The first day in Kunming, we headed
over to Cui Hu Gong Yuan(Green Lake Park) a few blocks away. We met
Long Yun, another one of our Dragons instructors, who taught us some
Taiji. As we were going through the motions, a crowd of people
surrounded us and continued to stare at us throughout the entire
session. I just laughed and lost my balance a couple of times because
of it.
After Taiji, we headed to a noodle shop
for breakfast, but before getting there we had to cross a couple of
streets, which is actually a big deal for an inexperienced foreigner
in China. I first look across the wide gap that stands between me and
the next place where I’ll feel safe. The entire group tries to
steadily walk across, but a herd of Lamborghinis and Mercedes impede
our path. We dart pass them and simultaneously swerve through the
wild motorcycles. First street, done. Even now that I’m back in
Kunming, I still ask myself where the traffic lights are?
That same day, we visited a temple in
the middle of the city and it was incredible to see the ancient
nestled in the midst of so much modern. There was a large door
through which was found an even larger gate designed in a style
appropriate with its age. Here, we were given some time to reflect
and meditate on our new environment as well as a chance to become
Ninja(a fast-paced, hand-slapping game) champions.
At night, we went to see a show hosted
by Miao people that Jesse invited us to. The Miao were converted to
Christianity in the nineteenth century and religion plays a major
part in their culture, so many of the songs were actually hymns.
The very next day, we prepared to leave
Kunming for Shebaoshan(Stone Treasure Mountain) a few hours away by
sleeper bus and mianbaoche(literally “bread vehicle”).
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