Shopping for a President

November 7

Pack, breakfast and prepare for a very civilized 9:30 departure. Good, Western-style breakfast, with forks; yessss! We run errands and shop in a light drizzle in Kaili this morning. It’s a nice change of pace, and fun to wander the department store aisles with Chinese shoppers. Most of us pick up little treasures; red socks and a small thermos cup for me. I think my poor camera feels neglected as I’ve managed only about half a dozen pictures by noon. I offer only a couple for today, one of the department store and one an intentional blur of a street scene in the rain.

Drive to Madam Yang’s Museum, called The Sun Drum Miao & Dong Costumes Museum, an absolutely extraordinary collection of exquisite textiles and jewelry of Miao, Dong, Yao and other peoples. Each piece is a work of art and the three floors of rooms are all beautifully displayed and lit, with descriptions in English of the costumes, and who wears them for what occasion.

Madame Yang used to be in charge of buying textiles for the Kali Museum that we visited on the first day. She left to pursue her passion for this work and has built a fabulous collection, only part of which is displayed in the museum. She hopes to build a new, larger museum.

Down in the gift shop, we learn that Obama has won, so there is great celebration and relief among our group. I think that Madam Yang benefits greatly from the president’s win, as the good feelings pour over into the group purchasing several thousand dollars of textiles and jewelry from the gift shop, that we might have forgone had the election gone the wrong way. Aside from getting some very nice, quality work, we feel good about supporting Madam Yang’s efforts at the museum.

We have a late lunch not far from the museum, then drive to Leishan, arriving by 5 PM, staying at the very comfortable and modern Leigongshan International Hotel. We have a luxurious two and a half hours off before our very good dinner at the hotel.

Today was chilly and rainy all day, a perfect and much-needed day off for everyone, especially after yesterday’s mud bath. I expect that we’ll all be ready, if not rarin’ to go, tomorrow.