Before I left my apartment last Saturday morning, my landlady stopped me so we could have our daily exchange about the weather ("Hot today, no?" "Oh yes, hot"). I told her I was going hiking. She asked me in her rapid, heavily accented Chinese, "somethingsomethingsomething towel?" (What?) I looked at her, then nodded. She repeated her question, rubbing her face. Thinking that she was talking about sunscreen, i responded loudly, "Yes, I already did that! Yes." We were both rubbing our faces and smiling. A moment passed. Still smiling, I moved toward the door. I left, wondering what on earth that was about. I had read online earlier that day that there was some good hiking in Tucheng county, which is easily accessible by subway. I rode the subway to its terminal stop at Yongning and
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