(LAST POSTING OF 2007 EXCHANGE) Hangzhou: Teaching, Classes, and People

(Ms. Arkin)

I have written a lot about the different cities we have visited in China, but not so much about my experiences in Hangzhou. I don’t even know where to begin. I know I wrote about our arrival and the trip to the West Lake. I also mentioned my bike riding skills (or lack thereof), but I don’t think I have written anything about teaching, our classes or any of the people I have met.

CHINESE CLASS: We have this class twice a week. Our teacher’s name is Gao Li and he is a Chinese literature teacher, but somehow got assigned to teaching us Chinese! He is a really good teacher because he is very patient and doesn’t laugh (which I know he must want to) at the way I pronounce the words and my inability to use the correct tones. He also knows I need visuals, so he spells all of the words in Pinyin so I can see the sounds and tones that I often can’t distinguish by ear. If the weather is nice we go outside and sit by the well. If it is too sunny by the well, then we move to one of the gardens where we sit under a tree and resume the lesson. We also read Chinese poetry so we can practice our tones and learn about culture at the same time. Yesterday was a treat because we saw a slide show of traditional Chinese dresses and then we got to try some on and take pictures. Chinese class has been a very pleasant experience.

CALLIGRAPHY: I never thought I would enjoy a class in calligraphy since my fine motor skills are anything but good. But this is an example of how a good teacher can make you enjoy something you would ordinarily despise. Mr. Yang is our teacher and even though he doesn’t speak English, I think he might have the best personality in the world! I wish I could understand Chinese because I know he would make me laugh. In class, he communicates effectively through body language and the words “no” and “okay”. He shows us the right way to make the strokes and says “okay” and then the wrong way with the word “no.” He also uses chalk to write the characters on my paper, so when I paint them I only need to trace over the chalk. One day instead of class, he took us to the West Lake to see the calligraphy museum and go to lunch at one of the private room restaurants with a beautiful garden view. I think he just wanted to get out of the building on a beautiful day. Sometimes Mr. Yang smokes in the classroom next to the open window. He offers me cigarettes and I tell him smoking is “bu hao” (no good) and make a fake choking action.

HANGZHOU HISTORY: This is a hard class because our teacher doesn’t speak English and we don’t speak Chinese. It is hard to teach history through body language. I have the feeling that I could learn a lot from him, if we had a common language. He shows us pictures of the West Lake and different kinds of Chinese art. He explains the significance in Chinese, often throwing in some English words or stopping to look up the translation of a word. I feel badly that he has to teach us since we don’t understand anything he says. It must be frustrating for him. He did bring us little guide books in English of Hangzhou which has been of immense help to me. It tells about all of the tourist sites and also has an English map.

PHYSIQUE: This is where we do dance and yoga type exercises. We have this class once a week. Our teacher is very cute with a perfect figure and a short, geometric kind of hair style. She wears glasses and is always smiling. She doesn’t speak English，but doesn’t need to in order to teach us the dance steps. She knows how many steps to teach at a time, how much repetition I need, and how slowly to demonstrate the steps so that it is fairly easy to put them together and remember them. That is not to say that I am at all graceful or coordinated in my movements, but for the most part, I can remember the routine. One class was torturous, however. Instead of dance, we did one and a half hours of abdominal exercises. The next two days every muscle in my stomach, back and ribs was sore. It felt like someone took a baseball bat and swung it repeatedly at my rib cage. I could barely move when I woke up. The next week we were dreading class because we thought it would be just as hard. Although we all really like our teacher, we were happy that she was late because that meant fewer minutes to work out. When she finally arrived, we got to play 30 minutes of ping pong which made us even happier. Then we went to the gym to practice our dance. I had come prepared for this class by bringing a bottle of water with me. That way I wouldn’t have to bug her to take me to the special teachers room to get water from the cooler. That’s what I thought at least. After dancing, she told us to “take a rest”. I was in need of a rest and proudly pulled out my water bottle to get a drink. The four of us were sitting on the mats, resting, as I opened the bottle and took a big swig. That is when I started spitting and flapping and making spastic garbly noises. It is strange thinking you are drinking bottled water when in fact you are drinking some wretched concoction that is 44% alcohol. As soon as I chugged it, I felt my throat burn and I had no idea what was wrong with the water other than that it tasted totally vile. I finally spit it into a handful of tissues, allowing only a little to make its way down my throat. For a fleeting moment I thought I had been poisoned. Why would water taste like that? It is still strange to me that I bought the “water” from a display case in the supermarket that was directly next to the soft drinks and children’s juices. I guess that’s what happens when you come from a state where you can’t buy alcohol in supermarkets. I guess that’s also what happens when you come to China and can’t read Chinese characters. Anyhow, when our teacher returned, I showed her what I did. She laughed hysterically and took me to the private teachers office to get some water.

MARTIAL ARTS / BADMINTON: We have this class once a week as well. Our teacher is Mr. Zhang (I think) and he is a Kung Fu Master. We were supposed to learn Kung Fu,but he felt that we weren’t going to have enough classes to learn enough about it, so he decided to just do different sports with us such as badminton, basketball, and ping pong. I only had two classes with him because I was often scheduled to teach during this time. I did learn to pick up a badminton from the floor with the racket. I also hit 3 badmintons up into the crevice of the corner of the ceiling, where they can’t be retrieved. I think he is a very patient teacher!

CHINESE PAINTING: Another class that is not my area of expertise! Our art teacher is amazing. She showed us some of her work and she paints things that look like photographs. She can also fix any mistake at all. When I tried to paint pink flowers that looked like pink paint splotches, she fixed them and made them look like flowers again. She also salvaged a butterfly that looked more like a blowfish. We only had 3 painting classes and she always had two students who are seniors to translate for her. One of them just worked on her paintings. The other student asked us nonstop questions about America, Hip Hop, Prisonbreak, House, movies, filmstars and more. One class I painted cherries. Another class I painted flowers. The last class I painted birds. I threw them all away except for the pink flowers and butterfly that the teacher fixed. She said I had to pick something to be mounted so I could bring it home!

PAPERCUTTING: We practiced the Chinese tradition of paper cutting. Boy, does that take a lot of patience. Our teacher was very nice and skilled. She makes papercutting look easy. It is very detail-oriented. I lost patience on my papercutting project and by the end I was just doing everything really quickly, in order to be done. Of course rushing only made me make more mistakes. Our teacher sensed my frustration and helped me finish it, fixing it up for me as well. We also learned how to make Chinese knots. Molly and Candice took off with this and have been knotting away at lunch, during class, etc. They are very crafty. I wish I could be crafty because I like to fidget, but I can’t make the knots look they way they’re supposed to. Again, our teacher was very patient. Lots of times she just did the knots for me, so they would look good. But at one point, she stopped making my knots and I was forced to figure it out myself.

But hey, the steaks were delicious ...

(Steve)

The past two weeks with my new host family have been great. They spent two years living in Oklahoma, so they all have very good English. While this means I’ve had less of an opportunity to immerse myself in Chinese, it has also allowed for much more communication: we’ve already had conversations covering everything from politics to astrophysics. Erik, my host brother, loves astronomy and photography, and he just finished teaching me all about telescopes. Last week he gave me a twenty-minute tutorial on Chinese history for the past 3000 years. He’s also the first person who’s been able to explain Chinese politics to me – I still don’t get it, but for once I don’t think the language barrier is the problem; I think their system is just that complicated. Another favorite topic of conversation is college applications; I’ve had to explain the American system to my host parents, Chinese students, teachers – I even had to work on someone’s college essay, something I thought I was done with. I met that student, a friend of my host family’s, a few days later, and he admitted that the essay I’d worked on was drafted by his father. I’d done more of his application than he had!

I also feel that I’m having more interaction with the people at school. Erik’s English teacher had me talk about our trip to Beijing and participate in the discussion of Mark Twain’s “The Hundred Pound Note”. His geography teacher asked me to do a presentation on American geography, which went well given my lack of knowledge on the subject. The “English Corner” we do every day after lunch seems to have recovered from its post-Beijing slump (the first few days back, almost no one came), and one regular even invited us all to tea this Sunday afternoon. I’ve become good friends with a couple of Erik’s classmates, one of whom took Erik and I out to a steakhouse last week, where he treated me to a two-hour explanation of Chinese characters. Then we walked out without paying the bill, and the waitress had to run after us. But hey, the steaks were delicious.

With only a week left, I can’t help wondering what I’ve accomplished in my time here. Obviously, my goal of learning the language has failed miserably. Jill maintains that I understand more than I let on, and Tracy admitted to Candice that she and her friends speak faster when I’m around just in case, but there’s no way I could get by without a translator. Still, I’ve made progress, and I get a bit of a thrill every time I catch something someone’s saying. Besides, I think I’ve had enough other experiences to make up for it – the pandas alone would have made this trip worthwhile. When you add all of China’s natural beauty, all of its culture, its relics, and its incredible artwork, not to mention the incredible experience of submerging myself in an entirely alien culture, and when you top it off with all the wonderful people I’ve met along the way, I think this trip was a pretty good deal.

Beijing

(Ms. Arkin)

Beijing is a huge city with a tremendous amount of history. I know that is not a very sophisticated description, but I think I am forgetting my English vocabulary. Everywhere you look, there are apartment buildings. Mostly they are tall, high rise buildings or long rectangular buildings (look like the high rises tipped over on one side) that are set up in rows. The older ones are characterized by unpainted cement that has accumulated years of grime, and rusted iron cages in front of the windows. The newer buildings are obviously not as decrepit, but still look a little wilted. The ultra-new apartments are huge high rises often built in clusters of three or four identical structures. They are modern and clean looking. I was surprised that there was no laundry hanging anywhere in Beijing. The other cities have all been colorfully accessorized with clothing and sheets that hang just about everywhere (even in the rain).

