First Week at Hanggao (Hangzhou High School)

(Lizzy)

Our first week in Hangzhou has been quite eventful. Immediately upon arriving in the city after an exhausting 18 hour train ride from Luoyang, we were greeted by our respective host families at Hanggao, our new school. My host sister’s English name is Apple, and she and her family have all be extremely hospitable and kind to me; especially since my first week here has not been the smoothest.

My first day; however, seemed to indicate good things ahead. I got my first glimpses of the beautiful city, including West Lake, which the residents of Hangzhou are most proud of, and for good reason. Everything is green and fairly warm here; a drastic and welcome change from the bleak coldness we have become used to. Though the lake is technically to the West of the city, it is very part of the city center, and the parks surrounding it are often quite crowded with people out enjoying the day.

After enjoying the sights around the lake with my host family, I began to feel sick back at the apartment ...

My sore throat quickly worsened, and before I knew it I had missed two days of school in my first week and ended up in the hospital.

Apart from the two days I spent asleep, I have enjoyed attending Hangzhou High School very much so far.  The school has a beautiful campus; full of green trees and even a park for the students to enjoy during their break after lunch. The school is famous for its red buildings, which definitely add to its charm. The students are all incredibly friendly, and often go out of their way to say “hello” to us. We all stand out starkly; however, and it’s not only because of the school uniforms the students have to wear. Everyone has made a point of making us feel very welcome, though, which we all appreciate.

The night after our first day of school a group of administrators and teachers took us out to a meal with the most food I have ever seen – over 20 dishes each for two tables! I was later told that the huge amount of food presented showed the extent of hospitality the school wished to extend to us. We have also been the lucky recipients of the school’s hospitality during lunch at school. While the meals offered to the students appear edible, the meals prepared for our group are better than we could ever imagine at school; lunch at DS will certainly take some getting used to when we get back.

Our classes are another area of life here where the differences between Hanggao and DS are highlighted. There are three grades in the high school, and each grade is divided into about twelve classrooms, where the same group of roughly 50 students remains all day. The teachers come to the students, rather than the other way around. There are eight 45-minute classes every day except Friday, which has seven. These classes, along with a morning reading period, lunch, break, and the 10-minute transition periods between classes, mean that the students don’t leave school until almost five o’clock each day. The students in grade three, who are preparing for their college entrance exams at the end of the year, may even stay until after nine o’clock. Our host siblings are all in grade one. After school, the students may have as much as five hours of homework during weeknights, and more on weekends.

Unlike the traditional students here, we don’t have eight classes a day. Rather, we spend some time in our host sibling’s classes, and sometimes have classes together. The classes we take together include Chinese, woodworking, dance, kung-fu, and painting. I also go to Apple’s Chinese, Math, Chemistry, English, and other classes. The classes here are much more lecture-based, with the teacher randomly calling on students. No hands are raised, rather, students generally hope they won’t be called on and have to stand up in front of the class to give the answer.

While most of the Chinese students do homework during their post-lunch lull, we hold English Corner in the school park and invite students to come practice their English and learn about life in America. Though I missed the first English Corner due to my hospital visit, the second attracted many more students. Mostly grade one students gathered around us in the park, full of questions about our high school lives. Many were interested in the amount of school work we do, both during class and at home, in comparison to their own. Many were shocked to hear that we leave school at 2:15. Others wanted to share the traveling they had done in the states, and most simply stood around and listened. Though some students are shy about their English, those who come forward can often articulate themselves well.

After school on Friday, Apple’s grandparents invited all of us, our host siblings, and Dawn, a senior at Hanggao and our very helpful guide, to learn how to make dumplings at their house. Her grandfather grew up in Northern China, where dumplings are very popular, and he is an expert. We all gathered around their dining room table as he demonstrated proper pinching technique. We also pressed homemade dough out into thin wrappers, and everyone perfected the art of dumping making. After enjoying plenty of the fruits of our labors, we played a never-ending game of Uno.

Today, Saturday, the school set up a tour of West Lake for us. Mr. Xu, an English teacher and a past visitor to DS, took us to see the parks around the lake. We were lucky to have warm weather to enjoy the lovely parks. After another extravagant lunch, which included everything from crabs and jellyfish to fried dough and a bread bowl, we took a boat cruise around the lake and enjoyed views of surrounding pagodas, bridges, and the islands scattered throughout the lake.

Despite my being sick, living and attending school in Hangzhou has been quite the adventure so far. I have loved discovering the cultural differences that are presented only in such an intimate setting, and I look forward to whatever is coming next!