

This is China too. A country making up for lost time. A country that's kicked into capitalism. Everyone is out to make a living, a free market economy has arrived, big time.

It's funny, it's joyful, sometimes it's a bit annoying. Especially when you are just trying to have a quiet dinner, and people keep arriving at your table.

At dinner I said to Pierre, "we've got to realize that we look like walking ATM's to everyone here, with cameras slung around our necks, trying to figure out where we are going, and what a dollar is worth."

No wonder the Chinese want to talk to us, we've got Canadian flags stitched on our backpacks, they must know the loonie is soaring these days.

After dinner we decided to take a quiet walk along the river. All the locals were going for a swim. It was a beautiful evening, a small waterfall was splashing into the river, a pretty pagoda looked like a good perch to soak it all in.

"Do you want to see the Cormorant fisherman?" a woman asked.

"No," said Pierre,"we've seen the cormorant fisherman. They are fantastic. The greatest show we've ever seen! WE LOVED THEM." Then he grabbed his neck, started to gag, opened his mouth, and pretended he was pulling a huge fish out.

The woman collapsed in laughter. So did we. Chinese Charades in Yangshuo. It's a great game, especially when Pierre is playing.