Running

Anybody who knows me at all knows that I loathe exercising unless it is in the form of an organized, full-contact sport. Any other form of exercising such as running, lifting, walking up stairs, carrying groceries, walking to the car, etc., as my boyfriend will tell you, I avoid like the plague and resist any invitation to participate in. That being said, I also am no dummy and I know that exercising boosts your endorphin levels dramatically.....and lately I have been in desperate need of a boost. So on Thursday I went for a run after work. I ran down to the river and along the path that ran next to it until I got to snack street. It was a decent distance and by the time I got there, the heat and humidity combined with how out of shape I am meant I was sweating from every surface on my body. Even my kneecaps and shins were sweating. Well I grabbed some water and a snacky from the snack street and sat and watched people playing in the water. Regardless of the time of day, there are always people in the water. I did this again yesterday and I just feel better having some human contact, even if it is just people staring at me or trying to speak to me in Chinese to which I just respond "bu gee dao" (phonetic of course) which mean I don't know. I have also found that while I love getting myself little trinkets, I love even more buying things for other people and anticipating how much they will like them. Soooo I bought a couple presents for somebody who has given me much more than I will ever be able to give her. That's right mama, get ready for some good stuff coming your way :) My dad is a little more difficult to shop for because I never know what he will want or use, so I'm gonna see what I can find for him (hint hint DAD ). Well, I was out past dark and decided to go back and walk along the river to see what it was like at night. I didn't bring my camera and I seriously should have, I will take it with me next time I go. I won't ruin the future pictures by telling you all that I saw, but it was pretty awesome. I headed home and started compiling a list of the random little noteworthy things that happened on my adventure and here they are:
*A man gave me a newspaper to sit on at the river, only asking that I give him my water bottle when I was done with it in exchange.
*I discovered some delicious bread balls on snack street.
*I saw one of my students (I only consider my Oral English kids to be my real students, the rest of the kiddos are just kids I get paid to play with haha) as I was walking home and said hi to him and his mom.
*The lady at snack street at my favorite stand now recognizes me and knows what I want. She even gave me a bag to carry my little box and wallet in.
*I saw 2 gorgeous golden retrievers fetching water bottles that people threw for them into the river.
*After the dark in most popular public places you can find groups of women doing a dance led by one woman. It's kind of funny that these women just stop and dance for a while, and last night I watched for a while and it was actually really beautiful. Traditional Chinese dancing is very fluid and feminine and I enjoyed watching the women dance.
*When somebody said thank you to me, my brain processed it quickly enough for me to respond with you're welcome in Chinese: bu yao xie (I don't want thanks). First time this has happened! haha, little victories

***I will post pictures later tonight or tomorrow after I go back!!