If you look hard enough from the window of a moving vehicle, you can also see pockets of new wealth where they have built little communities of town homes or single family homes. The ones that I noticed were tastefully landscaped and tucked away behind fancy gates.

Something else that stands out in my mind about Beijing, besides it being enormous, is that the traffic is horrific. In fact, the traffic in Beijing almost makes route 128 during rush hour seem not so bad. Almost.

So, what did we do in this big, bustling, traffic jam of a city? The Great Wall…. The Forbidden City…. Tiananmen Square…. just to name a few. We also saw the Beijing Opera (yawn), the Temple of Heaven, the Lama Monastery and the list goes on. There is so much history in Beijing it is overwhelming. We had a very packed agenda for the four days we were there! Our guide, Da Li, was wonderful, except for the fact that he speedwalked. I think it amused him to make us walk a lot - he believed we should walk fast so we could see more places! He also had interesting things to say and I learned a lot from him without ever being bored.

We were fortunate to be in Beijing for the festivities that celebrated the “countdown to the 500 day countdown” to the 2008 Summer Olympics. We were there for days 504-501. Beijing is undergoing all sorts of cosmetic renovations in preparation for the games. Shopping malls, hotels, restaurants and even historical sites (like the Forbidden City) are all being spiffed up. It is also rumored that a public order will prohibit residents from driving their cars during the Olympic events. This will reduce both traffic and pollution.

We visited the Lama Monastery, which is a Buddhist temple. We have seen many Buddhist temples in China and I confess, with some hesitation and shame, that they are all starting to look the same. What stood out at this particular temple was not the architecture, the statues, or any of the elaborate artwork. Instead, it was a Tibetan monk (on vacation from Tibet) raucously carrying on a conversation via his state-of the-art cell phone. I thought, wait a minute, is this a commercial for Verizon or is there really a Tibetan monk, in full orange garb, with a techno ring tone? The other memory I have of this temple was “inviting” a statue of Buddha to leave the gift shop and come home with me. Da Li told us that was the proper terminology for the transaction. After giving money to the gift shop, I took the statue to be blessed by a monk who (after watching me put a donation in the donation box) told me to kneel while he recited a prayer. Then he sang something that, although I have no idea what it meant, sounded authentically devout. My Buddha is now supposed to bring me happiness and wealth.

The Great Wall was very steep. It was sad thinking about all of the workers that died constructing it. I wonder if they ever imagined that tens of thousands of visitors from all over the world would journey to see it every day. I don’t know what else to say about it. It looks like the pictures you see in books, except that it is steeper and packed with people (which made it kind of colorful). All along the wall there are salespeople hawking various souvenirs. They don’t have stands; they just walk around with armfuls of goods. I couldn’t resist buying a t-shirt that says (in both English and Chinese), “I climbed the Great Wall”.

The Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square were pretty much as I imagined them to be. Our guide did not offer much commentary as we walked across Tiananmen Square. The events that took place there were reduced to the words, “there was some social unrest here in 1989”.

What I found most remarkable about the Temple of Heaven, was not the Temple, but the park that surrounds it. It is literally a playground for Beijing’s senior citizens. There are jungle gyms and monkey bars and swingsets that are used by hundreds of men and women over the age of 50. It was kind of surreal. Our guide told us that citizens are being encouraged to retire early in order to create more jobs for young people. When the men and women retire, they come to this park to participate in dance groups, singing groups, etc. They also make friends and play games.

I guess my journal entry can’t be complete without some mention of food. Beijing is famous for duck. There are many duck restaurants and even duck boats. That makes two things in common with Boston. Anyhow, the duck was delicious. Quack. We waddled out of the restaurant with full tummies.

Another experience we had in Beijing was taking a pedicab tour through one area of the city (known as the Hutong). As part of the tour, we stopped at the home of an elderly couple and got to visit with them for a few minutes and see their home. From the outside, the home looks like a dilapidated shack. From the inside, it is a little better, but still sparse and lacking many of the comforts we take for granted. The couple is retired from working in the factories and now they spend their time relaxing and opening their home to tourists. Their home consists of a small outside courtyard, a living room, a bedroom that is basically an extension of the living room, a small kitchen and a fair amount of clutter. They also have birds, fish and turtles to keep them company and help provide a warm, homey feeling. For heat, they heat up water in the living room. Their bathroom is the public lavatory which is about 50 meters down the street. The woman laughed at our muffled gasps when she told us this, and then went on to explain that it doesn’t bother them, because that is the only way they know.

Chinese-speaking computers ... and the Blue Monster

(Ms. Arkin)

I have finally learned how to make this computer stop writing in Chinese characters. You probably know by now that my computer crashed and died. After about 48 hours of panic-stricken grief, full-blown crisis mode and being utterly consumed with trying to fix it, I gave up and accepted it. So now I am using a laptop from Hangzhou High School. It is a bit of a struggle because, although several people have switched it to English for me, it still has everything in Chinese. I have to rely on my basic knowledge of Microsoft to navigate which so far is working (thanks, Bill Gates).

It has gone from winter to summer without passing go. Today was 30 degrees Celsius which I believe translates to the high 80’s in Fahrenheit. Last week it was in the 30’s(Farenheit) and we were going to school bundled up in winter jackets and hats, barely able to feel our toes. When we went to Beijing, the weather was fabulously perfect. Everyone said it would be cold, but it was in the mid sixties with sunny blue skies. I think I might have had some influence on this. You see, the night before we left for Beijing, I went out and bought a new winter coat for the trip. Need I say more? I really like my coat though. It is purple and puffy and very warm and tumbly.

I am having trouble riding my bike. It is way too scary. I have reduced my bike riding to going back and forth to school (since the route is relatively simple). One day I took a ride to the grocery store around 6pm when the roads were really crowded. Bad idea. I didn’t even go into the store – I was too distraught. I turned around and went home, praying to avoid bloodshed and vowing never to ride the blue monster again. You see, in China there is a constant flow of bikes merging into the street from every direction. There are also cars bombing down these narrow, crowded streets with little to no patience for bicycles. The cars come up next to me, getting only a few inches from my body, and then accelerate in order to pass at full speed. I try to move to the right to make space for the cars on the left, but there never fails to be another biker buzzing by me on the right. How I have avoided an accident so far is beyond me. Also, while it is one thing to avoid being struck by an automobile or colliding with another bicycle, there are also a gazillion pedestrians that you have to dodge. And I haven’t even mentioned the electric scooters.

Speaking of bikes, as I was riding mine to school today, I was behind one of the many parents who use a bike to drop their child off at school. While in Dover, kids get strapped into the back seats of minivans and SUV’s, in China they hop on the backtrap of their parents bicycle (their legs hanging straight down – they don’t touch the ground yet) and go to school that way. Sometimes they read a book on the way.

Hangzhou Happenings ... and The Great Wall!

(Molly)

So much has been going on, I keep forgetting to write!

Our time at Hangzhou High School is going really well. The weather is especially great – if anything, it’s too hot and sunny! Our favorite teacher is our Calligraphy teacher. He gave us each names and then acted them out. Steve’s was “strong and great man,” for which he flexed his biceps. Mine means “accomplished girl,” which was a hilarious action – I’m not sure if he was flopping, dancing, or what. He often motions for us to dance during our breaks, which is also a great motion. The only English words he’s used to us are “OK,” “no,” and “disco.” I suspect he knows a little more, but he doesn’t use it. Our Chinese teacher is also very good. His English is surprisingly good, seeing as he teaches Chinese at the high school. He has been teaching us how to buy things, what the school buildings are all called, how to describe the weather, and how to describe our trip to Beijing. I really like one of our gym teachers, but resent the other because she makes us work too hard! Also, she is in such good shape, and we have to do the whole workout facing a mirror. I get so self-conscious. We were all sweating and aching after the last aerobics class. It turns out, however, that I am a pretty good badminton player J A lot of the boys here are killer at ping-pong. I have a table at home, so I am really ashamed when I see them playing – they are fantastic. Our paper-cutting teacher is sweet. I generally enjoy the class for the first hour, but I am not a very patient person, so after that I get really fidgety. Our classes are each two hours long. Next week our paper-cutting teacher will teach us how to make Chinese knots or macramé! Our Hangzhou History class continues to be awkward, as our teacher speaks to us in full paragraphs of Chinese and we stare blankly back at him. It would be pretty comical if it weren’t so pathetic.

The English Corner has also been going pretty well. We have lots of customers every day. Yesterday Steve and I talked to someone who plans to apply to school in America, so we gave him some advice about which schools to check out. Another girl comes to us with a sheet of questions every day.

I got a haircut here. It is the most Chinese thing ever, and I love it. I have side bangs and hair that is short on top, long on the bottom. I am the most Asian one.

Our weekends have been busy. We went to the West Lake Museum (a little boring), the West Lake itself (several times – very pretty), climbed a few hills. One of the hills had rocks that Steve climbed on – he was in heaven! I was walking down the path at one point when he suddenly leapt across in front of me from one high rock to the other, just like a monkey. My favorite day so far was spent with two of the students who came to America three years ago, Yang and Jackie. They took us first to the West Lake, where we rented a dingy. We got tired of rowing really soon, so we mostly just drifted and sunbathed. Yang and Jackie are very good friends, and for our benefit did all their playful sparring in English, so we had a very amusing ride. Jackie’s ringtone is “Beautiful, pick up the phone!” Yang English is phenomenal. He is going to restart college in the fall in San Diego. Then we went to a Starbucks on the lake. Starbucks + beautiful day + pretty view = very happy Molly. We went back to Hefang Street, with all the cool shopping, for a bit so that Yang could buy Steve’s family a porcelain tea set. Yang bargained a watch for me down from 85 to 45 Yuan, because we were actually serious about walking away and she yelled at us. For dinner they took us to a Japanese restaurant. It was awesome. I think I am getting to be a much more adventurous eater here – I rarely eat raw fish at home, but I took one of each kind on the plate. After dinner I finally got my Kareoke! We went to KTV, and got our own room. There was a couch along three sides, and a TV on the fourth. For someone who hates Kareoke, Yang was singing a lot. It’s one of Jackie’s favorite things to do. Steve loved it but can’t admit it now that we have left the room. He says it’s in the MAN-ual.

