Exploring Changzhou

This past weekend was awesome! I got to go out and explore our amazing city all 3 days of the weekend with different groups of friends. The highlight was seeing the Pagodas! Here in Changzhou we have the tallest Pagoda in all of China! We got to see that one and enjoy the beautiful park that it's in. It was super crowded there though. Across the park we went to the older, ancient Pagoda that is tall but not as tall. It was only 5 kuai to go up to the top so we did that! The whole day was so fun and the views were breathtaking. Then we asked a random passerby where a good place to eat and we ate there! What an adventure haha everything is so fun! We also went to the mall and we danced around in public and took lots of pictures. The bummer is that I accidentally deleted all of my pictures from that day! So I only really have the ones off of my friend's camera.
Last night for dinner the Chinese teachers took us out for "Hot Pot." It was a feast! And it was SOOO delicious! First when we sat down, they poured us hot water as usual, in a shot glass. And that's all the water you'll get when you go out to eat. Most of us wait for it to cool off before we drink it. Then they brought out yummy pumpkin treats and these yummy rolls with sweetened condensed milk to dip them in. We asked for 5 more plates of that stuff because it was so good! We had fresh watermelon and the best peanuts in the world. Then we had all these other little snacks that I am not even sure what they were! They brought out these nice thin cuts of raw beef and we stuck them into the boiling broth in the middle of the table and cooked it ourselves and then we got to pick what sauces we wanted to dip them in. Throughout the meal they poured mushrooms, potatoes, pastas, meats and more into that pot and we just kept scooping stuff out and dipping it and it was all so good. By the end we were all super full and happy :)
Teaching has been going well! I'm getting used to it and definitely picking favorites with my kids. It's a lot of work but I know it will become really rewarding.

 The tallest Pagoda in China!

 The other, older Pagoda

 Me at the top!