0:01 Is it okay if I stay here forever and
0:04 never go back to the US? Do you approve?
0:05 I'm Katherine, an American living in
0:08 rural China, and this is my home. For
0:10 the past two months, I've actually been
0:12 away from this lovely place. I was in my
0:14 husband's hometown, Qashqar, preparing
0:16 for our wedding. We planned it all
0:17 ourselves, so it was a lot of work, but
0:19 it turned out great. And now, we've
0:20 brought our herd of American friends and
0:22 family back across the country to our
0:25 lovely home in Hanjo. In today's vlog,
0:27 we'll be taking everyone on a tour of
0:29 our village. The crew is intrigued by
0:32 this little tiny car that is very common
0:34 to get around in villages. Doing some
0:36 hiking in the lush bamboo forests. How
0:38 do you like the bamboo, cousin?
0:40 Beautiful. Gorgeous. Lush like piece of
0:42 John's hair. And showing everyone our
0:44 cozy home that was once an abandoned
0:46 farmhouse. And we received a complaint
0:48 that there are too many like creepy
0:50 things in this room. He doesn't want a
0:52 pillow with eyes on it. But all the
0:54 pillows I have have eyes on them. But
0:55 before we head into the village, let me
0:57 show you guys a little snippet of our
0:59 escapades in the city. The weather was
1:01 not it, but we took a trip to the gem of
1:04 Honjo West Lake. Anyway, we made a new
1:08 friend just offered us a cigarette.
1:11 Old old man,
1:16 very small, very very bright woman.
1:19 Young girl, very young. Beautiful young
1:22 girl. You're beautiful. Oh, very nice.
1:25 I like it. I like it. Anyway, we had a
1:26 lovely stroll around the lake, enjoying
1:29 the flora and fauna and the bromance.
1:32 Then it was time for a boat ride. It's
1:35 raining. Typical hono. How's West Lake?
1:39 It's beautiful. Look at you two. Oh my
1:42 gosh, they're so cute. Someone did not
1:46 bring a sweater today. Are you cold?
1:49 He's like trembling. He's like clinging
1:51 to me to stay warm. But he sees my
1:53 Vermont cousin in a t-shirt and shorts
1:55 and he can't be shown up by Sean. So
1:58 he's like, I'm that cold.
2:01 Wow, that missed. Sublime.
2:06 Oh my goodness. You nasty. You nasty.
2:08 You nasty. What does that mean?
2:23 We're here. Look cute for the vlog.
2:26 We are finally in Baijang. My house only
2:28 has one extra room for guests, so most
2:30 of the group is going to be staying at
2:32 my friend Fenland's Inn. If you saw my
2:33 Year of the Dragon vlogs, you might
2:35 remember her and her workshop, where
2:36 there are always interesting handycrafts
2:38 being made. This inn is the place to be
2:40 for anyone who enjoys cool niche
2:48 Here's your room. Hi, Kyla. Nice,
2:51 Catherine. Miss you, huh? Here's your
2:52 room. Haley and Sophia. Oh, this is
2:56 ours. Yeah. Oh my gosh, this is pretty.
2:58 Are you kidding? No, girl. I am not
3:00 kidding you.
3:02 She gave you guys a little snack here if
3:05 anyone's interested. This is your room.
3:07 Yeah, this is great. Having some tea
3:09 right here in this cozy living room. I
3:11 love everything about this. I want to
3:13 take it and move it to United States. I
3:15 would only stay here. I love the porch
3:17 and the art studio and how well
3:19 decorated it's just looks wonderful.
3:21 Very comforting. I'm not staying here,
3:23 but I also love it. So, if you want to
3:25 come to Beijang, you know where to go.
3:28 Time for dinner at the noodle shop. 2
3:30 minutes down the road. We are strolling
3:33 with our umbrellas cuz it's raining.