One Saturday we went to the Wansong School. According to the legend, a boy and girl (who was dressed as a boy – girls couldn’t go to school back then) fell in love there, and were forbidden to marry so committed suicide and turned into butterflies. Now it is a gathering place for aunts and uncles with nothing better to do to come and set up dates for their single nieces and nephews. It was insane. There was a clothes-line with classified ads hanging from it, and all around us our hosts could hear old men and women saying “my nephew has a good job,” and “my niece is very beautiful.” Steve was offered the choice between one man’s 30- and 40-year-old daughters.

This past weekend we went to Beijing! We took an overnight train (6:30 PM to 7:30 AM). When we got there we were swept away to have breakfast and then run off to a Museum. It was actually the nicest museum we have been to, but we rushed through it because I wasn’t feeling well, and maybe he could tell that none of us are crazy about museums generally. Maybe it was so good because we didn’t have time to get bored. There was a big event going on in the lobby, for the 504th day to the Beijing Olympics… don’t even ask. They’re obsessed. There were teams of adults and children wearing t-shirts in the five Olympic colors. Half were painting a huge banner that went all the way around the room, and half were sitting in the ring formation on the floor.

Next we went to a Lama Monastary, which was pretty neat. The buildings were beautiful. In one building was a huge standing Buddha (or Sakyamuni) maybe 50 feet tall, made out of a single sandalwood tree and painted gold. Steve and Jill both bought Buddha statues at the temple, and then got them blessed. Now that they are blessed, they can’t say that they bought the buddhas, but that they “invited” the buddhas from the temple.

The food in Beijing was awesome. We ate at the same place for lunch and dinner on the first day, because our dinner reservation was overbooked. That was fine, because the restaurant was great. The noodles were good, and we had pear with caramelized sugar all over it (pineapple like this is my new favorite food, I think).

On our second day, Saturday, we went to the Forbidden City first. It was huge, but not as breathtaking as I expected it to be. The back, where they kept the concubines, was quite beautiful, but the front all looked the same. The Summer Palace, however, was breathtaking. It has a huge lake, with an island in the middle. There is a cherry tree on the island that was in full bloom when we went, which was very beautiful. The Palace itself is great too, with intricate corridors and pagodas. Along with the Forbidden City, we went to Tiananmen Square, which is not very notable except that it’s huge, and the guide didn’t mention anything about the massacre.

For lunch, we had an Imperial Banquet. The restaurant was set up when the emperor was overthrown in 1911 and his eunichs didn’t know how to do anything but cook for the emperor. We had over 10 courses, and stuffed ourselves silly. Our favorite was Chinese hamburger, which was a little bit spicy!

In the afternoon, Jill and Candice opted to go back to the hotel while Yang took us to visit his school and Beijing University. His school, The Peoples’ University of China, was a dump! No wonder he’s moving to San Diego! There was one nice building, which was MASSIVE – nearly all the classes are held there. We were not allowed to enter his dorm room, but he said 5 people live there, and from the outside it looked pretty nasty. Beijing University, on the other hand, is gorgeous. A prince used to live there. It has a lake that looks like Central Park with cherry blossoms. You can’t even tell that you’re in a city.

On Sunday we drove out of the city towards the Great Wall. First we stopped at a Ming tomb with an underground palace. It was very impressive – very large and all marble – but bare, since the excavators had taken everything out to protect it from the oxygen. The museum about it was pretty neat.

Lunch was not great – it seemed to be the only place around and was full of tourists. They had gelato, though!

THEN WE CLIMBED THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA!!!!!!!!!! Coolest thing ever. So worth the steep climb (it was quite a workout). It was quite crowded. It was windy but the walking was demanding enough that I was hot in just a t-shirt.

Dinner was Peking duck, which was pretty awesome. You get a whole duck, and then put pieces in moo shi pancakes with sauce. We also got lo mein for the first time in China – it is not really common here.

After dinner we went to the Peking Opera, which was rather hilarious. They speak in REALLY high voices, so when they talk about war it’s ridiculous. “I will fight you fiercely,” they say in a voice two octaves about a regular voice…. The costumes were crazy, but the percussion was really grating. I’m not a big fan of Chinese music.

On Monday, we went to the Temple of Heaven. The structure itself was beautiful but not unlike anything we’ve seen. The park around it was most notable – all around there were hundreds of retired old men and women doing exercises – dancing, playing with a string and spinning weight toy, working out, playing hackey sack, ribbon dancing, even choral singing. It seems funny that they don’t really get a childhood here until they are old.

We went to lunch at a noodle restaurant, which made Candice and I very happy! After lunch we went on a pedicab tour. We toured an old couple’s house, which was rather bizarre… their house is a tourist attraction. Whatever. They were nice, and had a talking parrot.

We flew back to Hangzhou Monday night, and we three kids were picked up at school by our new host families. My host sister’s English name is Lavender, which fits her personality but I don’t feel comfortable calling her because it’s such an uncommon name. I also somehow got it into my head that her name is Jasmine (I’ve had Aladdin stuck in my head, and my Chinese name, Mo Li, translates to Jasmine), so I’m afraid of calling her the wrong name. She is 16, but looks 13. She is very sweet though, if a little immature. Her parents are very nice. Her father is a policeman, and her mother is a businesswoman. Her mother’s mother lives with her, and is hilarious. She fits every stereotype of a Chinese grandmother. She always grabs my arm to make sure I’m not cold, or tugs my jacket to see if I’m hot, and urges me to eat more and more food. She also shows up in my room and tucks me in if I’m sitting in bed with the laptop they put in my room. She tries to talk to me in hand motions, and I never understand. She also laughs at my lack of chopsticks skills. Lavender has a little brother. I wasn’t sure that she was serious at first, because students here tend to refer to their cousins as brothers and sisters, but she actually has a little brother who lives at his school during the week.

One night this week, Lavender took me to see the dancing fountain in the West Lake, which was really neat. The fountain dances to Carmen, the Nutcracker, and some funny Chinese songs. It was impressive, and also really funny because there two rouge spouts off doing their own thing – the two klutzy members of the dance company.

On Tuesday Helen (the English teacher who came to America with Yang and Jackie) took us to buy fabric for the dresses (or in Steve’s case, jacket and pants) that we are getting made. Candice and I are both getting prom dresses. Picking out the fabric was very dramatic. We started by looking at samples. Candice fell in love with one that they didn’t have. I came in looking for purple, and didn’t like any of the purples. I finally liked one, but they didn’t have that either. Then we found a pile of ones we really liked, but it turned out that those were reserved. Then we took to searching through the actual fabric, since the samples were lying. Candice wound up finding the fabric she loved and they had said they didn’t have, and was a very happy camper. I found a fabric that was in the reserved pile, but was black, and Ms. Arkin and Candice talked me out of it, saying that black is not a good color for prom. I finally found a purple in the same pattern as the reserved fabric, that I like a lot. Helen tried to convince Jill to get a hot pink or red fabric, which was pretty scary. She finally found a purple and black one that was really nice. Steve’s choice was not as dramatic – blue and black, pretty easy. We were there for a total of an hour and a half.

The next day, the tailor came to take our measurements, so we didn’t go to class that afternoon either. Lavender kept asking me when I would come to class, saying that they were really anxious to meet me. When I finally showed up on Thursday, the class broke into applause. They are a much more raucous group than my last class – I enjoy it a lot.hhhERz

Classes ... and Food!

(Candice)

Its been a while since i last wrote, sorry. All of this traveling has got me drained, i knew i was going to be tired but i had nooooo idea what tired was until I came on this trip. All that aside i have moved into my new host sisters home. Saying bye to Tracy was hard becasue we have become best of friends and I can’t picture China whithout her. But i email her everyday and i am going to her house Friday for her birthday. My new host sister is Jenny, she is very nice and her family is too, but it seems like time is flying by, i can’t keep track of what day it is :).

My classes in school are very interesting. My favorite is Chinese painting (of course) dance (even though it hurts, are teacher knows what she is doing. And she can do it well for a long time unlike us who are in pain within a few seconds), and i lloooooovveeee callligraphy. The man who teaches that class is my favorite teacher in the whole school. He is the funniest man, and is really good at teaching us how to attempt to be good at Chinese writting. He is forever laughing and smiling. I remember the first class i had with him, he was so serious. I thought he was strict and to the point. But after a couple of classes i guess we all got more comfortable with each other and every class sicne then it’s been nothing but laughs, especially when he tries to get one of us to disco at every break.

I have met alot of new students since the last time i wrote. Angela is very interested in American culture, especially music, and she is always bringing me candy (becasue of my name). Michael is a musician who raps, and listens to jay-z, he is also in charge of all the clubs- Mr. Popular. Bruce has hosted exchange students from all around the world including Germany, and is mad that the school wanted to give someone else a chance this year (so he wasn’t able to host Steve). The class 10 boys are my favorite. They are all so down to earth and funny. They visit me at the English corner alot and i talk to them between classes.

