Wow. I cannot believe it has already been a week that we have been in Hangzhou. So many things have happened that need their own separate blogs, so I will just give a short synopsis of what my first impressions of Hangzhou and its people are.
At around 10am on 2/14, our train from Luoyang arrived at Hangzhou’s train station. Ironically exhausted after our overnight train ride and journey throughout China, we were greeted by a smiling delegation, composed of administration members, faculty, and our host siblings.
At first, the sincere hospitality, flowers, and warm gestures were overwhelming. For weeks we had traversed China without the comfort of seeing any familiar faces (except Mr. Hoover and Pei Wei). When we stepped onto the train station platform in Hangzhou it felt as though we had just arrived home. It was such a great feeling. Since then, the hospitality has not stopped. For lunch we are either pampered by a luxurious meal at some fancy restaurant, or a private chef who cooks delicious meals. Breakfast and dinner are the same way, except we usually eat breakfast and dinner with our host families. For me, breakfast ranges from noodles in a hot broth, to pancakes, to even porridge. Dinner is quite varied, and there are usually four dishes: one is a homemade soup; another is a protein such as beef or fish; and the last two are usually vegetables. Although I am slowly getting used to the eating habits in China (such details I will leave out), nothing beats a homemade meal, especially when shared with such a polite family.
Hospitality in Hangzhou seemingly has no limits as it has extended beyond our meals to school, and after school activities. At school, everyone thinks that we American students are the coolest thing that has come to Hangzhou since the Back Street Boys . . . or maybe just last year’s DS group. Everyone wants to talk to us, and be our friends. The other day we had an interview with a Hangzhou Newspaper called Youth Times, and our story was published in their newspaper the next day. In addition, we had an interview with the school’s broadcasting club, which was aired on the school’s loudspeaker. It was just like morning announcements, except a bigger deal considering 1,500 students and 100 some teachers were listening to us. Today we have an interview on TV, and hopefully it will go well.
Outside of school, we have been pampered with activities that most students at Hangzhou never get to experience because they study for most of the day. Last Saturday we were treated to a day at West Lake, and afterwards we went to a luxurious dinner with Wang Fei, Kevin, SR, and Swan. On Sunday, Allen, Mel, Emily, our host siblings, and I went to a fancy tennis club (thanks to Emily’s host sibling, He Xin), and played tennis for a couple of hours. It was awesome to exercise after weeks of travelling. I did not play as well as I hoped, as I lost to the tennis pro there in a “highly” anticipated match; but, it was fun nevertheless. Afterwards Mel, Allen, Mel’s host sibling (Han Gefei), Allen’s host sibling(Fang Lei), my host sibling (Jim), and I went to a mall, demoed Bose’s home entertainment theatre (which you can check out at Natick Mall’s Bose store), and met William for lunch. Again, we were treated to a luxurious meal. After that William took Mel, Allen and I to the wetlands, which is a beautiful area that reminded me of a colder version of Florida. Oh, I forgot to mention that during this time Emily went to a wedding with He Xin, and the rest of our host siblings went home to study. It was such a nice day. At the wetlands we all got to try so many authentic Chinese snacks. It started with small deep fried fish (which a small kid proclaimed/advertised was the best deep fried fish in Hangzhou), and quickly progressed into a second lunch, as William generously bought us Peanut brittle, hot caramel on two chopsticks, and green pancakes (made from some type of algae). I cannot express in words how thankful I am for William and all of the other people who have made our stay in Hangzhou so enjoyable thus far. A simple thanks is not enough, because without them, the China Exchange program would surely not be the once in a life time experience it is today.
In regards to Hangzhou, it is unlike any other city we have been to. It is quite similar to Xi’an in the sense that both are large cities with cold temperatures. But, other than that Hangzhou is a unique city, because the average income seems a lot higher than other cities. I have seen so many Mercedes Benz, Audi, and BMW cars here. In China those cars are truly a symbol of status as those cars normally cost more than 1,000,000 Yuan, or $160,000, because the government heavily taxes imported goods (especially cars in high demand), and the Chinese purchase their cars, not lease them. Because there are so many cars, and factories in Hangzhou the environment is not the best. So far we have not seen a blue sky in Hangzhou, and apparently the air pollution levels are at an all-time high. It is not too bad, but it just makes me appreciate Dover so much more. Hangzhou also has a lot of history, especially with West Lake. When we toured West Lake on Saturday and got a brief description of Hangzhou’s history I reached an epiphany and realized how similar Hangzhou is to Boston. Both cities are rich historically, economically and educationally.
Hangzhou and its people have been such a pleasant surprise, I am so excited for the next 4 weeks!
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