3:35 Wonderful in the wind and rain. Pouring
3:38 rain, whipping rain. Tomorrow will be
3:41 better, I guess. more. [Music]
3:43 [Music]
3:44 Tomorrow I will take you to the tea
3:47 fields. I'll take you to the reservoir.
3:49 We're going to see all the scenery. Best
3:51 vacation ever. Hell yeah. So excited for Beij.
3:53 Beij.
3:54 Fortunately, it is still open. It's open
3:58 until 8:00 p.m. Hello,
4:00 Most of the group ordered this Ba
4:02 specialty dish, stewed bamboo shoots
4:04 with pork. Do we like the bamboo,
4:07 cousin? Yes. Wonderful. We just got back
4:09 from dinner. Finan is weaving. She's
4:11 always doing something something very
4:13 niche and something very unique every
4:23 Yes.
4:26 So, we have left my parents and Haley
4:28 and Sophia and their parents at the inn
4:30 and now and I are back at our cozy
4:33 little house with my cousin Sean is
4:35 staying with us.
4:38 We're back. The girl who subleted my
4:40 house for two months put this under the
4:42 door to stop the critters from coming in
4:44 cuz we're always getting like bugs and
4:46 geckos and coming in our house. How
4:48 do you like our humble abode, cousin? So
4:51 much space. Do you like the night vibe?
4:52 This is the night vibe. I love the night vibe.
4:55 vibe.
4:57 So, we are setting up a little bed for
4:59 Sean in the office and we received a
5:01 complaint that there are too many like
5:03 creepy things in this room. I got to
5:06 cover these, you know. It's like eyes.
5:09 Ey eyes. Like I'm going to cover those.
5:11 These you can't do anything about. Come
5:13 in here. Dude, I had to take this pillow
5:16 off. Like who the is going to sleep near
5:18 that? Sean did not approve of my pillow.
5:21 On that. Yeah, he's comfy. He doesn't
5:23 want a pillow with eyes on it. But all
5:25 the pillows I have have eyes on them.
5:28 Eyes. Eyes. Eyes. All the rugs have
5:31 eyes. What's wrong with eyes? How long
5:43 [Music]
5:46 Sean? No. No. We don't know if it's
5:48 poisonous. Good morning everyone from Bang.
5:50 Bang.
5:53 My cousin is here chatting on the phone
5:54 with his girlfriend showing her all the
5:58 plants. Check out the view. Oh my god.
6:00 Do you like it? Oh my gosh. looking for
6:02 that. This is a plant nerd paradise over
6:06 here. That's so very nice.
6:10 Oh, this is some steamed bread thing.
6:11 Just had a lovely breakfast. Now we're
6:14 going to explore the museum. Happy year
6:19 Do we like the snakes? I love the snakes.
6:30 Back in the day, men were responsible
6:31 for the farming and women were
6:33 responsible for making cloth. So, when
6:34 you get married, your wedding gift is
6:44 I'm notable. Too much work. I want to
6:47 push a button and
6:50 beautiful museum. [Music]
6:53 [Music]
6:56 sense fans in progress.
6:58 They're always working on something cool
7:00 in here. One of those little perfume
7:02 pouch things. You can hang it in like a
7:04 car or something. I mean, they did this.
7:07 It's kind of cool. Yeah. I like the uh
7:10 Did you see the light bulb?
7:14 Checking out the knick-knack section. [Music]
7:18 [Music]
7:24 got some knickknacks to support the
7:26 local handmade art. And then it was time
7:28 for a stroll. First, we brought everyone
7:30 to the Baang office of Green Jang, the
7:32 organization that Asan and I were
7:33 working at up until March of this year
7:35 when we took time off for our wedding.
7:37 All right, everybody in. Come look at
7:41 the office. Let's go. This is my office.
7:44 Beautiful office.
7:45 This is a room that we hold like
7:47 activities and meetings and stuff. And
7:49 it's a little coffee shop room where we
7:57 I love this.