Now lets talk about food. It is hard for me to find things that i love to eat in China because the food is so different but let me make some suggestions to some of you who may be visiting China in the near future HHmmm MMhh:

• The tea house- very good buffet, fried chicken, dunplings, and the tea is OOOHH MY GOODNNESS good lol
• Chinese burrito- i don’t know what it is called but it is vegetable and some meat seasoned very well stuffed in a wrap (sold across the street from the school)
• Corn on the cob- Sold on every corner but i eat the ones sold in front of the market across the street from the school.
• rice wrapped in leaves- Brown rice in some good sticky stuff wrapped in leaves ummmm.
• Hangzhou breakfast, a piece of bread rapped in another piece of bread with some sweet stuff inside.
• baozi?- steamed bread stuffed with tofu
• Noodles- many different flavors, fills you up, great for long train rides.
• apples- the apples are so big here and according to tracy i need to eat healthier because candy and soda is bad for my health so an apple a day will help me stay slim (so true but still funny)
• and anything from the Sichuam Province, because it is spicy and delicious!

Oh one more thing, while traveling through China i have met the most interesting people. My favorite is a man named Peter (English name). he is from Singapore, knows 12 different languages. Lived in San Francisco was a professor, and was invited to Beijing by the Chinese goverment to open a business......what a life, and i thought visiting China was a big thing :)

"Ni Hao" goes a long way ...

(Ms. Arkin)

“Ni Hao” really goes a long way. Whenever I see people and they look at me sternly, I just say in my best pronunciation possible, “Ni Hao” and their facial expressions soften immediately. They say, “Ni Hao” or “Hello” or even start a conversation with me. Sometimes people try to start a conversation with me in Chinese and then I just say “Wo bu mingbai” ( I don’t understand) and they laugh and smile warmly. I think just the effort of saying hello to people in their own language is appreciated.

Today was my first day by myself in Hangzhou. It is strange to suddenly switch from non-stop activities to all of a sudden being on my own! I like being by myself though, so I enjoy the opportunity and challenge of exploring a foreign city on my own. I am still trying to get my bearings and figure out what is around me (shops, restaurants, cafes, etc.) and how to get there (and back). For those who know me, you know that my sense of direction is somewhat compromised - to put it mildly. I wish I could implant a GPS system into my brain so I wouldn’t get lost so much. Actually, today I did not get lost at all, but I’ll admit I was not very daring in my ventures. I remember when I was in Bangkok two summers ago and it took me three days of solo venturing to get up the courage to take a motorcycle taxi. But after 2 weeks there, I was perfectly comfortable taking taxis and the subway and somehow making myself understood. I am sure I just need a little more time in Hangzhou to feel the same way. Although, it seems there was much more English spoken and written in Thailand. Here, very little is written in English (signs, maps, menus, etc.) except numbers. Anyhow, I am getting sidetracked.

I made my way out of the apartment around 11:30am. It was nice finally being able to sleep lateJ. No matter what time zone I am in, or how hard I try to overcome this, I will never be a morning person. I am entirely sure of it. Anyhow, I explored the “warehouse” marketplace across the street from the school where they have all sorts of stuff from functional clothing to souvenirs to household supplies. Of course, you need to bargain and I really wasn’t in the mood. I find it hard to bargain when things are less than a dollar to begin with. But I also know they see a westerner and quote me a price 3 times the regular price. It is annoying that they don’t put price tags on the merchandise so that it would it at least level the playing field from which to start!

After my marketplace adventure I walked around a few blocks and found a bakery that I liked (made a mental of note of how to get there). Then I went to school to get my bike (which I left there yesterday after the field trip) and went for a long bike ride. I decided to try to find the big grocery store that Rose took me to, so I could get some more diet coke and also be comforted in the fact that I could get there on my own. It was much quicker on the bike. I found a drug store which I didn’t go into, but think might be the place for the headache pills.

Hangzhou - First Impressions

(Ms. Arkin)

Where do I begin? I have been in Hangzhou for 3 days now. I think. I am losing track of time and the days of the week are beginning to blur together. I guess I’ll back up and start with the 24 hour train ride from Xi’an to Hangzhou. Ugh. I have to admit I was DREADING this. 24 hours cooped up anywhere but at home with TV, phone and internet is way too long for me. Anyhow, the train station was an experience in itself. Our guide, Richard, tipped one of the station employees 100 yuan (about 13 dollars) to help us get all of our bags onto the train (we have a lot of bags….heavy bags) in time. The trains don’t stop long at each station and masses of people charge onto the train so you have to be quick, tough and very pushy. Anyhow, the young man that Richard tipped was delighted to take on this task. He kept holding up the money and admiring it, then putting it in his pocket and taking it out again. He did a good job – he plowed through the crowd carrying two huge suitcases and arranged them all in the cabin so we could have space for our feet. Well not to bore you with the train details as there is really not much to say. Fortunately, it wasn’t as bad as I thought. I read a book, did cryptoquotes, ate junk food (unfortunately I ate all my food in the first two hours) and slept. Before I knew it. we were there. No one on the train spoke English so we were lucky we noticed that we pulled in to Hang zhou station about 35 minutes early. We shlepped our suitcases down two flights of stairs and nobody was there to greet usL.

After about 5 minutes of standing in one place, we were swarmed by the Hangzhou High School welcoming crew. DS has some competition here in Hangzhou when it comes to hospitality. I have never felt so welcome to be anywhere in my life. We all got huge bouquets of flowers and our bags were whisked away by other people so all we had to carry was our flowers. The host brothers and sisters were there to meet the kids and also many administrators from the school. It was a big flurry of commotion and soon enough we were on a warm bus on our way to lunch. Candice had a big smile when they came out with many baskets of French friesJ.

We went to the school and had a meeting with the principal who told us how happy they are for us to be here and how they want to do anything and everything to make our stay comfortable. After a tour of the school, Rose (an English teacher here) took me to a supermarket so I could buy some drinks and snacks to keep in the apartment. Then Rose and Wang Huo (also an English teacher) took me out for dinner for more food. Eventually I got to go to my apartment! I was a little worried when I first entered the building as there are no lights in the common areas (unless you know where the light switch on the wall is) and the cement hallways are dark and scary. But once you get in the apartment it is bright and cheery and warm. I haven’t spent much time here yet because as usual I am too busy. I have already had Chinese class, Handwriting class (flashbacks to elementary school), Physique (Chinese dance / boxing) and Hangzhou History. I will start to teach in the afternoons next week

Oh. The banquet. I can’t believe I almost forgot to mention the banquet. In addition to all of the welcoming attention we have received, we also had a formal banquet last night at another restaurant. The administrators went along with all of the host kids and some teachers. Once again too much food, but we also had wine . Mr. Hoover told me before I left that I should order wine. The reason…… whatever the guest of honor (yikes ME?) orders to drink, that is what everybody will drink. Apparently when Mr. Hoover ordered orange juice, there was some disappointment among the group. The principal made toasts through the entire evening and Naichuan (the exchange program coordinator) sat next to me and translated. He also coached me on some much needed proper etiquette as well as explaining things to me (like the constant toasting). The only thing he didn’t warn me about was the chicken head that I scooped out of the bowl of soup.

Everyone here is so nice and helpful. At school, I get breakfast lunch and dinner. The chef puts a whole festive display together at the table where we eat. While I appreciate the special treatment, I also feel bad because I don’t want to make a spectacle of myself. And when I am the only American eating breakfast in a cafeteria of Chinese people and my place setting has bright colored napkins fanned out of a glass along with paper umbrellas and long plastic curly straws with glitter trimmings, I feel like a spectacle. The chef is so cute though. He always comes to make sure I like the food and give thumbs up. The food is always good but he gives me too much and sometimes I don’t know what it is I am eating. Tonight I had chicken nuggets and ketchup. Big thumbs up!

I have been getting headaches for some reason and it is funny that no one in China that I have asked understands what Advil is. They don’t sell such products in convenient stores or even in huge supermarkets. I think they don’t get headaches here. Maybe I should drink more tea.

Hangzhou MARCH 9, 2007

I had handwriting and paper cutting classes today. They were fun but my hands were cold and my fine motor skills are pretty lousy to begin with. Oh well.

Today is International Woman’s Day. The school had a field day for all of the women teachers and I got to play badminton, jump rope, shoot baskets, pick up marbles with chopsticks and play hackey sack with a magnetic feather. I didn’t win anything but I got prizes for trying - pantyhose and dish towels. Then all the women teachers went on the bus to a fancy hotel for a huge buffet dinner to celebrate Woman’s Day some more. Helen (one of the English teachers who has been helping me with all of my questions) pulled me off the bus at the last minute and we got in a car with two computer teachers and drove to the restaurant. We drove through Hangzhou in a little red Chevy.

Hangzhou (Saturday, March 10, 2007)

I rode my bike to school at 8:30am to meet for the trip to the West Lake. I like riding a bike by myself in China. It makes me feel like I live here even though I can’t speak Chinese and my blonde frizzy mop hair is about as un-chinese as it could possibly be. Anyhow, I went to the Lake with all of the kids and their hosts (Tracy, Charles and Natalie). William (another English teacher) went too along with two of the school administrators in charge of student activities.

I have to admit, my cynicism led me to believe that the west lake was not going to be as beautiful as everyone says. I’ve heard and read so much about how gorgeous it is and read the famous quote so many times that compares the West Lake to “paradise on earth” that I was convinced I would be let down. Not true. It is stunningly beautiful. Even on a gray, dreary day like today. Some of the trees are just beginning to bloom. The willow trees are my favorite.

I had a really good day. We took little wooden boats to an island within the lake that has another lake within the island. It was very calm and relaxing. I like thatJ. Of course we had another feast for lunch! We went to a restaurant and had a private room and more food than you can imagine. I have learned the Chinese word for “full”.

