hiking

Before leaving Hangzhou, I climbed the mountain behind the library at the Yuquan campus with Brian, Thomas and Dylan. Climbed many stairs and saw huge hairy caterpillars. Once we reached the top of one peak, I could see out to Xihu even though it was dusk and cloudy. Such an excellent view.

We ran into a man and his 3 pugs, all of which were tired and panting (I could hear them approaching us before we saw them..."hark! I hear pugs!").

When I return in September I want to have the discipline to wake up very very early and climb the mountain because I heard a lot of older men and women climb the mountain and practice taijiquan. I think I would enjoy watching them practice more than the Hangzhou view. The older men and women are probably my favorite people to observe, they are so inspirational. Everything from their clothing, to their stance and walking styles, and the amount of bags they can carry even though many of them are so small. Their expressions tell so many stories. I hope I can become fluent enough in Putonghua to talk to some of them before I leave.