The past few days have been unusually warm and sunny. In other words, quite welcomed by the Bad Luck Bears (who might have to change the name if this weather persists). Today peaked in the mid-seventies, and the Bears made the most of it. We had another few things to check off on our to-do list.
This morning we had our first and only class of the day. Our teacher, Zou Laoshi, asked each one of us to recite a poem we were to have memorized by today. It was rough because my tones were, well, off the mark for a lot of the poem. Mike, Patty, and Deanna picked up the slack however and recited the poem near flawlessly. Zou Laoshi then proceeded to teach us about Chinese culture in general and what there is to do in Hangzhou. Besides the videos that were shown to us, all the while tickling our appetites as delicious food was shown being made, the Bears greatly enjoyed the tea that Zou Laoshi provided for us. We tasted two local kinds of tea, a green tea and "wu-long" tea. We learned that while green tea is typically drunk in the spring and summer, wu-long tea is drank year-round.
We had a bit of time to burn before lunch so the Bears headed down to the front lawn (for a lack of a better term). The group spread out on the grass and enjoyed the sunshine. Ms. Moy and Patty caught up with buddies back in the States. Deanna and Apple played UNO. Mike read Game of Thrones (much to Ms. Moy's and my delight). I did some reading myself. Apple provided a frisbee and Mike, Tom, and I played catch for a bit. Mike is a quick learner and can now throw a "hammer" (for all you Ultimate players back home). Before we knew it, it was time for lunch!
The head chef, who we call the "uncle we never had," once again made us a delicious meal. We had savory greens, salty bean curds, tender ribs, yummy corn, crunchy fried rice sticks, freshly-cut papaya, and a sweet chocolate milk tea. To sum it up: heavenly. Oh, and it wouldn't be a meal if we didn't have white rice.
Afterwards, we headed off to English Corner, which we always look forward to. My breath was taken away when we returned to the lawn we had been on previously. There were so many kids waiting for us! At least thirty today. The Bears split up and tackled separate groups of students. Deanna was instantly swallowed up by a group of girls while Mike was enveloped by a group of boys. Patty was the next to go, leaving just me. George, who has been rapping Eminem songs for us over the past few days, and a few others, including my host brother Micky, found me and we went off to find some shade. English Corner was a huge success. Laughing was omnipresent and smiles were beaming. Oh, and Starry, a classmate of our host siblings and always a friendly face at English Corner, provided us with ice cream. What a "peach," to quote Mrs. Li.
We finished off our day by going on another outing with Apple and James, a good friend of Tom. We visited a local mall and then headed off to West Lake. We set up a home base in a local coffee shop and off I went to take pictures. I had to turn back rather early but in the end, it all worked out because we got to the fountain show right before it started. This show runs twice a day and is free to the public. These fountains right off shore shoot up water in different patterns while music plays in the background. It was beautiful to see the water arcing through the air. At times the water criss-crossed. At times the water twirled. There was only one thing that could make this experience better. If we got to run under them! While we had trouble hailing a cab, we were successful in catching the bus. We arrived at school with time to spare and split up for a final time to find our host siblings. Tomorrow we have cooking class (a group favorite) and Chinese gongfu. But I'll let Deanna fill you guys in on that one.
Personally, I ended a fun-filled day with even more fun. Back home, I love grocery shopping. After we ate dinner, Micky and Mrs. Ye took me to Metro, a huge supermarket. It was a blast! I enjoyed looking at all the different kinds and varieties of foods. From snacks to fruits to drinks. Micky and I enjoyed looking at the seafood, especially the massive squids they had on ice. Micky found hamburger buns and asked me to show him how to make cheeseburgers some time. We collected all the necessary materials (cheese, tomatoes, patties, lettuce, you name it), much to our mutual excitement. We play fought with baguettes and some long, hard root vegetable. We compared prices between here and in America. We laughed at strange foods and drinks we told each other to never try. Grocery shopping, who knew it could provide so much happiness?
Stay classy San Diego,
Ron Burgundy (pronounced as "Brandon Wu")
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