I wish I spoke more Chinese but every time I try to say something in Chinese, people either answer me in English or have absolutely no clue what I said. It is hard being tone deaf and trying to learn a tonal language.

Candice's "Home Away from Home"

(Candice)

I have settled into my home in Hang zhou and i am very happy here. I confess that i have told people that i was not nervous about moving into my host family's home- but i was. I dont even think i realized myself that deep down inside i was worried that i was not going to feel comfurtable in this "home away from home". But to my surprise this nice apartment i am living in feels like a real home, not just a house. My host sister's name is Tracy speaks perfect english and is very nice. Me and her clicked instantly, laughing and talking all the time. I think we also get along because we both know the meaning of "alone time". Honestly i need my space at times because without alone time i get easily irritated. ( i think it is because i was an only child for 9 years and was used to just having my own space whenver i wanted it and she is an only child so she needs that space too). I feel like i have known her for a lifetime and if there is one thing that i would have to define as the best part of this trip, i would say it is making a new lifetime friend. I know me and her will keep intouch because i get along with her family and her so well. At dinner me, her mother, and her just talk about whatever, for hours while snacking on apples, chocolate, and hickory nuts ( SOOOOO GOOD try them if you havent) while sipping on tea. Her father is always working but when he is around he is just as welcoming, he even gave me a new name but i dont know how to spell it so im not going to try. Her mother said that i should come back every year and that she feels like she has a second daughter (tear..where is the tissue box when you need it). she has gone out of her way to make my stay here comfurtable. For example when they asked me what i use my butter with ( they dont use butter at all so they didnt know) i told them toast. Every morning when i open my door there is a stack of toast sitting on the kitchen table waiting for me. And i am not complaining because i love toast and i have been trying to get some bread in China everytime i sit down to eat. When i ask for bread the waiter looks confused and says "NO". Tracy says that i am simple because there are so many amazing foods in the world and out of all of them bread and butter is my favorite.

School is very interesting. I introduced myself to the class and for the whole period they asked me questions. "what do American students think of us? tell the truth", "what do you think about Bush and the war?" (ha ha please don't get me started on that man), "who is your favorite singer?", "your mother is puerto rican?","how do you feel about brittany spears now that she has done some very bad things?.i used to like her music but she doesn't act proper so i dont know about her anymore, tell us what you think", and so on. I really loved answering the questions and they really loved asking them. i have so much more to say about my stay here but tracy's father needs the computer so stay tuned......

(WOW IM IN CHINA EVERYONE...REALLY IM ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD, i am still in shock)

Train to Hangzhou: New Friends and Our New School

(Molly)

The train ride to Hangzhou had its ups and downs. When we first saw the compartment, we were horrified. It seemed very cramped, especially since we could not fit all of our suitcases under the bed. We got used to it, though, and had a comfortable first few hours. At dinner time I started to get cranky, because we had a hard time procuring food. We checked out the dining car, but everybody was smoking and we thought maybe we could do better. What we really wanted was ramen noodles in a bowl, which we see everywhere here. We walked up and down the train, and saw everyone eating the noodles, but no one selling them. We returned to the dining car and found that it had filled up during our walk. At this point I was very, very cranky. We decided to get out at the next train station to buy noodles. This turned out to be a lot easier than we expected. At one point we thought the train was leaving, so we sprinted back to the car. It did not leave for another 10 minutes. Oh, well. We tried to get hot water, and they understood what we wanted but gave a complicated answer that we did not understand. It did not seem to be about money, because I recognize most money words. Finally they just gave us water, and I was a very, very happy camper. I expected not to be able to sleep, but I slept about 12 hours, which was pretty great.

Our train arrived early, and our hosts and teachers were very apologetic when they showed up and we were already there. They brought us each a bouquet of flowers, and then took us out to eat at a western restaurant. I had French fries, chicken wings, and spaghetti, and once again was a very happy camper. When we arrived at the school, we had a short welcoming ceremony with some administrators and teachers. It was pretty awkward, because Naichuan told Jill to save the gifts for the welcoming banquet, which turned out to be a bad call. We just sat there awkwardly for a long time.

My host sister’s name is Natalie. Her English is quite good; she is hoping to come to DS next year. Her parents speak a bit of English from college. When I first arrived, her father was on business in Beijing (he seems to help design the test to get a medical license). Her mother likes to feed me. We have a big dinner, and then we always have fruit, and then we have nuts. I’m going to put on so much weight while I’m here! Her father is delightful. When he got back from Beijing, he pulled out his English phrase book and pulled out every semi-applicable saying he could find: “have fun,” “I hope you feel at home,” “have a good trip,” “give my regards to your parents,” “remember me to your family,” etc. It was really cute. He also liked my pictures. I am having a hard time describing the kid I babysit in simple English, because he has 6 diseases, none of which is simple. They also tend to think he’s my brother – why else would I babysit him? Also, kids here call their cousins “brothers” and “sisters” for some reason, which makes it hard to tell whether they understand that Nat is really my brother. One girl was also worried that it might be too personal a question to ask how many children were in my family.

Our first class at Hangzhou High School was Hangzhou History. Calligraphy was much better. Our teacher didn’t try to speak English, which was easier because it is a show, rather than tell, class. Plus, I was not as bad as I usually am at calligraphy!

It’s hard to get a plain glass of cold water here. Yang, Steve’s exchange student from three years ago, told us that when he got back from America, he was ready to drink a glass of cold water, and his mother snatched it away from him and put it in the microwave. I guess it shocks your system. But it quenches my thirst! Every other drink tastes really sweet.

On Wednesday night the school took us out for a welcome banquet. This was AMAZING. The food was maybe the best I’ve had. Natalie must have told her mom how much shrimp I ate (bowls and bowls – it was sooo good), because we have had shrimp for dinner twice now.

At night I have been watching movies on my laptop (yes, I have a laptop in my room!). There is a website with free movies in English, with Chinese subtitles. The resolution is bad and they sometimes freeze, but there is a pretty good selection.

Our Chinese class on Thursday was great. Our teacher, Gao Li, is really good. I get confused on grammar sometimes, but he is good about making us practice the words we have just learned, and is really friendly. I also like William, Natalie’s English teacher. Mrs. Preiser refers to him fondly as “little William,” because he is short and young. Helen, who came three years ago, is very funny. She speaks very abruptly. Mrs. Preiser gave her a decorative box, and Helen was convinced that there would be something else in it, which was amusing.

Charles (Steve’s host) and Natalie took us to KFC for dinner on Thursday with a couple of their friends. I think we serve as an excuse for them to put off their homework and eat unhealthy food. KFC has awesome ice cream with hot fudge sauce. Many nights Natalie takes me to a bakery to pick out a pastry for the next morning. I have had doughnuts and éclairs, and once again am a very happy camper.

Being here is very different from traveling. I feel very out of control, because everything is planned out for me and a lot of the time I am not aware of what I am doing until an hour before I leave. I also have to eat whatever is put in front of me, which is all good food but not all to my taste. I think I will never be a picky eater again.

Xi'an Remembered

(Molly & Ms. Arkin)

Day One

(During the day, Pang Liu Village. See previous entries Pang Liu Village and Pang Liu Cont'd .)

For dinner we went to a dumpling restaurant. Downstairs they had a display out of all sorts of different dumplings shaped like chicken, turtles, pigs, flowers. You name it, they had it in the shape of a dumpling. We ate upstairs and they gave us rice wine to drink. It was warm and extremely sweet. The dinner must have been 10 courses of assorted dumplings. It was overwhelming but very tasty!

Day Two

On Saturday we went to the Terracotta Warriors. It was about an hour and a half from the city so on the way we stopped at a few museums and shops. First we went to the hot springs museum in which the name is deceptive. We froze to death. It was pouring rain and our umbrellas kept turning inside out and our clothes were soaked. We saw the ruins of a king’s bath houses and learned about a romantic(?) love affair between an emperor and the concubine whom he stole from his son. After the museum we went to a pottery workshop which was more like a giant souvenir shop in disguise. At first you get to see how they make the molds for the replicas of the terracotta warriors and see a few artists at work making lacquer furniture. Then you are released into a gigantic room full of souvenirs which included the replica warriors that were priced ten times higher than everywhere else!

Finally we got to see the terracotta warriors. It was very impressive. Many of them have not yet been excavated because they are waiting for improved technology. Also one thing we learned was that when they were first excavated, some of the statues still had paint on them. However, the paint has disappeared from too much contact with the atmosphere.

We had a Muslim dinner that night, which was amazing. We all liked it! There were many snacks – our favorite was the red bean pastry that was quite sweet. First they brought out a piece of thick half cooked pita bread that we tore up into TINY pieces and put in our bowls. They took our bowls and cooked the bread with lamb and cilantro soup. It tasted amazing but was very filling. Richard talked the servers out of giving us each four pieces, so we each got one. None of us even finished that!

Day Three

We went to the city wall and Molly and Steve rode tandem around the wall. Jill and Candice walked around and waited. We saw some amazing kites in the park in front of the wall. The wall was decorated with lanterns in every shape and size for the lantern festival that night. They had one lantern set of life-sized 101 Dalmations. We left and visited a mosque in the middle of the city. The architecture was in the traditional Chinese style and the mosque’s minaret was a tall pagoda in the middle of the complex. Then we went shopping in the mosque’s bizarre which had every type of souvenir we could possibly want for very cheap. That night we met Steve’s climbing friend, Liz, who is staying in xi’an for about four months. She was surprised to hear that we would stay with our host families for only two weeks each because she only stays with one host family the whole time and after three weeks still felt like she was just settling in. We went to dinner with her and then walked on top of the wall for the lantern festival. The lanterns were not much changed by being lit up, but the fireworks were impressive. People were setting them off all over the city. It was nice to be able to see them, after only hearing them all week. All sorts were going off in every direction, and it was very exciting.

