Sometimes you need to be a tourist

I apologize because this blog is a month late.  I actually took these pictures a month ago and totally forgot about them until this morning.  I was thinking about how sometimes its nice to be a tourist when you live in a foreign country.  Actually sometimes you really need to feel like you are on vacation.  Some friends came to visit in July and one day I accompanied them to a popular tourist spot.  We walked around, took pictures, and listened for other foreigners that spoke English.  It felt like I was on vacation.  In a touristy area you can also be lazy about speaking chinese if you want to.  All the workers, vendors, and other chinese tourists use english when speaking to you.  They are actually surprised when you know more than nihao and xie xie.  It's a good ego booster.  Even though the place was packed with people it was oddly relaxing.  These are not the same people pushing you on the subway or bus.  These were tourists, like myself, with no rush to be anywhere in particular. just happy to see the sights.  Although the weather was hot we walked around many shaded ponds that helped keep us from overheating.  I was amazed at how huge the lotus flower's were.  (That's the picture that looks like huge lily pads with pink flowers.)  We also listened to some traditional chinese music.  I have no clue what instrument the man in the picture is playing but it sounded a little like bag pipes.  All in all it was a good day.  It was also a good reminder that sometimes you need to be a tourist.