Chapter 35 - The Aqua Center

Hello Again Everybody,
Things have been a little crazy here in China. We lost internet for
about 2 days straight and classes have been going crazy! I think the
classes are getting all crazy because a very long break from school is
just around the corner for them. This long break is a total of 2
weeks. Its like a Chinese spring break sort of deal. I don't know.
hahaha but yeah 2 weeks off of school so no teaching for me which
means time to travel! I plan on hitting 3 cities in my general
location.

One town is known for the mountains. The mountains for the
movie Avatar, (well the mountains in this town inspired those). Second is
a very old and ancient town that is right on the river so these old
building are on stilts to keep them off the water and it also has
buildings that date back to the late 1500's. 3rd city is known for having
Panda all around the city! I am excited for this 2 week holiday!

In my city there is an activity center where you can do all sorts of
stuff like; basketball, skating, rent bicycles, or there is even a
little fair for little kids. Well they have this huge building that
has a ton of ping pong tables and even a couple of badminton courts.
Not today, that huge building was blocked off by these boards that
had fish on them and other sea creatures. I saw that people were
paying 10rmb to enter and I was hesitant at first but curiosity got the
best of me and I paid the 10 rmb to enter. Once inside I understood
why is cost money to enter. It was like a Chinese Discovery Center.
They had sea creatures in tanks, dried up coral for the kids to touch
and feel, pictures on the walls that would make the kids think, like
illusions paintings, and real life sea creatures. It was so cool! The
setup of the tank of the animals first started out with reptiles. So
they had this sea turtle in its own tank, wasnt really swimming
because it had very little room to even flap its flippers. Poor
thing.
Then I moved on to this crocodile. Again, too small of a tank
for this animal, that is why its head is like propped up on the side
of the tank. There was no room for him but this boy was not afraid to
get right in his face.
I couldnt do that but this little 5 yr old boy
had no fear! Part of me wanted the crocodile to move rapidly just to
see what the boys around the cage, acting so macho, would of done!
Each and every tank had a different color of fish and had names of the
fish but of course it was ALL in chinese characters. But not
understanding the info doesnt make the fish less beautiful! This
whole thing wasnt just about the fish, it was for the kids and
teaching them to think outside of the box! So I got a picture of a
group of girls looking at a pic that most of us have seen before and its
the elephant that appears to have 5 legs.
I stepped back and
watched these girls sit or "squat" in front of this picture working
together to figure the illusion together. Was cute to see them work
it out together. Throughout the whole building there were these sort
of pics all over. It was a very cool experience and YES it was well
worth the 10 rmb!!!!
Back outside there was this lady carrying a random cross bow, I asked
her if I could see it. She let me and this was the end resort. This was
a true cross bow and probably the most real "weapon" I have seen or
touched since I've been here. If you look closely in the pic its so
funny to see everyone looking at me! hahaha that is how it always is!
No joke! Its alot of fun! (this picture would not upload)
This underwater aqua center was alot of fun and it made me realize
that education in the states is way ahead of the education here but we
totally take it for advantage. Here the kids soak up as much as they can!
The desire to learn is amazing and has surely rubbed off on me! I love
learning new things and in China that happens everyday! I miss and
love everyone dearly!
Love
Jordan
ps For Uncle David, today I totally saw the Chinese David! I tried
getting a pick but he looked exactly like you, just a Chinese version!
Oh yeah he was wearing a super pink shirt getting on a pink scooter!
NO JOKE!!!!