Every night in Xi’an Molly. Steve and Candice went to the internet café across the street from the hotel. Jill used her computer in the room.

Internet Bar in Xi'an

(Molly)

Every night in Xi’an, we three kids would go to an internet bar across the street from our hotel. It was not marked in English, and to get there we had to go up an escalator in a store, but once we got there we were amazed. There must have been over 150 computers there; I kept expecting it to end, and it never seemed to. Everyone was playing video games, a big screen was displaying what looked like a DDR game (and was playing the music), and from another corner we could hear some sappy pop music that reminded me of Celine Dion (that happens with a lot of the music here). It was cheap, too! The internet cost maybe 50 cents an hour.

Pang Liu Continued

(Candice)

Yesterday we went to visit an elementary school. This was the highlight of the whole trip for me. We sat down with two teachers and the principal and got to ask them questions. I found this so interesting because i want to study education in college. All the students were so happy. I really enjoyed talking to them in English because they were happy top practice with me.."HELLLOO!" And "THANK YOU!" were the most popular phrases. Me and Jill taught the 5th graders the hokey pokey and they had a blast, i walked around an gave eveyone a sticker and they all were so grateful for them, i was happy to put a smile on their cute faces. This trip to the school really made me positive that i do want to work in the education system...because i loved being at that school, it wasn't a tourist spot. It gave me a good look at what life in China is for students in rural areas.

The students are not the only people who were amazed by our presence. I knew we all were going to stand out but I don't think i am ever going to get used to all the stares. When the children stare and smile its nice, they are so excited to speak to you. But when the adults, the ones who aren't smiling, stare and whisper, or switch seats with their daughter so she doesn't have to sit next to you, it gets annoying. I decided not to just sit there and stare back. I was standing outside and a group of people who were a few feet in front of me just turned around and stared at me and whispered. I put a big smile on and said "hello" and then they gladly smiled back and said "hi". I know its not them trying to be disrespectful, i would probably stare too if roles were switched. In America almost everyday i am reminded that i am Black and Puerto Rican. But in China i am reminded every second that i am Black, Puerto Rican, and American. And that is something that i had to adjust to.

Speaking of adijusting lets talk about asthma :). China is not the fresh air capital of the world. It is so wierd to walk into the hotel or a restarunt and always smell the strong scent of cigarettes. I haven't gotten sick from it but it is so irritating! It makes me soooooo grateful that i live in a place where people have to smoke outside...i have had to get used to sitting down chomping on my delicious rice and noodles (fried rice with egg is sooo good mami take notes lol) and then getting a wiff of the strongest cigarettes i have ever smelled.

Besides that i really do like it here. I admit it took me a while to get used to it. The toilets ( i avoided any toilet besides the one at the hotel for the longest time) the time difference, the food, crossing the busy streets ( cars don't stop at all!), and passing my nike shoes (air force ones) without being able to buy them :)...but i am adjusted and excited to get to Hangzhou.

Pang Liu Village

(Ms. Arkin)

Today was one of my favorite days so far. We visited the Pang Liu Village and got to teach a class of fifth graders. We drove to the village in the morning, which was about 40 minutes from our hotel in Xi’an. Our guide, Richard, grew up in Pang Liu Village. He is now a successful business man and is very active in his efforts to help further develop the village. One of his projects is the school (grades 1-6).

First we met the school principal and the school’s English teacher. We had tea and got to ask questions about the school, education, teaching, etc. It was nice to have the warm tea since they do not have heat in the school.

The kids were on lunch break when we got there. It was their first day back at school after the New Years vacation. Lots of children were playing in the courtyard and they all stopped to stare at us with smiles and giggles when we walked in. The school had put up a big red banner that said ‘Welcome Teacher and Students from Dover-Sherborn High School to Our School’ so we felt very honored and appreciated! The children absolutely LOVED having their pictures taken and were even more excited when we showed them the pictures with the digital camera. They just laughed and laughed. Then I would enlarge it for them and they would laugh even more! When we walked away, some of the kids followed us as far as they could, so that we would take more pictures and pay more attention to them!

Before we got to teach we went to lunch at one of the villagers homes. There was so much good food. Once again, too much food and lots left over. After lunch we went back to the school and saw the library that was founded from donations from people from New England. We also saw the computer lab. They have 28 computers. It is sad that they just had to get all new computers because the old ones (which were new to them) got stolen. They plan on getting internet service in the computer lab in the next week. I bet the kids (and teachers) are very excited!

After that it was time to teach! We split up in two groups. Candice and I went to teach the 5th grade class and Molly and Steve taught the 6th graders. Molly and Steve were fortunate in that the English teacher was with them, so she could interpret for them! We did not have anyone to interpret. Their fifth grade teacher stayed in the classroom with us, but she only knows a few words of English. So it was a challenge, but it was so much fun! First the children sang us the only song in English they know how to sing. It was “BINGO” (hopefully you won’t get that stuck in your head like I did) and it was so cute. I videotaped them singing with my camera. Some of the words didn’t really sound like English, but it was still fabulous. Candice and I taught them the Hokey Pokey. It’s kind of hard to teach things when they can’t receive instructions in their native language, but I think we did okay, considering. First we clarified right hand and left hand and they all had that down. Then we went to it. They put their right hand in. They put their right hand…. Well you know the rest of it. It was a very enthusiastic Hokey Pokey I must say. It was a riot! The kids were having so much fun - they were smiling, twirling and laughing hysterically. We couldn’t get a video though, because we were hokey pokeying too! After that we settled things down and asked them questions from their English textbook. I also put up pictures on the chalkboard asking them to tell me in English what I drew. They got prizes if they were right. Of course, everyone got one right and they all got prizes. One little boy in the back caught my attention because he knew the answer to every single question - even the hard ones that nobody else knew. I guess there’s one of those in every class! Anyhow, do you know what the prizes were? E-patches of course (e-patches are special stickers that DS Middle School teachers give out to students who exhibit “excellence”). Mr. Moran gave me a pile of them when I left and luckily there were just enough for all of the students in the 5th grade class (about 45). They also got Dover Sherborn Middle School Pencils (thanks Mr. Estabrook) and more stickers that Candice brought. Candice went around and put the e-patches on their shirts and let them pick their favorite fruit “scratch n’ sniff” stickers. They would recite to her the English words for all the different fruits. Some of them pulled off their stickers hoping Candice would go back and give them another one!

After class we took more pictures in the courtyard and then we had to go. I wish we could have stayed longer and I wish we had more gifts for all of the students in the school. I also wish I had something to give the villagers who made us such an elaborate lunch.

Before we left the village we visited a health clinic they are opening in the village. They need doctors to come to the village and provide vaccines, etc.

Today was without any hesitation a highlight of the trip for me. Despite having a cold and an earache and the weather being gray, cold and rainy, the trip to the school was one of the most enlightening and worthwhile experiences I have had so far.

Chengdu Remembered

(Molly & Ms. Arkin)

Day One

Finally, we got to the part we had all been looking forward to: the Panda Breeding Center! Pandas have interestingly changed over time from omnivores to herbivores. The reason being they were too slow to catch animals. Now they dine on 40 pounds of bamboo a day, only a fraction of which their stomachs can actually digest. At the breeding center, 9 pandas were born in September so they were pretty small and cute. They were surprisingly klutzy, and moved very slowly. All they do is eat, sleep, and climb (Steve’s dream life). One of them was in isolation because he had a cold. When we left this panda, his keepers were trying to get him down from a tree so they could give him his medicine. We made a big loop around the park and half an hour later, they were still trying to get him down! We each paid 50 yuan (about 7 dollars) to hold and take a picture with a red panda. It was pretty small, and very furry, but looked more like a raccoon than a panda. The panda is actually a cross between a raccoon and a bear. Our guide told us a myth about how pandas got their black spots. A girl died saving a panda and at her funeral all the pandas came wearing black arm bands. They had to rub their eyes so much to dry the tears that their eyes turned black. Then they hugged each other and their arms turned black too.

After the pandas we went to a museum of ancient bronze works, but it was kind of a disappointment after getting to spend the morning watching baby pandas play.

Our hotel in Chengdu was our favorite because the rooms were huge and we got hbo!


Day Two

We drove to Leshan, where we saw the world’s biggest Buddha. It actually did not impress us as much as the Lantau Island Buddha, because it was carved into the face of a cliff, as opposed to gleaming atop a mountain.

Day Three

We drove to Mt. Emei, which is one of the three sacred Buddhist mountains in China. It is dedicated to one of the Buddhisatvahs. We took a cable car part of the way up the mountain and then walked up to a Buddhist temple, which was very beautiful. Inside Buddhist temples it is forbidden to take pictures. We also saw monkeys on the wall of the temple, which were pretty cute. As we left the temple, monkeys were congregated in a corner, and we at first mistook them for people. One of the big, ugly ones came over and started digging around for food in Steve’s pocket and Candice’s bag. Candice was traumatized. On top of the initial shock of being mugged by a monkey, it was raining so the monkeys hands were very muddy. Then Jill and Candice took the cable car back down the mountain to wait for Molly and Steve to hike down in the rain with the monkeys. Eventually we all met up with our guide, Han, and drove back to Chengdu since we had a 10pm flight to Xi’an.

Since we had time to kill before our flight, we went to a shopping area in downtown Chengdu. It was quite modern and for dinner we had McDonalds. Steve ate 20 chicken McNuggets. Gross.

