Tea, fishing and streetfood- Oh My!

I had mentioned in an earlier blog that I wanted to find some Pu uau(maybe) tea. From what I understand it is the tea for which the Yunnan region is famous. In a country that has a potentially hazardous water source, alcohol and boiled water become very important. I think, in China, these have long been standard. We drink much bottled water here, but at meals, there is beer and tea. Lots of tea. Apparently, in Yunnan, beverages with a meal are uncommon, but most of the meals we have been served include cha(tea). And what wonderful tea! So, huz and I ventured forth to find a tea ceremony. This is like a wine tasting, only with tea, and a sober server. We chose Taetea, perhaps encouraged by the recognizable characters. The young woman who served our tea ceremony spoke no English beyond "Hello" and "My English very poor"- which was already waaaay beyond my capability with Chinese. So, sign language it is!

The ceremony involved much pouring of hot water, rinsing, more pouring, lots of water spilling everywhere on the ornate tray under the pots. We tried three different teas, what I would call a black tea, a floral tea (maybe jasmine) and a green tea. Our favorite was the black tea. The discs in the background are discs of tea. They are pressed into a round disc and covered in paper. We purchased the chosen tea in a disc for 120yuan. We also found some unique little figurines with magic in them. I will ask my mother to figure out how to use them to show off the magic- she thinks creatively and I'm sure will find a use. After some time spent with the agreeable and patient tea girl, we collected our things and went off, another thing checked off the list of experiences I have wanted to have here in China.

Also pro-peace!

We left the tea shop, and I did something I just don't do. Ever. I bought street food. ( I know, gasps). But there was a vendor selling fried stuff on a stick, like funnel cake, and skewered goat, and kabobed whole fishes, and for some reason I was drawn to look. I recognized the large warm flat breads that I once enjoyed in another life in New York City, and their sesame crusted edges called to me. I bought one for 5yuan and gobbled the whole thing up. (okay, I shared some with my Huz too). So, now I've had street food in China. If my old friend Christopher, from Bath England were reading this blog, he would cheer for me. Loud enough I might hear it here. That man never met a street foodstuff he wouldn't eat. Happily.
That brings me to fishing. I just have to point out that, although cell phones seem very prevalent here, ubiquitous even, I have yet to spot a person speaking on a cell phone in a restaurant. And, although I have seen many children, I have not seen a one with a hand held video game zoning out in the corner. I suspect that children here actually still play. And invent games. So, I was pleased to watch this in progress. A child of one of the street vendors decided she wanted to fish. So, she took a plastic bag, a bit of food and a chopstick, and fashioned a fishing _____. We watched her make her device and then leap to a stone in the pool by her mother's stand. When we returned from our tea ceremony and walk about, she was still there, persistently fishing. Inventive, persistent, and having fun. Ganbei!