Tourist in My Own Town!

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I spent a Sunday afternoon with a new friend of mine exploring the surrounding areas near our apartment complexes. We started the chilly autumn day going up UFO hill. UFO hill is a park very close to my apartment complex. It is almost exactly as it sounds: a big hill with a UFO on top of it! The locals call it a mountain, which is a bit overkill in my opinion. The park is actually quite large and full of tons of green space. There are trails intertwining throughout the area which look very fun to spend some time on. However, the focus of our day was to make it to the UFO!


On our way to the UFO we were treated to some great views of the city, the ocean and another hill in the park that had a giant baby on a giant bull on a hill... more on that later.


When we reached the UFO there was a large spiral staircase that was blocked off by a chain link rope with a sign in Chinese on it. Being the ignorant tourists that we are, we hopped over and proceeded to go up.We made it to the second storey, and two stories from the actual UFO, until we were yelled at by a security guard. Maybe next time...


We then made our way over to the second hill, you know, the one with the giant baby on the giant bull. It was just as bizarre as the last hill. The more I explore China the more random I find it.


After the giant bull with the giant baby on it we made our way down to the ocean. The ocean was just as bizarre as UFO hill. This whole country is bizarre. At the ocean we encountered a giant pirate ship, a huge clam shell you can walk through, fake dinosaur fossils on the side of the road, stone merpeople (if that’s a word), and a myriad of other out of place things.


One great thing about this country that I am coming to appreciate is that I never feel embarrassed here. Every time I feel like I am doing something stupid, wearing something silly, or saying something completely out of line, I know that right around the corner someone else will be doing something 10x more embarrassing! It’s a very refreshing feeling!

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