7:59 Your husband is such a hardworking,
8:02 handsome man. Oh, he is. And then
8:04 upstairs there's the office where four
8:07 other employees are and there's some
8:08 like classrooms and stuff, but this
8:11 should suffice. The crew is fascinated
8:13 by this teeny tiny car. Mother, what are
8:15 you doing? You just open people's car door.
8:17 door.
8:19 See, the inside doesn't have a steering
8:21 wheel. It has a little scooter handle.
8:23 Look at the little tires. That's so
8:25 cute. Oh, I didn't see the tires. See, I
8:27 expected more of this and less of those SUVs.
8:34 10,000 M&M for one of these. $1,500 for
8:37 one of these little things. That's so I
8:39 want one. Next stop, the brand spanking
8:42 new bamboo museum. I've only been away
8:44 for like two months, but there's there's
8:46 new stuff. There's a bamboo museum.
8:49 We're exploring the bamboo museum.
8:51 This is all root. Yeah, it's a real bamboo.
8:52 bamboo. [Music]
9:11 Why do we have her there?
9:13 So, when I was growing up, my mother
9:16 hung baskets from the kitchen ceiling.
9:17 They were everywhere. They were Chinese
9:19 baskets. She loved them. And my mother
9:22 was short. And I have two brothers who
9:25 are very tall. And one time, one hit one
9:27 of the baskets. And out came a bunch of
9:29 condoms. That's where my brothers were
9:31 hiding their condom. That was the one
9:32 safe spot in the house that mom couldn't
9:35 get to cuz she couldn't reach, but their
9:41 heads hit the top. There's my my basket.
9:43 We're taking the crew on a stroll
9:45 through the village. It's a little bit
9:48 windy, but other than that, very nice.
9:49 And I'm just glad no one's complaining
9:50 about rain. No one's complaining about
9:57 During the summer in like the evenings,
9:59 there are people here playing bad
10:01 mitten, doing karaoke. This is like the
10:04 social zone. Do the ladies dance here?
10:07 Yeah. I love the dancing in the parks
10:10 here. It is so much fun. I wish they did
10:12 that in America because I I felt like if
10:14 we danced and did all that, we'd have
10:16 great exercise. She has volunteered to
10:18 be the third grandmother for my Asa
10:21 John's future child. I'm very thankful.
10:23 I need help. I can't wait to buy
10:25 clothes. Three sets of grandparents for
10:27 this kid. Do I get your approval to stay
10:29 here forever? Do you approve? I guess
10:32 so. I guess so.
10:34 I guess good to you. I mean, come on.
10:36 This place is cuter than our hometown,
10:39 is it not? How can Asa John not be nice?
10:42 He look at all the things he holds
10:45 umbrella over you. He brings up uh all
10:47 the luggage. He's always serving. And
10:51 Aquanina, you are approved. We approve
10:55 you. Thank you very much.
10:57 How do we like the scenery? Oh my god,
11:01 it's so nice. It's beautiful.
11:04 Very nice. Beautiful. All right, farm
11:06 nerd. Tell me, how healthy is this
11:08 wheat? Big heads. That's what you want.
11:10 That's a big head. All right. Yeah.
11:11 These are all It's all headed out.
11:29 [Music]
11:32 You're excited. Sean, baby, what do you
11:34 think? Bejang. Beautiful.
11:37 I I want to stay. You should come retire
11:40 here. We can hang out every day. You'll
11:42 take care of me. Yeah, that's Chinese culture.
11:48 [Music]
11:51 Bring everybody on a house tour.
11:54 Chicken. Chicken. Got angry dogs at
11:56 barbecue pack. [Music]
11:59 [Music]
12:00 She's the neighbor who always gives us
12:08 Everybody in
12:10 the herd has arrived in my living room.
12:13 Oh, I love it. Do you approve? Yes. Come
12:15 visit more. I will. [Music]
12:27 Do you like the view? I love you. [Music]
12:38 Goats. Goats.
12:40 Goats.
12:43 We are going on a stroll into the bamboo
12:44 forest and then we're going to the
12:46 reservoir. We're seeing the whole
12:54 This is a new bamboo.