Hiking Down Mt. Emei

(Molly)

Steve and I decided to hike down Mt. Emei. It was raining, so the ground was slippery. The path was laid with stones, slightly sloped and with a lot of stairs. I looked at so many stairs that I started to lose my depth perception! I also slipped once, which was slightly painful. The climbing-down-stairs leg muscles aren’t really muscles we use that much, so it got very tiring. It was worth it though, because the scenery was stunning. It looked like the Amazon, although it was much much colder. After about 1/2 hour of walking, Han pointed us down a different trail, at the end of which he told us we would find the wild monkey area. To get there took about 15 minutes, and was the most breathtaking scenery I have seen here. The path ran next to a mountain stream, which is one of my favorite things in the world. The monkeys were not so breathtaking. In fact, they were kind of obnoxious. When we first got there, we were crossing a wood and rope bridge packed with people blocking our view when suddenly one of the bigger monkeys plowed across the bridge. Despite all the signs I had passed telling me not to, I screamed a little. Then one put his hands on my pants, leaving muddy pawprints. It didn’t matter that much, because about a foot of my pants on the bottom was already soaked and muddy, but I was still a little peeved. We passed a monkey drinking from a water bottle, and one climbing on a screaming girl ( I was so glad not to be her). Clearly, these were not wild monkeys. When we got back to Han, we were rewarded with a fabulous lunch of local products. We laughed at ourselves because we looked SO bedraggled．We were soaked from head to toe, and my shoes are tractionless, so I was slipping all over the floor. We were so glad to see that tea at lunch. We also ate bamboo shoots, which made us feel closer to the pandas we had seen the day before. The hike down was uneventful, except that the scenery was beautiful and I wished it were warm enough to swim.

Steve's Day 9 - World's Highest Golf Course

(Steve)

Most of Day 9 was spent outside Lijiang: we drove out to get a better look at Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, also called Black & White Mountain because the stone on the Lijiang side appears light while the stone on the opposite side is much darker. After a bit of trouble with our tickets, which Danny quickly handled, we arrived at the "base camp" of sorts. Oddly enough, it's also the site of the world's highest golf course - more on that later. After a few minutes' wait, a bus arrived to drive us further up. On the way we crossed over the river that drains from the mountain's glacier. It was beautiful, and as clear as only mountain water can be. Further upstream we saw people riding yaks out into the middle of the river to have their pictures taken. Then the bus turned away from the river, and the rest of the ride was as steep and winding as any Alpine road. That scared me much more than any of our experiences driving on Chinese highways had, partly because I've never much liked mountain roads and partly because I didn't trust the bus's brakes. Suffice it to say that I was relieved when we arrived at the cable car station. My relief didn't last long though: we soon discovered that "cable car" really meant "chair lift". It was a long and VERY cold trip.

From the top of the lift, it was a bit of a hike. Our destination was a clearing that was famous both for its great view of Yu Long Shan (Jade Dragon Mountain, duh) and because no one knew why such a large space remained free of trees. The latter point, though interesting, wasn't why we were there. As to the former: the view wasn't just great, it was breathtaking. Or it would have been, if we hadn't already been out of breath from the hike and the elevation. We walked around the perimeter of the clearing, and on the way we had our pictures taken in traditional Naxi clothing (which was very warm). We also ran into a group of women dancing, who invited us to join in. Candice and Jill accepted; Molly and I, more suspicious, declined. Five minutes and one rather boring dance later, the women demanded 14 yuan apiece from Jill and Candice. They were able to get away with paying only 10 yuan after convincing the women it was all they had, but the entire incident was a reminder that, in China especially, nothing is free.

After completing our circuit of the clearing, we hiked back to the chair lifts for the somewhat dreaded ride back down. Fortunately, something happened that distracted me from the cold: upon turning around to take a picture of Danny in the chair behind us, I was amazed to see that the woman sitting next to him was feeding him fruit! Given the Chinese view of male-female relationships, and the fact that Danny had just recently been married, I couldn't help being somewhat confused. I soon forgot my confusion, in the rush to get off the chair lift and onto a bus, and then we were rumbling back down the mountain. We stopped at the river long enough to take a spin on the yaks, complete with various increasingly-ridiculous poses for pictures, then continued down to lunch. On the way I also received my answer to the chairlift mystery, though I should have been able to figure it out: the woman I'd seen WAS Danny's wife, and she happened to be doing the same tour that day as he was. That solved, there was nothing to get in the way of my enjoying the food.

We found ourselves, once again, at the site of the world's highest golf course, and once I'd finished eating I set off to get a picture for my dad. Instead, I got lost. Ten minutes later, after climbing through one wall and over two more (though, to be entirely honest, one of them was optional) I met up once again with my somewhat-irritated group, who blamed the entire adventure on my being a boy, which is probably true. Then we got in the van for our trip back to Lijiang.

Our flight wasn't until 9:30 that night, so we decided to go back to the Old City for the rest of the afternoon. We split up: Jill and Candice went to the internet cafe they'd found and Molly and I wandered off into the marketplace. I bought a couple more souvenirs; Molly bought many more scarves. We explored all the major streets around the central square, and some of the minor ones as well, and we even found our way - accidentally - back to the Mu Palace. With an entire afternoon to waste, we had to work to find streets that we hadn't yet been down, and the disappointing discovery that every shop sold essentially the same wares led us to search even harder for unexplored territory. Predictably, we got lost. And, of course, it happened late in the afternoon when we had little time to spare. We made our way back, though, and only about 15 minutes late.

After dinner, we drove to the airport and Danny checked us in. We took our now-traditional picture of Molly, Candice, and I with our guide, then said our goodbyes and headed through security. Thankfully, there were no problems with the flight; since it already wasn't coming in until 11:30, I don't think any of us would have been able to handle the stress of a delay. As it was, we were zombies by the time we got to Chengdu, and getting our baggage took forever. We met our new guide, Han, and I hope I didn't offend him: I said almost nothing on our trip from the airport - irritable as I was, I didn't want to risk saying anything I'd regret. I was still grumpy when we got to the hotel (check-in here always takes a while) but I cheered up a bit when I saw my room - the Tibetan Hotel in Chengdu is easily the nicest one we stayed in. Molly and Candice initially had some trouble getting into their room but, tired as I was, I left them in the hallway and went to my own room. Then, being the brilliant person that I am, I watched House of Wax on HBO. Not a great movie, but it has some cool effects at the end.

Steve's Day 8 - Lijiang Old City

(Steve)

The next morning Danny led us through the streets of Lijiang's Old City to the Mu Palace. On the way he told us a little bit about the Naxi people, who inhabit the city, and their culture and religion, both called Dongba. He told us that Naxi men are notoriously lazy, and that the Naxi women do all the work. The stone lions guarding the gate to the palace compound supported his claims: while in Beijing you can tell the difference between male and female lions by what they are holding, in Lijiang the only difference is that the male lions have their mouths open - "because they are always ordering their wives around", Danny explained. He also told us why the city of Lijiang did not have a wall around it: if you put a box around the character for Mu, the monarch's name, you get the character for "surrounded". This omen would not have been lost on the highly superstitious denizens of ancient China.

The palace itself was very impressive. The first structure we visited was akin to a Western throne room, and appeared to be where the Mu monarch would hold his court, as it were. The similarities between this and a European castle ended their, however, as the building itself was crafted of equisitely carved wood, not stone, and the "throne" was decorated, not with cloth, but with tiger pelt. Danny pointed out to us the Dragon painted on the ceiling, very much like the Dragon that can be found in the Emperor's throne room in the Forbidden City. Except for one difference, enough to keep the Emperor from punishing his subordinate's boldness: the Dragon had only four claws, while the one in Beijing has five. The next building was separated from the first by a courtyard, and even after a week of good weather it was nice to be reminded that while Boston was still below freezing, here Spring had already begun. This second building was taller than the first, and from the balcony on the third floor we were afforded a view of the entire city of Lijiang. The difference between the traditional pagoda-like roofs of the Old City and the taller, more Western buildings of the New City was striking, but I stopped caring as soon as I glanced in the other direction: there, beyond the edge of the city, stood the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. It can only be described as awe-inspiring, and it took me a moment to register that this was the first time I'd seen snow since we arrived in China.

We continued through the compound, which ascended the hill that bordered Lijiang on this side. We saw the various structures that housed all of the king's servants and relatives, and finally came to the room in which he himself would have lived. It was small, though richly furnished. The bed, a fantastic structure of carved wood, looked too short even for me to fit in it. Further up the hill we came upon a Taoist temple, complete with monks. Danny informed us that these had become little more than fortune tellers, though - the yells which I'd taken for indignation at the tourists taking pictures were in fact offers to look into our future. On our walk back from the palace, we came upon a wall covered in simplistic pictures which Danny told us were Dongba characters. The Naxi written language is the only pictographic language still in use anywhere in the world. Only about 50 people can read it fluently, but Danny knew some of the basic, one-character words. He had us try to guess what each character meant; more often than not we weren't even close, except with the very easy ones like "hunting" or "fishing". My favorite was the character for "dancing", a stick figure that looked as if it were flailing its arms.

Next we visited the Black Dragon Pool, a beautiful pond just outside the city proper. Danny pointed out the goldfish swimming in the pool, and told us that no one is allowed to kill and eat them. In exchange for this protection, they serve a very important purpose (or, at least, one that used to be important). Like miners' canaries, the goldfish were an early warning system; if anyone poisoned the Black Dragon Pool, the source of Lijiang's drinking water, the people of Lijiang would know from the dead fish. After marveling at this bit of ancient Chinese cleverness, and after marveling once again at the majesty of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain (which was even more majestic from here), we strolled around the pool. We saw a pair of peacocks, as well as several giant lantern displays; Danny told us that there would be a lantern show that night with no entrance fee.

