I took my camera and a notebook with me on a “short” walk through the park today before breakfast. The first thing I saw was a man doing what I call the “lung posture” it’s a bent-knee stance that looks sort of like you are hugging a tree. It’s a good one for this polluted air because it is good for the lung circulation. I stopped to take a photo of him, but he moved. He switched into “tai-qi walking” though and I got a couple of photos of that:

I walked on and saw a large group doing tai qi in the park. I find that even watching people do it (when they do it well), is very relaxing and beautiful. Watching this group reminds me of Sifu saying, “Slow down. Not so fast. Go slower.” Some of the people in this group really want to rush the form, but there is one old man in particular who makes it look so smooth. He’s very balanced and agile. I could watch him for hours. I could learn a ton just from watching him. I tried to take more photos of him, but was thwarted by my camera battery dying. Phooey.

Some of the exercise groups in the park use routines set to music. It is not ordinary dancing or dance aerobics though, it is clearly a set of movements that incorporates qi gong movement and sounds along with some other martial arts moves. It is obvious though that none of these people are martial artists; their movements are stiff, the posture is a disaster, and the transitions from one thing to the next are very rough.

I bumped into two new friends while I was at the park and we had a nice visit for a little while. In all my time here I have never seen anyone I know while walking at the park. We walked along together for a short ways and came upon a drum class going on.

Then as I got a little nearer to home, I saw another lady that I know and we also had a nice chat. This has never happened to me before to meet so many friends while out and have a chance to visit with them. If this became a regular thing, staying here would be a more tempting prospect. Still most of the ladies I know talk about wishing they could return home where life is more familiar and easy to manage.

I also took a photo of how the Chinese attach their hoses to the faucets here.

In the end, my short walk ended up taking 2 1/2 hours! Feed me!

winner-winner, chicken dinner 🙂