12:56 Is that what it looks like? Yeah. This
12:58 is our seasonal creek. It only flows
13:01 right after the rain. And there's a
13:03 chicken mansion over there. Look, this
13:06 chickens and ducks get like this whole
13:08 thing. Like look, it goes all the way to
13:09 here. How do they not fly away? Why
13:11 would you fly away? You get free food is
13:13 where the food is at. You know, some
13:14 people just let their ducks free in the
13:15 creek. We saw that earlier, right? The
13:17 ducks are just out and about during the
13:19 day and then they know where home is.
13:30 [Music]
13:32 This is our favorite place to walk. We
13:35 love this dirt trail here. Hey Saj,
13:37 let's go swimming. Yes, sir. Why not
13:40 here? Why not here? I'm learning
13:42 swimming. I'll teach you how to swim.
13:44 I'm not ready. I'm need I need
13:48 something. How is your girlfriend swim?
13:51 Very good. But mine is the best. You are
13:54 the best. I swim long distance.
13:56 Ah, very nice. You know, long distance.
14:00 I love you. Long distance.
14:02 My long distance loves you. In the
14:03 summer, the water level's like right
14:05 here. Come on, Haley.
14:07 Come on, Sean. This is our favorite
14:09 swimming spot. The water level's a
14:10 little bit low at this time of year
14:12 because the June monsoons haven't come
14:13 in yet, but Haley and Sean are going to
14:17 give it a try anyway. Oh, yaki.
14:40 Wow.
14:42 How was your swimming experience? That
14:46 was great. 10 out of 10. Oh, yes. Look
14:48 at that. That's some Dragon Ball Z right there.
14:50 there.
14:52 We had one last happy meal together at
14:54 the Village Restaurant and then it was
14:55 time to say goodbye to half of our
14:57 group. We went on a walk today and it
15:00 was perfect. I went swimming. It was
15:02 awesome. Uh my shirt is still drying,
15:05 but honestly, I could happily stay here
15:07 for Yeah. forever. I don't know. It's
15:09 beautiful here. Yeah. Come back again.
15:10 By Oh, yeah. We're playing next year.
15:13 We're coming and the next year we might
15:15 make this a yearly thing, but make this
15:17 a yearly thing. Yeah, I would love that.
15:20 And I would ask Sophia about her
15:22 experience, but Sophia has been struck
15:25 down by a virus and is no longer verbal.
15:27 So, can you please show me in an
15:29 interpretive dance how you felt about
15:31 this experience? A little more. Oh,
15:34 there we go. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Well, I
15:37 will see you guys next year. But wait,
15:39 the vlog is not over. My cousin and
15:41 parents are staying for another two
15:43 days, and we're going to go hiking.
15:45 We're taking this Vermont mountain boy
15:48 through the subtropical bamboo forests
15:52 of Jojo. Look at their matching outfits.
15:54 Oh, they're so cute.
15:56 How do you like the bamboo, cousin?
15:59 Beautiful. Lush. Yeah. Yes. Gorgeous.
16:02 Lush like Easter John's hair. Busting.
16:06 Busting. So green. It's like this all
16:08 year, even the dead of winter. So green.
16:23 [Music]
16:25 Hello. Hello. [Music]
16:32 [Music]
16:35 It's Don is running. Hello.
16:42 I
16:44 almost shan beautiful. Almost as
16:48 beautiful as Junk. [Music]
16:50 [Music]
16:51 You know, I'm always getting comments
16:53 from people saying that like they feel
16:55 bad for me living in this hodunk place
16:57 with no nightclubs and no night life and
16:59 stuff. The best. How do you feel?
17:02 Mountain or nightclub? Mountains. Yes.
17:04 Everyday. Mountains.
17:08 Every moment. All day. Every day.
