July 7th
Before leaving Shāxī for Lìjiāng, we frequented a busy Saturday market which thoroughly impressed our group.
After a few hours of travel we made it to Lìjiāng - a place much louder and more intense and energetic than Shāxī. This town draws tourists from all over China, so its narrow cobbled streets are very crowded (especially at night) and filled with little shops and snack stalls. At night, the town's buildings are lit up beautifully with lanterns and lights beneath the roof tiles.
Students went on a "treasure hunt" yesterday before dinner, using their Mandarin skills to find and purchase notecards and pens of their favorite colors (stationery stores are actually a bit difficult to find here) so that they can begin diligently reviewing vocabulary for our classes. Students needed to conduct these transactions in a relatively formal, structured way, using new language, so it was a challenging assignment. They were also responsible for getting receipts, something else that can be very challenging here. The students all succeeded, and all shared fun stories about their minor struggles to communicate and navigate their transactions. After exploring the old town some more last night, students were bubbling over with excitement and laughing about their experiences.
During our meeting yesterday, students reported feeling happy and excited, but tired. This is completely normal, since we're all adjusting to the time zone, ascending in altitude. Also, it's good to remember that we've seen four completely different places in four days. The bus rides between destinations are long, and we travel along a lot of winding mountain roads, so everyone is swaying from side to side in their seats along the way. Students are getting a sense of the vastness of the Chinese countryside, and of China in general.
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