Second, let me apologize for the hiatus. I initially planned to update Saturday night, but it turned out I didn’t have the material I thought I might. That is not meant to be an excuse, only an honest explanation. I have been told that inquiring minds want to know what I’ve been up to, hence the update.
Saturday was a short jaunt to a hot springs resort a little ways outside the city. I had hoped to take a bunch of pictures, but we changed into our bathing gear right after we arrived. Cameras and water don’t generally mix well.
The place was great. They had a bunch of different pools, some that could seat maybe 8 at most, others that could easily hold 20. They were different temperatures, though most were in the 38-39 C range (100-102 F), the hottest I think was 40-42 C (104-107 F). Some had different botanicals floating in what seemed like burlap sacks. There was one with ginseng, one with mint, one with aloe, and I’m sure others I didn’t see. Then there were the two pools side by side, one with coffee in the water, the other with green tea. They also had a small swimming pool, which was much colder and provided a great contrast to the hot springs.
Now some of you might be wondering, “Alright, so what do you do the whole time?” It is a valid question with a surprisingly great answer: you sit in pools of hot water all day, going from spring to spring, and enjoying the company of those with you. It was a great time. They also had a sauna, massages (they cost extra, the school picked up the basic package for us, which excluded the massages), even some ping pong tables and a pool table. They also had free soft drinks, hot tea, and water. Then there were the attendants who were always around to bring you drinks or hand you a fresh towel. I don’t know why we don’t have something like those in the States. Maybe that the hot springs weren’t chlorinated would violate some health code. Since coming to China I have learned to not ask so many probing questions like “Is this hot spring sterilized?” “Is your tricycle grill up to code?” “Is this edible?” You just go for it and hope your body is forgiving. So far, so good. Of course, I won’t lie and say that my insides are perfectly in order, but I’ve managed to weather the storm that is Chinese street food pretty well so far. I think I am the only one of the foreign teachers that eats the street food regularly (though I think I am converting one other to my delicious new world), and so far, I am the only one who hasn’t gotten sick, food-related or otherwise . . . that faint tapping sound is me frantically knocking on every piece of wood I can find.
That’s all for now. I had originally planned to take some pictures of the school, but it rained most of today. So we will reschedule those for next time. Have a great Tuesday everyone!
The picture below is one I found online of some completely different hot spring. They look a bit similar though so I thought it was better than nothing.