Mysterious Pile

The Pile above showed up several days ago on the street that leads into our compound. This is not the first time a random pile of something has shown up around our neighborhood, but this is the first time it's stayed for more than three days.

What is it you might ask? Is it dirt? Is it concrete? Is it rubble from a nearby construction site? Today, the curiosity was too much for Scott so he set out on his bike to get up close and personal with "The Pile".

Upon arriving on the scene, he pulled out his camera and snapped this photo. Just then, a pair of locals rode by on their bikes and perplexingly eyed him. Not to be embarrassed or denied the chance to determine what the substance was, he got off the bike and walked over to the pile. He picked up a stick and poked it to see if it was hard. As the stick quickly absorbed into the soft, gooey substance, Scott realized he still had no idea what it was. As he disappointingly turned to ride home, he saw the two passers-by had now stopped and were turning around and pointing at him. Despite his lack of Mandarin proficiency he's pretty sure they said, "That poor American fool is now checking to see if the pile is dead or alive. What, you schmuck, haven't you ever seen a haphazardly placed pile of crap in the middle of the road before?"