Before we checked out of the hotel this morning, all of the GYLC scholars were invited to a Tai Chi Lesson on one of the hotel lawns. It was a unique experience, but most of us realized that Tai Chi isn't our thing. It's very, very repetitive - in fact we did the same sequence over and over again for our entire 45-minute lesson. After Tai Chi, we rushed to our rooms to take showers and pack up the rest of our belongings.
After we boarded the buses, we drove to the Lin Ying Temple to see the famous Laughing Buddha.
(Ghafur being my model:)
(Big Buddha)
(Lucretzia:)
(With Terry - the best travel manager ever!!!)
(Temple Grounds)
(In one of the temples with Miguel and Victoria)
(Toad?)
(Giant Buddha)
(It must have been annoying to pray amid all of the tourists)
(Another Giant Buddha)
Our next stop was the scenic Guo's Villa, which was absolutely beautiful!
(Nick, Me, Ayesha, and Katie)
(Nick:)
(Reminiscent of Monet's garden in Giverny)
(Adam and AJ practicing their intense Tai Chi moves:)
After lunch, we went to the Hangzhou train station so we could catch the high-speed train to Shanghai. We waited in the station for a really long time. Adam and I managed to find two seats next to each other, so waiting around wasn't dull at all. The train was so smooth and fast. I wish we had the same system in America. It's amazing!
(Alexis in front of the high-speed train)
(View of Shanghai on the bus ride to the hotel)
(Another street view)
(Best welcome poster ever!)
After dinner in Shanghai we had an evening LGM session. It was for the much-anticipated cultural exchange. Each scholar is supposed to bring show and tell and/or gifts from home for everyone else in the LGM, and we all talk about our different cultures. I showed everyone my driver's license and explained that in Pennsylvania, we are eligible to get our permits when we are 16 and our licenses when we are 16 and a half. I also had a Pittsburgh keychain to show everyone, and a bag full of Hershey kisses because Pennsylvania is famous for Hershey's. The kisses were well-received :).
Even better than sharing was learning about different cultures. In our LGM alone we had representation from Suriname, South Africa, Puerto Rico, Argentina, Trinidad and Tobago, Canada, and of course, the United States. Many people gave really intense presentations, which was cool.
Mariana, who's from Puerto Rico, gave a lovely presentation complete with pictures and maps. She loves her country so much, which shone through during her presentation. In fact, in our GYLC handbook there is a map of the world that excludes Puerto Rico. She was so upset and told our FA Zach exactly how she felt. I asked her to draw Puerto Rico into my map by hand.
Some other cool things from the evening...Katie and Ayesha from South Africa sang us their national anthem. Ashleigh from Trinidad and Tobago shared really good music with us and told us about Carnival, which is a big cultural festival/party in T&T each year. It sounds like a blast...at some point I'll have to spend a spring break down there.
Overall, It was such an amazing cultural night and now I will be bringing home: Canada pins, a California keychain, South African pins and keychains, a Suriname brochure, and tons of new information about all of these countries.
I had quite a cultural day - and it's so exciting that I was in both a former ancient capital and the most up-and-coming city in China in one day! Ironically, I spent my 4th of July in a communist country. I have no regrets whatsoever..:)
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