ABROAD IN
Monday, July 24th: I woke up before my alarm at 4:10 am for the sunrise hike. I thought I missed my alarm, so I swung out of bed and checked the time. Low and behold, I still had 5 minutes of sleeping. I woke up officially at 4:15 and got ready. I didn’t think the hike was going to be strenuous (more like a stroll) so I just wore my Vans, which was a mistake. I tip toed out of the apartment at 4:30 and there were a few stores open, but it was quite barren. It was not hot in the morning which I was so thankful for, but it was pitch black. We began our hike and the sky began to get brighter rather quickly. The sunrise was set to be at 5:14, and Justin’s brother said the hike would only take about 20 minutes, so I wasn’t worried. But, the hike was way harder and way longer than we all expected. The hike was literally set after set after set of stairs. There would be a set of a few hundred stairs. You’d think you were done, then there would be another set and another, so it was really tiring. At about 5:30 am we reached this flat area where there were bathrooms. We still had about 20 minutes to go after that (which we didn’t know about). We continued, and I was debating heading back down the mountain because the sun already rose and there were just more and more stairs. But, we kept going. I am so glad we didn’t head back down though because the view was beyond worth it. The view at the top was amazing. We stopped at this lookout area at a cable car stop, and we figured out that you can take a cable car up (but not that early). The light pink/purple/orange haze was still there even though it was already around 6 am. I could see the entire city, and all the bodies of water. At the top, we ate some bread and drank some coffee and yogurt. It was a 10/10 morning. I’m so glad I woke up early for that. Walking down the mountain took much less time, and by the time I got back to the house, I had 10 minutes before I had to leave for school. Luckily, Justin’s dad said he would drive us. I quickly took a cold shower and ran out the door to meet Justin and his dad. We got to the subway and surprisingly got to the University with time to spare. After speaking and listening class, we had taiqi class for cultural class (for lunch I had 18 水饺 - it was worth it). The taiqi routine keeps getting longer and longer and I’m struggling to remember everything. After taiqi, some of the students went to the city wall (but it was literally 100 degrees and I didn’t feel like sightseeing), so I went with some others to check out a nearby mall. It was a nice mall, but I didn’t buy anything. There were some shirts for 20 yuan though (2-3 USD). Oh, wait I did buy Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans with Alex. Also, I bought some ice cream for 3 yuan at McDonalds. Overall, fun afternoon with fun people. I came home for dinner and while I was eating, I talked with the Dad about Muslim culture (they are Muslim). We didn’t talk a lot about it, but we talked about the different things they do as Muslim people and about Mecca a little bit. It was cool. The Dad is really sweet and was smiled hugely when he realized I understood what he was talking about, and he seemed excited to share his culture. He also talked about his old hometown a little bit. Later that night, I relaxed and did some homework and preparation for my IOPP. Also, Emma bought masks for really cheap to block out air pollution, so I bought one from her haha.
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Andrea 施安雅17-year-old XC runner and boba tea lover living in Seattle but studying abroad in China. Also, I have a cat! Archives
August 2017
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