Ancient village idiots

I was wrong—we didn't go to a temple today. Instead we went to a 1,200 year-old village.  It wasn't nearly as charming as it sounds.  We thought maybe it would be like a recreation-type thing, along the lines of Williamsburg or Amish country.  The place was a phenomenal dump.  People actually still live there, doing God knows what.  That mess makes the Amish look like high rollers in comparison.  I'd post pictures, but I'd forgotten to stick the memory card back into my camera, so the pics are on the camera's actual hard drive and I lost the USB-camera cable ages ago.    But it doesn't matter—just imagine a bunch of irregular stone walkways, tight alleys, moldy wood, and quasi-abandoned square stone houses with piles of trash laying around, turd in the streets, chickens clucking everywhere, and a handful of half-demented, emaciated, toothless, weatherworn Chinese just sitting on stone steps staring blankly into space.  Our adoption guide here in Nanchang, Helen, arranged this little excursion and really seemed proud of it, so we tried our best to be good sports and appreciative.  But if it were me, I'd keep Americans as far from that disaster as possible.  It would be like me taking a bunch of Chinese nationals on a tour of all the great trailer parks in Eastern Kentucky.    I gotta tell you, this Clarisse here is a real charmer.  Just like Cedric, she smiles readily at people and has them eating out of her hand within seconds.  But other than the gregariousness and uber-cuteness, she's the polar opposite of Cedric.  Very easygoing and content, cuddly, self-amusing for stretches at a time, takes naps easily, doesn't fuss over things like getting fingernails trimmed.  She's a real sweetie.  Christy and I are both smitten.  Of course we're hooked on Cedric too, don't misunderstand, but this one's really something.