When we finished our walk around the lake, we visited the Dongba culture museum, where we learned more about the customs of the Naxi people. Much of what we learned simply reinforced what we'd already been told, that the women did all the work, but a couple of details were particularly interesting. For example, the fact that marriages were arranged, but that there was a very long history of couples committing suicide together in the name of love (a favorite method was jumping hand-in-hand off of the Snow Mountain). Or the scroll depicting the Road to Heaven, a copy of which every Naxi family owns for when a relative dies. The museum had copies dating back up to six hundred years, written on a special paper invented specifically so that it would last that long. The Road itself seems to be a combination of our Western Heaven and Hell: first each spirit must go through a series of punishments, each according to his sins, and then he makes his way to Heaven, where he lives at peace among the enlightened spirits. We also learned the Naxi creation myth, but it's a little too complicated to go into here. The woman who guided us through the museum was an English major, so we learned much more than we would have if we'd gone by ourselves.

We had nothing planned for the afternoon, but in the morning when we were walking around I'd seen some souvenirs I'd wanted to buy. So, Molly, Candice, and I went out into the Old City to look around. I began to realize how much I love the atmosphere of these bustling marketplaces and bazaars, and how fun haggling can actually be. I got a flute made from a gourd, and realized too late that I had no idea how to play it. Fortunately, there were tons more flute shops, and the owner of the next one we came to was nice enough to show me how to use it. Knowing how didn't make me much better, though, and it wasn't long before Molly and Candice were telling me to stop trying. I decided to put it away until we got back to the hotel. Molly bought plenty of scarves, and we all bought some ice-cream; altogether a succesful trip. That evening, we went to a performance of Naxi cultural dances. As I've said before, this one was much better than the one in Guilin. The dancing was well-choreographed and better performed, and the costumes were extravagant (but in a good way). There were fewer acrobatics than in the first performance, but I was still very impressed with the show as a whole. A must-see; two thumbs up.

Jill and Candice were ready to retire for the night, but Molly and I decided to hike back upstream to the Black Dragon Pool to see the lantern show. First we had to make our way through the food market next to the hotel (the one I'd smelled the night before), and that was more of an experience than we'd have liked it to be: I, for one, don't find a pig's carcass, cleaved in half and put on a rack, particularly appetizing, especially given that they probably carve off a piece for you while you're standing there. Nevertheless, Molly and I were both a little sad to reach the end of the market; it was well-lit, at least, and the rest of our path was... well, dark as night. As we stumbled along the path next to the river in almost complete darkness, we were reassured only by the fact that most of the people walking by us seemed to be couples, not muggers. Still, getting to the Black Dragon Pool's entrance was a relief. After our unlit walk, the archway over the entrance seemed excessively lit. Scratch that - regardless of where we'd been before, the archway would have seemed excessively lit. From there on, the lights just got more excessive, more garish, and by the end, more tacky. Still, some of the displays were nice, particularly the ones on the pond itself, which were almost perfectly reflected in the water. By the time we got to the ones with moving parts, though, we were ready to go home. That we did, once again in darkness, and we were happy to get to bed.

Lijiang

(Ms. Arkin)

Today was a better day. I had a restful night’s sleep and the hard beds in China are actually quite comfy. Perhaps I am experiencing the benefits of Feng Shui, as all of the buildings and furnishings here are designed using these principles.

After breakfast we met Danny and he walked us around the old city of Lijiang while giving us all sorts of information and history as we walked. Lijiang is where the Naxi (pronounce na – shee) people live and Dongba is their religion. The Naxi people are minorities in China, but they have a very rich and colorful culture. There are approximately 300,000 Naxi people in the world and they are very proud of the heritage. They have their own dialect and they write using pictographs which were really fun to look at and try to guess what they meant! The most interesting thing to me about their culture is that the women do all of the work! The Naxi women are very hard workers and the Naxi men are very lazy and sit around barking orders at the women. The history of the Naxi people is even more interesting, but you will have to do some research if you want to know more. It is too much to write and I don’t want to make a mistake.

When we went to the Naxi culture museum, a Naxi girl gave us our tour. She spoke very good English which is rare as not many Naxi people speak Mandarin, let alone English. She is studying English in college and was eager to practice by giving us the tour. It is hard to imagine such a different lifestyle.

We also walked around the Dragon Pool in Lijiang which was particularly enjoyable on such a sunny day. The sky was blue with white puffy clouds and we could see the snow capped mountains in the background. I think some of my pictures came out really well. It would be hard to get a bad photograph as the natural scenery is beautiful from every angle. After the Dragon Pool we went back to the hotel for a few hours. I went out to buy a watch (since my cell phone that I was using no longer gets service to tell time). I walked in the direction that seemed the least touristy in hopes that I wouldn’t have to bargain. I am not a fan of bargaining. I also am aware to use small bills after Candice got the counterfeit money as change. Anyhow, I found a watch for 18yuan (a little more than two dollars) so I didn’t feel that warranted any bargaining. It is blue and plastic and very unfashionable, but it works and even has a light up button.

In the evening we went to a Naxi performance at the Dongba Cultural Center right up the street from our hotel. There was dancing, singing, instrument playing and storytelling which incorporated many costume changes. The costumes were colorful, flowy and very extravagant. In some of the dances, the girls wore large ornaments (dragon boats or fruit baskets) on their heads. It kind of reminded me of the costumes they wear in the Miss Universe pageants to represent their countries.

Oh and there are also little girls that do street performances for money. They seem to be only about 5 years old and they contort their bodies into the shape of a circle using their mouths to balance. Hopefully I can get a picture tomorrow since I know that description doesn’t really make sense!

After the show we went for a traditional “hot pot” dinner. It was very complicated and perhaps involved more work that eating a lobster. Basically, there is a large pot of boiling water in the middle and all sorts of meats and vegetables around the table. You pick what you want to eat and put it in the hot pot and wait for it to cook. Once again, there was so much food it appeared that we barely made a dent in it, although we left very full.

Speaking of food, worms are a local specialty in Lijiang. I was too shocked to think to take out my camera and photograph the bowls of worms, but Molly wasn’t! She has a picture from one of the street vendors which I will try to post later.

Tomorrow we are taking a cable car up the Jade Mountain and then we have a flight at 9:35 pm to Chengdu where we will go to the Panda Breeding Center. All four of us have been looking forward to seeing the giant pandas!

Arrival in Lijiang

The group has arrived safely in Lijiang. More journal entries will be sent when better computer connections can be made.

(Ms. Arkin)

Lijiang is gorgeous -we toured the old city today and visited the Mu Palace. We also went to the Dongba culture museum and walked around dragon pool. What a gorgeous day - a little chilly but that's good because our warm weather clothes are all dirty by now!

Steve's Day 7 - Back to Guilin, On to Lijiang and KFC!

(Steve)

We were all happy to see Rico again the next morning, though not particularly happy to be leaving Yangshuo. Still, we eventually all piled into the van and set off back to Guilin. On the way I found out why driving so far hadn't seemed to fit all the bad things we'd heard: in the cities, drivers are relatively careful; outside of them, less so. At one point, I was reminded of a game of musical chairs - every second car on the road, including our own, crossed into the oncoming traffic lane to take the position left open by the car ahead. Except for the one that didn't have the timing quite right and had to slip back into its own spot to avoid a head-on collision with a truck. I suppose I should have been on the edge of my seat the whole way back; instead, I took a nap.

All of the Guilin area had once been underwater, which was the reason for the strangely-shaped limestone hills everywhere, and also for the caves in those hills. One in particular had developed some truly impressive stalactite and stalagmite formations. It was called Reed Flute Cave because many of the stalactites resembled traditional Chinese reed flutes. That was where Rico took us when we got back to Guilin. The rock formations were really fascinating, partly because of the creative and colorful lighting that had been installed, but mostly just because of the amazing and beautiful shapes that you'd never expect a rock to look like in nature. It was very nice having Rico with us, because we never would have noticed all the designs and animals that the rocks sometimes resembled. The rock city, complete with a stream that mirrored the river winding through Guilin, was especially impressive. It was definitely a good way to say goodbye to Guilin and all the incredible nature that surrounded it. Saying goodbye to Rico was a bit harder. We took a picture with him and thanked him (and are still thanking him), then headed through security for our plane.

The flight from Guilin to Kunming was delayed, but not enough to interfere with our connection from Kunming to Lijiang, and other than that it was fine. I suppose that should have clued us in that something would go wrong on the second leg. When we arrived in Kunming, we were horrified to see that the time listed for our flight was two hours earlier than it should have been, and that we had only 15 minutes to check in, get through security, and make it to our gate. Just as we were all about to break down a Chinese man who thankfully knew English explained that the listed time was not the flight's departure time, but the earliest time that we could check in. Able to breath again, we waited until the now-less-scary check-in time and everything went smoothly after that. Still, it was another reminder of how helpless we were without being able to read any of the signs or ask anyone for information. We were all very relieved when we arrived succesfully in Lijiang and met our new guide, Danny, who could do all the talking in Chinese that needed to be done. My first impression of Danny was that he seemed very nice. My second impression was that he was very short. Both turned out to be true.

None of us had eaten, but we were all so exhausted that we decided we'd rather just go to bed. The smell of barbecue from the market next to the hotel was wonderful, though, and my stomach woke up enough that after dropping off my luggage I snuck back out. I was not confident enough in my ability to communicate to try to navigate the market, so I went to KFC instead. After a couple of very small chicken breasts, I went to the counter and attempted to order "bingqilin" in Chinese. I understood very little of the response, apart from "mei you bingqilin" - "we don't have ice cream". I later found out that the cones I'd seen came from a place further down the road. Dejected, I headed back to the hotel. *End Week 1*