Last weekend: fun and interesting

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Last weekend was fun and interesting!  But i'm so busy working full time now (and often too tired to write a bunch by the end of the day-- also from getting over a cold)... as well as other activities like Ruhi study circles and Aikido... so i haven't found time to write about it until now!
Anyway, so last weekend, on Saturday, was many Olympians' annual favorite: The Procession of the Species.  Which is a long parade of people and floats dressed as endangered species and coincides with Earth week.  For more info and pictures of it you can click here X.  Apparently a 27,000 member crowd of tall 'n's and munchkins gathered and watched.  (i.e adults and children).  And i was one of them.  It was a beautiful sunny day the whole day.  With the flowers up and trees also in full bloom.  :^)
Upon arriving downtown a little after 16:30 i parked near the place where the parade would end where the wonderful Traditions Cafe is.  I was surprised and happy to find colored chalk all around and adults and kids drawing all over the road (which was blocked from traffic) and side walks.  I first walked a few blocks until i came upon a place where the parade was going by.  After watching a while, i went back to were the parade would end and watched the beginning of the parade go by.  I then found an area of sidewalk i liked with the Capitol Park to my back and sat down with some colored chalks and started drawing with out a plan other than for it to be on the Baha'i theme of "unity in diversity" it got bigger and bigger until ended up with the final result (see photos included).  I didn't have my camera, but my attempt at art was still there on Sunday at noon, when i went back there after almost completing Ruhi Book 2.
I ended up being very happy that i didn't have my camera the day before because otherwise i wouldn't have stumbled upon Olympia's 2008 Dragonboat Festival!  I noticed lots of tented booths in the distance, next to Capitol Lake.  When i walked up to them i found out from one of them that was handing out event programs that the 2008 Olympia Dragon Boat festival was in progress right then and there!  It's sponsored by neighboring town Lacey's Saint Martin's Uni.  So i spent the next few hours watching the races and meeting the team from China-- from the Shanghai Maritime University, (i was eager to practice my Chinese a bit) which is also the team which won the First Place for the whole competition!  By 14:00 i was getting quite hungry and started strolling into town to find a place to eat.  On the way i stopped off at some interesting booths, first was one for the Olympia Area Chinese Fellowship which was doing free calligraphy of Western names transcribed into Chinese characters.  I already have a Chinese name (Kuò Lì Yà --阔利亚) so i had him do that (on a bookmark sized piece of paper) and chatted to them about China and found out about local Tai-chi and Chinese language classes that i hope to take once i have money to spend on such things (the Aikido instructor, Will Sensei, is very kind and compassionate in allowing me to participate in his classes already now even though it'll be a couple months before i'll be able to start contributing financially).
Eventually i pulled myself away from that booth only to get stuck at a booth with Japanese students who were doing the same with Japanese Characters (in Japanese my name is Ko Ri Ya or Ko Ya and there's 3 different scripts in which it could be written!).  I enjoyed meeting and chatting with them (and getting my name written in Katakana) and so it was around 15:00 by the time i actually got to the restaurant (i chose the Indian restaurant which has an all-you-can-eat lunch buffet for about $8).  It's yummy!  ... I was wearing a Baha'i pendant and while i paid for the meal the owner enjoyed identifying the religious symbols of the world's major religions that are on it.
After lunch i headed back to the lake and practiced calligraphy (writing Ai Ki Do) with the Japanese students (from St. Martins Uni) under their tent at which time it started raining and then pouring.  After getting my coat i then watched the finals of the Dragonboat races.  The Shanghai team won the first place (see photo) as they did the last time they were here, in 2006.
On Monday evening and this morning (Saturday) i attended Aikido classes in Olympia for the first time.  It's great fun-- but i noticed how out of shape i've gotten in the year since i was an Uchideshi at Nippon-Kan in Denver!  I was very sore on Tuesday and Wednesday!  But i think i'll be able to stay healthier now that i'm getting regular exercise-- despite being around little kids all the time, hopefully!