A night and day in Hangzhou and my last days in YongKang

Friday was my last day to teach at Renmin Primary School in YongKang.  It was a great day.  The last two classes I had were really fun and made the end of my stay here memorable.  Several of the girls in the English department had small gifts for me.  It was a little sad, but I am ready for my next challenge that begins tomorrow!  Friday night and today were spent in a wonderful city about three hours away called Hangzhou.  It is very urban and holds a lot of history.  It is proudly one of the main cities for silk in China.  It even has a silk museum.  The hot spot in the city is the Lake.  It is huge and gorgeous.  Friday night, we checked into a hotel, took a taxi (and our lives in our hands) and got to the lake.  We found a really cool restaurant and had another strange dinner.  The "pork" we had, still had hair on it.  There were a couple of spicy dishes and tons of rice.  I lived....I know I keep saying that - but it's true.  I can always find someway to fill my stomach at the table when there are strange dishes presented!  We walked a bridge that crossed the entire lake.  It took about an hour and a half.  Then, we walked around and around the downtown.  It was a beautiful evening and the city was really full of life!  Today, we got up early, climbed the Hangzhou tower which is a huge pagoda and explored the biggest temple I have seen yet.  We were able to witness a ceremony during which Monks sang and chanted readings from a book.  The temple was decorated with fruits and flowers.  It was very lavish and made for gorgeous pictures.  We also took a long boat ride by paddle boat (where a man paddles our boat across the lake like a chauffeur) around the like.  It was about 2 hours.  He dropped us on one side of an island to visit an exclusive silk shop where scarves and fans are authentic, hand made, and 100% silk,  then he picked us up on the opposite side.  We toured the hotel where Nixon had his huge meeting with Chinese president in 1972.  It was a very history filled and wonderful day.  We took the bus back to Yongkang where I had dinner with Tang then met Betty, Harry, and Pom Pom for "late night snacks."  Oysters, snails, eggplant, jelly fish, and potatoes were on the menu.  I tried everything but only because I had a beer to wash it all down!  My last evening here in the city was super!  I also had a call from "Mike."  He was the student who invited me to berry pick.  He wants me to come again tomorrow before I leave and just climb the trees with him.  I had to decline, but it sure was nice to know he wanted me to join him!  I'm still not sure what the plan is for tomorrow, but I know at SOME point, I move to Dong Yang to start my next teaching assignment!