17:10 mountains every time. We come from a
17:13 hiking family. Yes. And he likes hiking,
17:14 too. Otherwise, it would be
17:17 incompatible. Who would pick a nightclub
17:21 over this? Who the heck? Beautiful. You
17:22 might think that one day of hiking is
17:24 enough, but it's not. As I said, we're a
17:26 hiking family, and my cousin came all
17:28 the way over here, so I made sure to
17:30 spoil him with two hikes. The second of
17:31 which was a little less strenuous, so my
17:34 father came along, too. Day three invite
17:36 John with my beloved cousin. Give me a
17:38 rundown. How has your experience been?
17:41 Uh, the best best ever. It's so green.
17:44 The weather is perfect. The people are
17:47 nice. The food is amazing. The coffee
17:49 has been good. I found coffee. It's the
17:52 little things. I build hiking trails
17:54 when I was younger, but nothing like
17:56 this. So impressed with your hiking
17:58 trails. They're so beautiful. We have
18:00 the stamp of approval from this Vermont
18:02 mountain boy. When you coming back?
18:04 People are waiting. Next year. All
18:07 right. Yes. So, subscribe and like and
18:09 I'll be back next year. Hell yeah.
18:11 Father's first time in China. First time
18:14 in my village. Tell the people how was
18:16 your experience.
18:18 Better than I thought. Well, that's
18:22 good. Very nice. Nice scenic walkways.
18:24 Heck yeah. They like how this is all
18:28 stone stairs and stuff. Bang number one.
18:32 I love it here. We should just hike all
18:38 We're getting Sean's girlfriend a rock.
18:39 What? Bro, I swear I thought that was a
18:41 garlic clove. It is. It is a garlic
18:44 clove. We thought it was a very smooth
18:45 rock and then I thought it was a garlic
18:46 clove and then we thought it was a rock
18:48 and it is indeed a garlic clove. Got to
18:50 get Sherry a different rock then.
18:53 Prettier rock. All right, eyes out. Get
18:56 Sherry a rock. Eyes out.
19:01 Fong wildlife. You like that? Yes. The
19:04 world is a chess board. No. Disgusting.
19:06 You know, you know what I'm saying? That
19:22 So lush, so pretty, so serene. I don't
19:29 It's okay. I come back. More life to
19:33 live. You come to America. I want to go
19:35 America but you are coming. Visa is
19:38 problem for me. No no problem. I put you
19:42 in my pocket. Trump kill me. No no no
19:55 He's safe. Okay Sean no problem. N
19:59 is this right? Catherine. Um
20:01 yeah. I think it'll work out just like that.
20:26 Chi garden. Hi. [Applause]
20:27 [Applause]
20:40 Sean's having some grass jelly. It
20:42 doesn't taste like it. Happy family
20:45 picnic on the mountains. This is the the
20:48 best picnic spot. Beautiful day. Bye,
20:52 Bjang. Baang, I miss you. Come back next
20:55 year again and again and again. Father,
20:59 say goodbye. Bye. How are you feeling? I
21:02 am feeling happy. Very happy. Wrong
21:03 answer. You're supposed to say sad cuz
21:07 you're leaving. Yes. Happy. Sad. But
21:09 happy because sometimes
21:11 sometimes
21:13 missing something is good cuz you know
21:17 you have something special here. And now
21:18 it's time for us to head back to the
21:20 city of Honjo.
21:22 And you may be wondering over the past 2
21:24 days, where has my mother been? One,
21:26 enjoying the balcony view. and two
21:28 making little thingabobs in the craft
21:31 workshop. I made a beautiful fish. Very
21:33 nice. With a lot of help, constructing
21:36 it together with wonderful people. It
21:37 was so nice to finally be able to show
21:39 my family around this beautiful village
21:41 I call home instead of just sharing it
21:43 in videos. And they now understand why
21:45 I'm so obsessed with this place and not
21:46 trying to go back to American suburbia
21:48 anytime soon, except for my annual
21:50 visit, of course. In the upcoming video,
21:52 we're going to be taking my parents to
21:54 some more fun places in Hanjo, Sujo,
