Wed., March 20 -- Choosing today's highlight is very difficult because it was an amazing day in Shanghai. But I have to say my most favorite time was when I played hackey-sack with a Zen Buddhist monk inside a temple. This experience came at the end of a great walking day in Shanghai. Anita, the wife of a classmate, and I set-out for a 90-minute walking tour of the Old City. The walk turned into a 4-hour "cruise." When we completed the walk, we mastered the subway system in China to take the subway to the Jade Buddha Temple, one of the largest temples in Shanghai and it has a giant buddha carved from one block of jade. It was close to closing time at the Temple and we made one final pass through the main Temple area. There was a monk playing with this Chinese hackey-sack like we had seen at the Temple of Heaven in Beijing. So I motioned to him to kick it to me. And he did. Of course, my hand-eye and foot-eye coordination is not the best, so it took a few rounds before we could get it going. I overshot one time and sent it over his shoulder and almost straight into an altar area. Another time I almost got it in the chandelier. It was great. All three of us laughed and laughed. (See us in the picture...the hackey-sack has feathers on top weighted down with something close to washers. That golden statue behind us...that's almost what I hit with my toss.)
Another favorite moment of the day...our walking tour took us into "real" neighborhoods where you are not asked by anyone if you want to buy a Gucci bag. Anita saw a woman making dumplings in this tiny stall and suggested we stop and try them. She had a tiny seating area so we got 2 trays of dumplings for 4 yuan (1US=7.7yuan). She had such a sweet spirit and good energy and just kept smiling and every so often, pointing at my eyes. Her grandson was making the dumplings with her. It was such a beautiful moment in the day...and yummy too.
We capped the day off with dinner and then a walk along the Bundt (the promenade overlooking the river) with Anita and her husband, Brian.
Anita and I enjoyed our walking tour so much today that we decided to try another one tomorrow. We are going to get an earlier start so that we can see and experience as much as possible. Troy and Brian enjoyed their tours and they have another full day tomorrow. SMU did not give them much free time in Shanghai.
I'm not sure why, but I cannot view my blog here in China. So I'm hoping these posts are getting to you. I don't know if I wrote something that set-off the China internet sensors, but it's very odd that I can log-in to blogger but cannot view my blog. If you are leaving comments on the blog like "Get me a Gucci bag while you are there," then send me an email.
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