Before I explain our morning, meet Lily.
She is the sweetest lady and was part of our
tour group with her husband.
She's the kind of person you just want to hug.
We stopped at a local park - I thought maybe to see the gardens.
But that was not it at all.
We "performed" tai chi with the local "older" generation.
The lady below was leading the group.
We had such a great time, even though we had no clue
what we were doing.
Then we went to another part of the park and
joined in a style of folk dance, again with the local population.
This little one smiled in this picture but
she really did not want to have her picture taken.
I think her mother made her.
She was pretty shy.
We all had fans, similar to these, and we
danced around the plaza area.
Kind of like the chicken dance done at weddings.
It was great exercise and I have to admit
I was a little winded when we stopped.
Then we walked to another section of the park
and literally did exercises for every part of our body.
We started at the top - our heads - and worked our way
down our bodies.
They had someone leading, but I believe it was via loud speaker,
possibly pre-recorded. I never could see them.
Of course it was in Chinese, so I couldn't understand
what we were to do.
I watched and followed my neighbors.
The local people were so very friendly to us
and very welcoming.
I really enjoyed joining in their daily routines.
We were told by our tour guide that there is no medical
care for the older generation - nothing like Medicare, so they meet in the local
parks and do Tai Chi, dancing, and exercises in order to
hopefully stay healthy by continuing to move their bodies.
All of us had a wonderful time.
It was a great way to start the day.
And so very memorable.
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