The weekend

We had a great time away this weekend. You never know quite what to expect when you travel here, but what a fun time! We traveled with our friend and his cousin, and then we met two more friends at the lake. One of the girls family owned a hotel at the lake and they showed us great hospitality. The best part was getting to ride ATV's! What a blast, and certainly not what we were expecting.

And I didn't encounter a single bug! Although Wyatt did pass out on the bus again on the way to the bus/train station. I think with the motion and ALL the people and overheating...... and you have to exert so much energy to hold on, and often have to stand for an hour. But, other than that the trip went off without a hitch. When we arrived they were having a large dragon festival. The festival was in honor of the sea god. Pretty interesting to watch.

We hiked up to the top of the hill, and the view was breathtaking over one of China's two deepest lakes. It was great to spend time with these young 20 year olds, we had some very interesting conversations. A treat for sure.

Today we all went to the college to help Laoshi Gilman in the classroom. It's the first time we have seen the students since the break. It was great to connect with them again. They were much more open and comfortable talking today than in the past. One student Lemon, brought me the lyrics of one of her favorite songs "You Lift me Up". I was quite surprised. We discussed who the "you" is in the song. She said the you is friends, teacher and the government. I shared with her about the song writer's perspective and it was great fun.

So glad to be back in the swing of things.