Mount Tai, Shandong & Dogs
Hello everybody! Greetings from Jinan! We have arrived safely back at our beautiful hotel here- stomachs full of american food and excited to sleep in tomorrow! We had a long day today, starting with a 6:10 wake up call in our hotel in Qufu. We drove for about an hour and a half to get to our first destination- Mount Tai. At first, a bunch of us wanted to climb up the mountain, but our guide Kevin had already bought tickets for a cable car that went up. We rode on a bus half way up the mountain, and that was scary! The breeze through the window was very nice, but the driver drove so fast in these narrow roads, whipping around turns! I think maybe by the end of this trip I might be used to it, but for now riding in vehicles here still frightens me. When we got to the middle of the mountain we took the cable car. The view was absolutely brilliant! The car wasn't shaky or scary at all- smooth all the way to the top! Kevin took us up a bunch of stairs to get to the peak- and it was so tiring! The heat gets to you very fast! After the peak of the mountain, we made our way back down. All of us except Brittney, Pam, and Kevin chose to walk down the mountain- back to the halfway point where we would take a bus. We started at the top, and by the first flight of stairs down, all of our legs were shaking. There was absolutely no way we could have walked UP this mountain! We were all in a group, but Matt was far in front of us. I was dying of heat and exhaustion, so I put my legs on auto-pilot and started booking it down those stairs! I made fast steps, focusing on the narrow ledges and soon I was caught up with Matt. Before I knew it I had surpassed him, and later I couldn't see anyone when I looked back. I walked and walked and walked some more, my legs never stopped- or they would have most likely given out! Finally I made it down, the very first. I made it in 45 minutes and was about a half an hour ahead of everyone else. How I accomplished this- I have NO idea! We are all a little pink now, thanks to Mount Tai!
When everyone made it down the mountain we got back on the bus to go visit a Martial Arts school in the city of Shandong. These kids were so amazing! They were doing Kung Fu and they were so great at it! I felt sorry for them though- the conditions of the school were lack-luster, to put it nicely. Their talents far surpassed that of that small school. I wish they could have a better environment to train in! After the school we went to see a farmers house- apparantly this was a richer area, and the houses were decent. It was poor conditions for America though! A bunch of the children were out and about, and I remembered that I had stuffed my backpack full of blow-pops so I handed them out. I think it made them pretty happy- the elders were very greatful at the least.
Something I have noticed throughout my stay in China is the dogs. Many of the dogs are walking around without leashes! And they actually STAY with their owner! I know my dog would be all over the place without a leash on her! It just goes to show you that we Americans think we are so great, yet we can't even control our animals! We also saw some people selling dogs out of boxes on the street corner. That was saddening.
Hoorah for sleeping in until 8:45 AM tomorrow!
-DeAnna Ricci