Can we take your picture?
Day 2 down, 13 more to go! This is a very small portion of the pictures that were taken with my camera today. Will was my trusty photographer because I was filming. I’ve cut them down from the 240 pictures that he took.
Our Second Adventure
Today was a very fun day. We started the day with a Chinese breakfast, which was REALLY good. We then went on the bus to Suzhou (Sue-Joe or sooge-ho), the silk production center of the world. We first went to the Humble Administrators Garden. This was beautiful. We then went to the North Temple Pagoda. On our way there, both Will and Andrew got stopped because some random people wanted to take their picture. They were fascinated by the fact that we were American. We were all out of breath when we actually got up to the temple because we had to climb up the side of a mountain to get there. Ok, maybe not a mountain, but a bunch of stone steps.
After the trek, we went back down and had lunch. This was one of the neatest experiences. We went into this room with a large round table. Our places were set with a VERY small plate, a shot glass, a small bowl with a spoon, a tea cup, and chopsticks. There was a lazy susan in the middle of the table. Then came the food. They brought so much food! We just twirled around the lazy susan buffet-style. It was amazing. We had to try everything. The only thing I didn’t like were the mushrooms. The candied corn was strange, too. After we were all full and had experienced an Eastern toilet, we got back on the bus to go to the canals to take a ride. Marco Polo called it the Venice of the East. It was neat.
Since we had some extra time, we stopped by the Silk Factory. Andrew’s presentation was on the silk industry, so he said he already knew all of the stuff that we learned while we were there. We got to see the silk worms and how they make everything. You should have seen my face when I found out that they kill the silkworm to get the silk. I think I almost cried.
After buying 100% real genuine silk, we made our way back to Shanghai. We split up for dinner, half of us going to an amazing restaurant at the Holiday Inn down the street, and the other half going to McDonald’s. Once we were all back at the hotel, Andrew and Christina gave their presentations (and did very well). I had my first experience at hand-washing clothes. Chinese people don’t have washers and dryers. I don’t know if they will be dry in the morning. We will see. Tomorrow we are going to some museums, gardens, and downtown, then we will be flying to Guilin. I hope I have the internet there as well, but I don’t know yet.
Peace Out,
Ashley
