Powerful. Exhilarating. Majestic. The rushing river swirled around the rocks. It took us an hour and a half to walk down to the river. Along the way were flat spaces to enjoy the stunning view. The mountains towered above us while the river ran below us.

Today we had the opportunity to plan the day ourselves so that we could explore our leadership roles more in depth. We decided to hike down to the river. We all embraced this chance to redefine our roles and to self-reflect.

After our hike, we ate a delicious lunch. We had Naxi style pizza, sweet and sour chicken, and pork fried noodles. Then we relaxed and recovered from our hike from the previous day.
Then we took a bus back to Lijiang. We stayed in the same youth hostel as our previous trip to Lijiang.
For our dinner, we chose an authentic Chinese restaurant. It was delicious.
Tomorrow we are traveling to Lashihai to the Na’xi village. During our homestay there, we will pick up trash, set up trash bins, and create signs to end littering. We are creating a program to end pollution in rural areas of China which we hope will spread into a worldwide effort.

– Alix