My Kingdom for a Horse

car-ride to qingahanhu: 20 kuai
(sweaty car-ride back) 20 kuai
4 tickets into qingshanhu: 80 kuai
one lap around the circle: 10 kuai
Riding a Horse: priceless

It was worth it. It really was. It was over in about two minutes but it made my day.

Something humbling I realized was that I don't know how to ride a horse, either that or what I do know doesn't work with Chinese horses. Or maybe it just another reminder to not try to impress anyone with what I can do. It's a big temptation here, considering my skin, height, naturally curly red hair and my ability to speak my native language are all amazing and valuable to people I meet here.
Also, about the eighty kuai I spent on tickets, the only tickets the place had were the kind that allow you to do any five of a list of things, such as riding this rickety bike thing over the lake, which was fun. It also included the little maze thing, which also made my day. I was a well over a head taller than the walls, so I imitated all of the adults who just walked on the walls.
Finally, I went on the standard spinning amusement park ride thing, on which
I lost my ticket, so I couldn't go on any other rides. The thing was, there were no other rides I wanted to go on, anyway. It was really just out of a sense of obligation to use all of the lines afforded by the ticket. My purpose in buying the ticket was to ride the horse, and if that was all, it would have been worth it. I saw again how important it is not to get caught up in using freebies and cheapen what is more important, even if you feel guiltily wasteful.