Wo HAI PA !!!
Trip Start
Aug 13, 2010
1
14
19
Trip End
Sep 02, 2010
Ma’anshan, Anhui, China
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Nearby, there was the "Strange Slope," which is supposed to look like you are going uphill while you are actually going downhill. A'i poured water on the ground to show us how it would roll uphill. Sadly, from almost every angle, I kept on being like, "I don't get it. I know what I'm supposed to see, but I see uphill as uphill, and downhill as downhill." It wasn't until we got back into the car and put the engine on neutral, and rolled backward, that I finally saw it from the "right" perspective. Maybe it's because of my glasses or something... or I'm just a party pooper.
Then, we went to a farm animal place, and then we rode horses. Ohhhh my goodness. I have decided to just do things that I'm afraid of or intimidated by, like eat jellyfish and turtles, and today ride horses. So I did. Freaking a. Elise rode before me, and then Shanshan, but they assume that because I'm a boy I'm better / know what the hell I'm doing, but I DON'T. The man started to tell me in Chinese only how to control the horse myself, and I a) did not understand, b) made it VERY clear that I did not want to do that, and that I don't know how to do that, and that I wasn't understanding his instructions. The horse would start to veer off into the ditch on the right, or the lake on the left. I kept on telling him, "Wo BU xiang, wo hai pa! Wo bu zhidao zenme zuo zhege! Wo HAI PAAAAA!!!!" "I don't want to, I'm afraid! I don't know how to do this. I'm AFRAIIIIDDDDDD!" Then all these old men were at the corner, and heard me saying Wo hai PAAA, and they just said "Bu hai pa!!!" Don't be afraid!
I was terrified, but then I remember reading about how smart horses are (in a story about the recession and how people had to give up their pet horses), and that they can sense your feelings, so I sat there with a forced smile, thinking I was so upset but saying to myself "I'm so happy. I love you, horse. I love ponies. And you. I want to be here. I RESPECT YOU. You are powerful but you will not hurt me because I love you. Be nice! Please!" Really, I wanted OUT.
I got back to the start and explained in broken Chinese to everyone, and we laughed really hard for a few minutes. A big Chinese family had arrived, and they all stared over my shoulder at all the pictures of how scared Shanshan and I were.
Then we had lunch. The best items were this mushroom thing, and then also my favoriteee, doufu nao, tofu brains. It's vegetarian, no worries.
Then, we went FISHING. This was going to be not that exciting I thought, but it was a blast. It was my first time really fishing, and I caught FIVE FISH. It was so exciting. There are all these pictures on my camera from each fish, being like, WHAT?! A fish!? What luck! Shanshan caught one fish, and the other 5 were mine. We're eating them tomorrow for lunch! The guy who worked there was like, "you are a genius at fishing!" and then lied to me and told me to move to a worse spot because it was "easier." Really, he didn't want me to get so many fish, and I know I saw more fish in the part he made me leave, but then I was vindicated by INSTANTLY catching a fish in the spot he moved me to, HA.
Dinner was amazing hotpot. And then tonight, I played badminton with Yangyang and his parents, and some very very talented older man who completely owned everyone else on the badminton court. I've been holding a racquet wrong my entire life apparently. And I suck, haha, but they were really excited that an American was enthusiastic about badminton. I told Yangyang yesterday that I really like badminton, and when his parents heard, they instantly booked a reservation at the court for tonight so I could play with them before I left tomorrow.
Goodnight!
