Not enough time...

Okay, well, first I want to thank you all for your nice words on my last post. I'm so flattered that they evoked emotion of some sort in so many of you. Can you imagine what it must have been like to be in the middle of it, to watch it, to breathe it. Going to the villages really has been the highlight of my time here so far!

Now...where to start!?! When I say there is not enough time in the day, I'm SO stinkin' serious right now! I feel terrible that I have not updated my blog again until tonight. The thing is, I took 400, yes, FOUR HUNDRED pictures in the villages. And, I'm in CHINA! Who wants to post process 400 pictures while visiting China!?! It's like, "Amy...what would you like to do today while in China? Oh, you'd like to post process? Great." Haha! I mean, no one is telling me I have to have them all post processed before I go, but I know my parents would love for me to have some done to leave for them. Plus, the super sweet young couple that I photographed would LOVE to have some before I leave, too, I'm sure. So...after L-O-N-G days out on the town, I come back here and try to make myself sit down at the computer.

Anyway, so, that's why I haven't been updating the blog.

I'm going to give you a few sneak peeks from the second day at the villages. I think I'm too tired to go into much detail about the whole thing right now, but can I just tell you that it was a crazy awesome day!?! We had breakfast with the sweetest, kindest little family. The woman is a friend of my parents. Her husband was also there, as was her parents & her niece. The niece is 2 years old...almost 3. She is the MOST gorgeous little girl. I just wanted to pack her up & take her home with me! Outta control cute... Anyway, this little one was so spunky, so sweet, so giggly...just good natured all around. You'll see a picture of her on down the way. You'll know her when you see her. :-)

We also went into town to go to the market. It's...ummm...interesting. It's so different than the way we do things in the States. I've only got one picture to share from that for right now, but hopefully you'll see more later.

Okay, okay...I'm just gonna get on with the posting.

This first woman is wearing traditional clothing for her people group. It's so neat to walk around the little town and see SO many people wearing traditional clothing like this. She's 61 years old, she told us, and she was so willing to let me photograph her. (Did I mention that almost all the time, they don't like to be photographed?)

This next photograph is of a woman also in traditional dress for her people group, which I believe is the same people group as the first woman. Maybe this one's the formal stuff? I don't know... Anyway, I DO know that she performs on stage in shows about the different people groups in China. I know she dances, and I believe she sings, as well. She was really nice.

This third woman...this one I love even though it's just a head shot. She told us that she was 86 years old and she STILL WORKS! And, by "still works" I mean she still goes out and works and harvests the crops, carries heavy loads in a basket on her back (supported by a strap across her forehead.) And, not only that, but I'm SURE much of it is up on the mountain sides, so she must walk up & down them, right!?! Man. Can you believe that!?! She also told us that her mother is 107 years old. :-) I think there is so much character in her face. Each wrinkle represents a story she has to tell... Beautiful.

This next one is at the market. I just thought it was fun. :-)

This is a home right there in town. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves...

Tell me you see the woman standing in the doorway?

Okay...now, here's the little girl that I wanted to take home. You understand now, right!?! Isn't she AMAZING!?! She had the most beautiful little personality, too.

And, last one (for now) from the villages...this is the little one's grandfather. He's a super friendly guy. :-)

So, yeah...I've got WAY more to tell you & show you from that day, but I just can't muster the energy to do all the post processing. Soon, though.

Okay, there's the first half of the post. Now, let me tell you a little about our time spent in Kunming. First and foremost, who wants to move here with me? Anyone? I've got three words for you: SUPER. CHEAP. MASSAGE. Haha! Seriously...we had a little girl's night out last night. There was about 7 of us, and we decided we'd like to go get foot massages. It's not a pedicure, just the massage. Well, we get to the place, and ask how much for a foot massage for each of us. Ummm...yeah...here's where it gets CRAZY! They told us we could each get a foot massage AND a back massage for what works out to be about $2.50 US dollars!!! WHAT!?! Ummm...if THAT'S not reason enough to move here, I don't know what is!!! Can you believe it!?! I'm still in shock. And, they were no chintzy massages. Both of them together lasted over an hour! For $2.50!!! Ahhhh...

So, that might be the second highlight of my trip! Bwahahahaha!!!

No, but really...we've done some fun stuff, eaten some CRAZY foods, shopped some really cool shops. I just love it. It's fun just being here. I've tried more new foods this week than I probably have in the past entire year!!! So far, we've had Thai food, Indian food, Chinese food, Cantonese food, Japanese food (I hear it's got a Chinese twist on it, though), American food...all this week alone. I LOVED it all. Seriously. I'm kinda bummed because I don't think the US has food this good. Atleast not where I live. I've tried lamb, goose, duck, and tofu. (I know it's not all that crazy, but I've never had any of those things before. Well...goose once before the last time I was in China.) Fun stuff.

I've also met some wonderful new friends. :-) I'm sad that we're leaving soon. I feel like I'm just getting to know them, though I love them already! I talked a little about Julie in my last post. It was her family that hosted us out in the village for dinner. Well, she was recently married, but they didn't have wedding pictures done. So, I got to do them!!! It was TONS of fun. I have to say...I felt like a rock star photographer on this shoot! Haha! I had 11, ELEVEN, people following us, helping, carrying this or that, whatever. That includes my mom & Craig & Heather & many of their friends. That does NOT include myself or the bride & groom. So, yeah...a group of 14 of us cruising around town taking pictures! If only my life were that good... I had someone carrying my camera bag for me, the step ladder... It was raining, so I had people holding umbrellas over me, I had people moving benches around & stuff. Crazy fun. Rock star. I'm telling you. Ha! No, I think everyone just wanted to be a part of it because Julie & her husband are just such wonderful people... I wouldn't have wanted to miss this, either.

So, here are a few shots from that little session. Keep in mind that I'm NOT a wedding photographer. I'm not even an engagement shoot photographer. Heck, I hardly photograph adults at all. But, this worked out okay, and it was TONS of fun! (Also keep in mind that my photoshop skills have been SLOP-PY. I'm post processing on a laptop. Yes, I've said that before, but what I haven't said is that I'm not using a normal mouse. Just the touch pad on the computer. Yep. Fun.) Oh, and because it's rained NON-stop here, we had to just make it work. We looked for anything covered, and we settled for what we could find. I think most of them are great little locations, though I don't love the buildings in the background of some of these. This is also only a small sampling.



And, I think this one is my favorite. I just like it. Plus, as cheesy & abstract as it is, I feel like the place settings parallel their marriage at the most basic level. In front of her you see the plate. In front of him you see the silverware. Together they make a whole. Isn't it cute?!? (Plus, the different colors ROCK, and I'm diggin' the lighting, too. Haha!)
So, anyway. I'm about to fall asleep in front of this computer. Just know that there is SO much more to share. One of these days...