Last week saw the third Pu'er Minorities' Culture Festival. Three days in which one could admire the traditional dresses, dances and crafts of some of the minorities that live in the region. And we happen to bring our own minority to the festival, being our little girl. From the moment she was spotted, cameras were pointed at her. She even got a little private performance of an elderly man, in an attempt to get a smile from her for one of many eager photographers.
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Last month, during our week-long series of trainings in Menglian, we stopped in Menglian town to buy some water in one of the numerous small shops. Upon seeing me, the owner asked if we were in town for coffe. We nodded, and he said "Nestle coffee?", which we confirmed. It looks like we are getting known everywhere. That our fame precedes us, was also shown a few weeks ago when we met an American who is also living in Pu'er. Strange as it may sound, it was the first time we met even though he and his family have been living here for over a year already. When I told him I worked in coffee, he asked "Nestle?". Seemed like he had already heard about me and even met my father who worked here before me.
Starting Wednesday June 9th, the website address for this blog will change to www.coffeeintheclouds.be
In the five years that have past since I came to work in China, I have been on numerous field visits. In the beginning people were quite fascinated by this tall foreigner, especially in the more remote areas, but these days hardly anybody is surprised when I show up. Now I can just go there and take a walk in the fields or the villages. In the more remote areas I am often the only foreigner going there and seeing that all I do is climbing the hills planted with coffee over and over again, I sometimes wonder if these people now think that all foreigners are only interested in coffee. This presumption is fueled by the many nicknames I have, from
A passion for coffee might well be heritable. One of the first words my daughter learned was coffee and soon after that she figured out that I had something to do with coffee. Ever since that day, whenever we go to the supermarket, she will direct us to where the coffee is, point at the Nescafe and go: 'coffee - daddy'. I probably don't have to tell how sweet I think she is at those times. And today sees her second birthday. Have a happy one, little girl!
Last week we had a training in a Dai village in Xishuangbanna. When we arrived at 2 p.m. the village was deserted so we called the village leader. Upon his arrival a few minutes later, he turned on the village speakers, broadcasted a wake-up call which started with a rooster giving his best shot, followed by the announcement of our arrival. Half an hour later, the training room was filled, much to our surprise mainly with women. Later we learned however this wasn't so surprising as in the Dai minority, women play a leading role. |
AuthorI wouldn't be surprised to find out I was born with a passion for coffee. For the life of me, I can't remember not loving coffee. And by that, I don't just mean drinking it, but everything involved from its cultivation over the processing to the final product that is my loyal companion throughout the day. Archives
February 2014
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