“Are you a Professional Eater?”

(Lizzy)

None of us can believe that our time at Hangzhou is half over! It feels like we just arrived, but we are already switching host families in just a couple of days. I am excited to meet my next host family, but at the same time I know I will miss my current host sister, parents, and rabbit very much. I could not have asked for a more welcoming and generous family and I look forward to showing Apple around when she visits the US.

Because we are moving in a couple of days, my second host mother and daughter came over to my apartment on Tuesday to meet me. They went about this in a very strange way; however, which did not involve speaking to me at all. Instead, I stood there while my current and next host mother-daughter pairs talked about me and everything I do, from brushing my teeth to drinking coffee, in rapid Mandarin. Though a slightly unorthodox first meeting, my next family seems very nice and I am looking forward to experiencing a new Chinese household, this time with both a grandmother and a younger cousin.

We were kept very busy during our last weekend with our first host families. First, after school on Friday we enjoyed a Chinese karaoke experience, complete with our favorite game, Uno. Karaoke is very popular here among all age groups. If you were wondering whether we all got up on stage to serenade a crowd of Chinese strangers, karaoke works a little differently in this country. Rather than one room with a stage, each group pays for a private room fit with a couch, a table, and a TV screen with the song lyrics. You make a list of songs using a computer monitor in the room, and take turns passing around microphones. We had a mixture of both American and Chinese songs.

After karaoke we met up with Chris to enjoy our first Western meal in over a month at a nearby Italian restaurant. I was surprised at how little our Chinese host siblings knew about Italian food, though they all enjoyed it so much. I think each of our host siblings asked us both what to order and how to eat it. For once we were more adept at using the utensils, as there was not a chopstick to be seen.

The next morning, while class was in session at Hanggao, our group was transported first to a vegetable field that is landscaped in the shape of a huge Ying-Yang. We then visited a Song Dynasty museum, which specialized in exhibitions of the pottery from that era. We even got to try constructing our own vessels on potter’s wheels at the museum. Later, the teachers who went with us brought us to a street lined with small shops selling traditional Chinese wares. We toured the market and went into an ancient Chinese hospital. The hospital is still running, and people go there to fill prescriptions that may include anything from plants to dried animal carcasses, which the patients take home, steep in boiling water, and take as directed.

On Sunday morning I went on a hike with my host family in one of the mountains surrounding West Lake. Though it was drizzling, the hike was very nice. I found it interesting that the mountains in Hangzhou are all lined with staircases and stone pathways for hikers. My host mother told me that these paths carry on for so long that one could hike for an entire day, all within the mountains around the lake. Many old people like to come to the mountains early in the morning for a walk. I have noticed how much old Chinese people enjoy being in large groups together, often chatting and dancing. My host mother also mentioned that one must be careful of the occasional wild boar known to be seen around the hiking stairs.

After the hike we drove downtown to a huge new shopping mall, where we would later meet up with Ryan and a few girls from school to go staking at an indoor rink. First I had dim-sum for lunch with my host family. Apple ordered, and she said that she would order some chicken fingers. “Oh,” I said, “Those are very American.” My host family looked slightly puzzled at this, but didn’t say anything, and when the dish came out I understood why. By “chicken fingers,” Apple meant chicken feet – not so American after all.

The skating went very well, though none of us knew exactly who some of the girls we met up with were. The Chinese kids were all pretty surprised that Ryan and I could skate; even though we tried to explain that it actually gets cold enough where we are from to skate outdoors. The skating rink is new in Hangzhou, so most people living here have only skated a few times, and the general skill level called for heavily-padded skaters.

We have been very popular at school this week. On Monday we were invited to a party thrown by a Grade Two class. Everything was very well planned, and the class even had a PowerPoint set up to organize the procession of events. After welcoming us, the class monitor introduced the first activity: charades. We each had to choose a partner from the class, go up to the front of the auditorium, and either act out the word on the projector or guess what our partner was acting. The first slide to come up, when Colin was acting, read “Daily Goods” thinking this was what he had to act out, we all looked at each other with slight panic, worried about our turns to come. Thankfully the first slide was just the topic, and his first real clue was “wallet.” After charades we were invited up to the front of the room again to play a singing game. Song lyrics were put up on the projector with certain words missing. Different students sang the lyrics that were there, stopping when they came to the blanks. If one of us knew the correct lyrics we had to raise our hand and sing them. Singing in front of groups isn’t exactly my forte, so I chose to say the words instead. Chris did belt out a few lines, and Colin finished Avril Lavigne’s “Complicated,” but Ryan, usually the most eager to sing for a crowd, didn’t know any of the songs. The party concluded with performances of a Chinese folk song and a Britney Spears dance.

On Tuesday we were again invited to a class. This time we sat at the front of the room and the students asked us questions about ourselves. One boy stood up to ask “Mr. Chris” if he lifts weights, drinks lemon tea, and is a competitive eater. Another boy asked “Mr. Chris” what Chris thought of his beard, and whether he could come up and touch it. That was a no. We were also asked what qualities we think are most important in a person, and how we felt about Apple computers. We are all pretty used to these questions by now; however, and have all been asked other ridiculous things at English Corner. For example, one group of girls told me that they know my life is just like a character’s in Gossip Girl, and if I like to watch the show because of that. Despite some ridiculous questions, we did get the chance to dispel some misconceptions about American teenagers; however, because it is widely believed here, thanks to American movies, that we do no homework, enjoy unlimited free time with our friends and apparently have no rules or even parents.

On Wednesday we were invited to English club, where we were asked to introduce some American music. We chose to present Somewhere over the Rainbow and Don’t Stop Believin‘, songs many of the Chinese students were familiar with, but didn’t know the lyrics to.

Tuesday was also Women’s Day, which everyone says is an international holiday, but I have curiously never heard of before. On this day women often get the afternoon off from work, but most of the teachers celebrated the holiday early, over the weekend.

Tonight, our last night with our first host families, Ryan’s host family is taking us out to a restaurant for “beggar’s chicken,” a Hangzhou specialty to which we have been told to look forward to. In the next round of posts we will all be able to report on our new host families, which we are all excited for.