the lights and sights of xichong

1. xichong, the "tiny" town closest to the farm, where i live with my host family, has around 80,000 occupants. because it's so small, they only have one stoplight. washington, iowa, (population 8,000) has about 5 stoplights that i have to pass through just on my way home to ottumwa from iowa city.

one stoplight. think about that. it's not like those 80,000 people don't have cars. they've got 'em, all right. but only one stoplight.

2. a few days ago i went out with emily to get new glasses. for the bargain price of $20, i'm set up with some stylish frames, and lenses that are 2x stronger than the ones in the glasses i was wearing! 2x stronger! my eyes have really fallen apart in the past year. it's so nice to be able to see!

3. i have always thought that there should be some recognizable sign to let people know you are driving as a part of a caravan. this way, maybe it wouldn't be so upsetting if you cut someone off, or got cut off by someone else, or if you didn't wait your turn so much at a four way stop, maybe. well, in sichuan, maybe in all of china, people travelling in caravan all put on their emergency blinkers. it's brilliant! now, how can i implement this in the usa? i have a feeling people would just wave me down or think that i was a fool who forgot to turn off my blinkers or think that i thought the driving conditions were hazardous.

and p.s., one of the chinese students who took us to the village has translated the newspaper article for me. the student's english name is "jerald bodystrong." he chose it himself. he thought lance armstrong was pretty cool, but only arm-strong? why not be all-body-strong? it's a reasonable question, i guess. here's his translation:

The title is: An American Lady Is Learning In A Chinese Farm

In June 6th, an American lady called Erin was learning the techniques of organic vegetables and fruits in Guangfeng Agriculture Company in Nanchong Sichuan. The American lady who is from (here is the name of the state you come from, I don't know how to spell it) near Mississippi River was informed of the WWOOF from her classmates. So, she went to Nanchong and had worked in the farm for a month, and didn't ask for the salary. She used her body languages to communicate with the normal Chinese famers and learn the skill of planting organic vegetables.