"Actually, that's Duck Tongue"

(Nik) 

This past Sunday was a return to the feel our our traveling days; sunlit hours jam-packed with activities, long walks, and of course, a lunch of mammoth proportions. Our families planned three activities for us: first, a nature walk through a nature preserve , followed by a visit to a panda enclosure and a harvest of bamboo roots.

While Xixi Wetlands (from last weekend) is a conservation project like the wetlands we visited this Sunday, this swamp's aims are a bit more scientific. The park includes an endangered species, the crested ibis, protected areas ostensibly for them to nest in, and a facility to breed them. Xixi, with it's picturesque traditional town and nice adjacent hotel, is a conservation project that focuses perhaps more strongly on the integration of the human and the wild into a fun, luxurious, money-making operation in comparison to this one, where the few buildings are viewing platforms and a museum of taxidermy specimens of swamp wildlife. This swamp did, however, have another jolly oyster vendor offering an unknown number of pearls for ¥150, and many older folks selling various forms of organic matter both alive and dead that they caught or picked. Many vendors sold turtles, some as a meal, some young ones for children's pets. Ola's host family purchased two baby turtles, one of their young son, and one for their son's female friend who tagged along with us. The turtles, suspended from the children's hands in red mesh bags, seemed mildly alarmed but calmed down dramatically when released on a tea table in the lunch place (more on this later).

Cursed by Suitcase Ladies

(Ola)

After our day off on Monday, we arrived at school only to find that no one even glanced at us.The Swiss had come and we were old news. We expected the group of Swiss exchange students to be about our size. However, when we saw the size of the lunch buffet we knew that was not the case. All of a sudden, 20 kids walked in. We were hoping to make some new pals but apart from Pablo and David who were later amazed by our tai chi skills, no one else was feeling friendly

Something we've noticed with both the Swiss and the Chinese is that they will wear the same outfit for several days. When we first noticed this with our tour guides, we assumed they were staying at hotels and didn't want to pack a lot. Upon arriving at Hanggao, we realized that it was not uncommon to wear the same shirt two or three days in a row. Although surprising, it is understandable considering that the kids' daily activities which consist of homework, do not cause them to sweat at all. While traveling, Abby, Nik and I have realized that you don't always have to look super glamorous and it's okay. A majority of students here could care less about their hair or their outfit and they all seem to be content and accepted.

Clip Joint

(Abby)

Our third Saturday in Hangzhou was dedicated to visiting the old water town, Wuzhen. Now, I thought that this place was going to be a real town where we observe how the inhabitants go about their daily lives. I was proved wrong, however, when we arrived at an amusement park gate. Wuzhen is a town that was built over 1,000 years ago, but was made into a tourist attraction recently. Although it's not what I originally expected, the overall experience there was very fun, especially seeing all of the breathtaking scenery along the rivers and flower fields. There were also many specialty shops, which were pretty much the main attraction of the park. Each one was dedicated to something different and ranged from woodcarving to delicately packaged tea bags. We also witnessed a wedding ceremony (a staged one) that happened on one of the rivers. Many boats manned by people dressed in orange glided down the river while gongs were sounded to attract everyone’s attention. Everyone in the town knew that a newlywed couple was gliding down the river.

Tomb Sweeping Day

(Lindsay)

“Tomb Sweeping” is the festival when the Chinese honor their ancestors. Known as Qingming, the holiday is observed with a day off—this year on April 5th—to visit cemeteries. Traditionally, the Chinese bury their more recently deceased loved ones next to their ancestors, and the roads are clogged on this day with relatives journeying to visit their hometown cemeteries in order to pay homage. In the past, people have burned incense, money and paper houses as part of this ritual remembrance, and now entrepreneurs are offering paper models of iPhones and USBs as well so that people can keep their ancestors up to date with the latest technology. And if you can’t make it to your home town to visit your ancestors’ actual graves, there are now online memorial sites that you can visit all day every day. Another alternative is to hire a “proxy tomb-sweeper” to care for your ancestors with a three-minute visit, costing 100¥ ($16.00).

A Little Frazzled but not Bamboozled by a Breeze

(Lindsay)

Bamboo has to be one of the most useful of plants. It is far more pliable and has greater tensile strength than steel. Besides being an ornamental grass, it is an effective hedgerow. On Chinese rivers, lengths of bamboo are tied together to make rafts. It is sliced into strips that are used to weave baskets, and wider strips that are used to make straps from which to carry the baskets. It is lashed together to form fences, scaffolding, even entire buildings. Bamboo shoots are a delicacy in Chinese cuisine. You can carve bamboo into flutes and figurines, it is woven into steamers for cooking and it can be cut into 10-inch lengths and hollowed out to make tea caddies.