This bridge was started by the Soviets and then abandoned part way through for the Chinese to finish on their own.
Breakfast street
Hot and Dry noodles
Sweet Tofu!
Stinky Tofu, surprisingly good...
Sweet Sesame Seed Snack
Lucky coin rubbing
Love the architecture
Offerings
Female lion
Male lion
Buddha with new construction
Lunch time :)
Meet 'the squatty potty'!
There's nothing like huge public art work
Beautifully painted gate to a park
Wuhan on a cloudy day
Sleepy time
My host family after diner
Micaela, her cousin, me, and my roommate Kat“Today was a very busy day! We had a wakeup call at 7:30am. After a super speedy 5 minute shower it was on the bus and off to a street that had good food for breakfast. I split hot, dry noodles and sweet tofu with Emily. I also tried some black rice which was very sweet and tasty…
We went to a Buddhist temple after breakfast. It is the temple of 500 Buddhas. I felt much at peace there. We burned incents and prayed. In one part of the temple you were supposed to find your Buddha. You did this by walking around and finding the one that you connect with the most. After you find it you need to count away from it the number of years you have been alive. If you are male you should go right, if you are female you should go left. Once you count your age that Buddha is your new Buddha. I stopped at 394. I was told that it means I have good manners, can tell if others are good or bad, I can be heroic and brave, and I am not happy if I feel caged in. I felt this suited me well. I got my Buddha on a golden card…
We went to a park down by the Yanksy River. We went under, as well as over, the huge bridge the Russians designed and started. There were many large statues of Chinese myths and legends. We also went to see some architecture a short walk down the street at another park. Everything about the buildings was beautiful…
We left the parks and traveled across the city to a restaurant. There were three or four weddings going on and our group had its own private room to dine in. I had duck, noodles, rice, a poppy seed roll and bites of the other food items…
After lunch we went to a museum. We saw a bell show. The bells were replicas of those found in a tomb of a duke. The real bells and other artifacts were in the museum. After the museum we went to see East Lake. It is the largest lake with in a cities limit. It is also the largest body of fresh water in Asia according to Michaela, my hostess…
After the lake we went to the high school in Wuhan to meet our host families. Michaela was with us all day and asked Kat and I if we would like to stay with her. Of course we said yes. Her father drove us across town to their apartment. He drove a nice, newer Saab. It was much nicer than my old Subaru back in Vermont. We parked under the building and took the elevator up to the 12th floor. They had a very nice modern apartment with 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, and an office. I honestly think it was much nicer than my dirty college apartment, and much nicer than the hotel we stayed at. Her grandparents and two cousins came to join us and to cook. Her uncle came shortly after we started eating. There was so much good food. I thought it was much better than the restaurant we ate at earlier. I tried: Lotus root, bamboo root, Wuhan fish, and some other fish. I didn’t hate the fish, but it still isn’t my favorite. The roots were very good and so were the beef dishes. After diner it was a one to two hour long photo shoot and gift giving.
One thing that is hard not to notice is the extreme differences between the newly developed areas and the poorer, slum like areas right next to them.”
