In other news, one of the assistants from the International Office asked if I would be interested in a doing a photo shoot for a clothing company out of Hangzhou. I mean, it flattering to be starred at all the time because people think blonde hair and blue eyes are pretty, but I really don't understand it at all. Chinese people are beautiful. So maybe I'll be in some kind of Chinese internet ad. I'm talking to someone about it later today... it seems like an adventure either way.
A few days ago, I went with some girls to a yoga class downtown. Even though I couldn't understand 99.9% of what the instructor was saying, I at least knew when she was saying hands, fingers, feet, and toes. And was very sore the next day (I need to get some upper body strength or something..). Afterwards we went to a street with a bunch of restaurants. There was different food in the window and you could just point to what you wanted- so we had some potatoes (yes! so familiar) the green vegetable that's in everything - yesigh (good for health) bamboo sprouts. A friendly man next to us insisted I have another dish which is 'famous in Lin'an' (I've already had several dishes that share this title) which was wine with little shrimp things. Fresh shrimp. Like they literally had JUST put the shrimp into the wine, put a cover over it and they had drowned immediately before it was placed on the table. I really don't enjoy shrimp- period. I ate a few of the little ones. A picture of the spread from the evening is below.
Yesterday, I woke up at 3:30 AM to get to the bus station by 5 which is when we maybe thought the bus was leaving for Tian Mu Shan... although we were pretty sure the tuk tuk driver said it wasn't going tomorrow... well we were going to leave the city and do it before it was hot. Picked up some mantou from some people on the street (I dont think they ever sleep...) found out the bus station was closed, and took a cab to Tian Mu Shan (~sky tree mountain). 7 hours and 4000 vertical feet later, we were on the top of the peak. A class of students were there from Nanjing and insisted on taking pictures with me. Lots of history. Buddhist temples. Big trees (cousins to the redwoods in California I think) and over 10km of walking on steep steep slopes. I am so sore right now. Below is a picture of a current temple, complete with monks. There are little hand painted scenes all over, very pretty. The internet is only letting me post two photos, but I'll update my facebook album later. There was a temple higher up the mountain that people had been making pilgramiges to since 1200. Lots of history and pretty pristine forest wilderness.
Buddhist temple at base of mountain (currently doing restoration work)
Shrimp/wine specialty dish in downtown Lin'an. Bamboo shoots to left, sweet potatoes to right.
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