Wo milu le.

In Yunnan province, there are some wonderful remaining minority groups. Because of the topography of the region, with tropical climates like Vietnam, Myanmar and Laos on one side, and Tibet, with the Himalayas at the north west side, the province holds many different cultures within its border. I read somewhere that although the official language is still Han, in Yunnan the Han is spoken slightly differently, and is titled Yunnanese. This is another intricate twist in the barriers to me ever understanding Chinese. I had learned that Thank you was "xiexie"pronounced, "ssee-eh-ssee-eh" with the first part in a declining tone of voice. Sounded somewhat like "she she". But in Yunnan, "she she" means "pee", as in "I have to". For thank you, it sounds more like "shay shay". So, I told a lot of Chinese people I had to pee. Luckily, they are a forgiving and happy people, and smiled and giggled at me regularly. They still tend to do this, even if I do say "shay shay", so maybe my general goofiness is enough to bring forth their easy smiles. And, within Yunnan, there is something like 250 other recognized dialects. Good luck Catie. Wo milu le. (I am lost).

This is a girl from the Wa minority. 

Since China has become open, the country has begun to really celebrate their diversity. There is a beautiful place nearby that has many of the smaller cultures represented. Huz and I went to see what we could learn, and it was good fun (except the elephants, who made me sad).

Grandma playing a game with a stick, rope and top.

It seems, in China, even in the city, people are having a good time. There are many smiles, and at least in Kunming, not quite as much bustle and urgency as I had expected. People here play, and joke a lot and seem to be enjoying life. I won't try and figure out if it is political, cultural, or chemical, it is just my impression.  They seem not to mind me taking their pictures, and smile for me, but don't seek me out to take a photo either. In the minority villages, many young people were there, in the costume of their culture, demonstrating their unique characteristics. Some tried to speak with us, but my Chinese is worse than their English, so mostly we used sign language. I did understand one woman. She asked if I were American, and I understood and said "yes".  A sound like "shhrw". I've no idea if that is right, I could be saying "explode". But I could understand her because all she said was "Meiguo lai" which is "American", and no other words around it. If she had said, "Excuse me, are you American?" I wouldn't have gotten a bit. But, being a school teacher, I 'm sure she knew this. Thus, short. Simple. She was surrounded by beautiful children. The kids here are astoundingly cute. I am drawn to each one. They love to wave to me and say "Hi" and "Hello".

We waded through a class of young ones having a snack. They were pro-peace.

And the minorities were indeed different. They had faces that seemed somewhat distinct for their lineage. The Wa faces were broad and handsome, somewhat like the Maori in New Zealand. The Mosuo were more refined, longer faces. The Mosuo minority is from the area near Lugu Lake, remote, nearly inaccesible country. It is a matriarchal society, where the women choose the father for their children, never marry and live in groups.

Mosuo youth, keeping warm at the fire. This was a very smoky area, I could barely stand in the enclosure and still breathe.

Each group wore their traditional costume when they were inside the village, but you still see some of these minorities around, in more simple dress, but not "western" style clothing.  We went to see the elephants, and there were two in the enclosure. Hard cement and a steel fence. Poor babies were bored, and wanted to have a chat with me. I spent some time crooning and speaking to them, they reaching out with their trunks and following me back and forth at the fence. This amused the Chinese who kept taking our photos. I felt bad for the elephants, and wanted to stay to play. There were a small group of Chinese Army fellows there, I presume to also see the elephants, but they were still intimidating. Handsome uniforms, though. Anyway, after my chat with the elephants, and them blowing their trunks at me, me blowing back, I left them, convincing myself that most of the time, they are kept engaged. I only saw them for the few hours a day they are bored. Right? Sure hope so.

Reminded me a lot of Oslo, actually. How do you think my trail riding buddies would take it if I brought an elephant to ride?

At the Naxi village, my Huz played ancient Chinese basketball. Give a man a hoop and something to throw through it and they cannot resist. I noted that each man that walked through the arch that marked the entrance to Naxi, saw the hoops, looked around, spotted something to toss and then tried their hand, persistently, until they managed a score. Universal.

Behind Huz is a rather large drum. Also noted to be irresistable to men.

Behind the drum is the elder's pavilion, where they would meet to make pivotal decisions about life. Or, maybe just to gossip. In any case, we are in China, still land of the Feng Shui, the Chinese nutritional balance (food should be hot and wet, not cold or dry) and yin and yang. The elder pavilion was presided over by a large yin yang symbol. Huz sat down for a staid picture, but inspired by the fun loving Chinese, I changed things up a bit.

He's got to be Yin here. That makes me the Yang!

And, of a sudden wo tingdedong!