May 10-11

Hello there

So we're going through a heatwave here in Hangzhou, the past 2 days have been near 100F.

Yesterday, we had a pretty chill day, nothing was planned in the morning so we just relaxed. After lunch, we went to a martial arts class, and did a bunch of pushups and learned how to do some martial arts punches and kicks. I didn't particularly like this class because I am not flexible, so the teacher kept telling me to move in ways that I am not physically able to move in. Afterwards I ran around the track and then back to the hotel, it was very refreshing. At the stadium where the track is, there were actually more students playing soccer yesterday than students playing basketball (the basketball park is adjacent to the feild/track). Last night we kinda took it easy and Jarrett, Angie, Shawn and I played spades until 1 in the morning.

Today we had a day full of class which was an adventure as always. We were told the wrong room, and then the elevator doesn't stop on the third, fourth, fifth floor, so we had to walk up the stairs to the 7th floor. Then our art teacher didn't speak english, so that was frustrating, but she got a little more comfortable and could speak a little English. I really don't like doing art, this is not to say I don't appreciate art, which I do, but what I did was not art. It was more like a finger painting that your mom says is beautiful but is really just a blob on a piece of paper. We had some really artistic people in our class that actually made some quality artwork. After lunch we had language class, Shawn and I were running a little late so we couldn't wait for the elevator line so we had to hike up the 12 flights of stairs. Language class was pretty cool actually, learned how to introduce people, and then sang some sappy love song that is very popular in China. We then received our diploma and were ready to brave the heat to play basketball.

Chinese students must be fairweather fans because there were only about 20 of them out there today. Prof Ewest played with us again, and was the Shaq diesel of our team. We were undefeated, which brought our record this week to about 50-5. Pretty nice last full day in Hangzhou. Tomorrow we leave for Beijing which I am very excited for. I have really enjoyed my time in Hangzhou, but I'm ready for some new experiences and some cooler weather. I am especially excited to see the olympic venues.

Adiós