Weekend Fun

(Mel)

This weekend, just as the one before, was completely exhausting but totally worth it. Even though our host siblings have to go to school on saturdays they found time on friday night to join us for some karaoke. Even some of our host sibling’s friends came with us as well as one of our translators, Emily. There were enough of us to get the VIP room which was large with a wrap-around couch/bench along three walls and a huge flat-screen TV on the other. We also had three microphones, an all you can eat buffet, and four hours to spend. I think it’s safe to say that everyone had a great time. By the time we left each person had sung at least one song (most of us many more than that) and we were all quite impressed by Jim’s (Andrew’s host brother) singing voice.

Then on saturday we got an early start (accompanying our host siblings to school) to head off to a small town near Hangzhou called Wu Zhen accompanied by a few Hangzhou High school administrators and teachers as well as two of our translators/ friends. The town is built all on the water, so some of its streets are canals. I think it’s because of these canals that the town was able to retain it’s cute feel despite the fact that it has very obviously been re-designed for tourists. Most of the structures are authentic from the Ming Dynasty and are made of wood (which is an interesting choice for a town built on water...). It also had tons of museums showing the antiques from every part of life during the Ming Dynasty. There was even an entire museum devoted to antique beds (none of which looked comfortable). We tried tons of traditional snacks and saw some traditional theater while exploring the town but we eventually had to head back to Hangzhou.

Today (sunday) was planned entirely by our host siblings and they did a great job. We spent the morning at a tea plantation on the outskirts of the city. In the time we had before lunch (when everyone was still showing up) we all played the game set (an awesome card game I brought from the states) and after lunch we finally went outside to explore the area. Just as we stepped outside a short snow flurry started which made me really excited even though it didn’t stick. The teahouse we ate lunch at sits at the very end of a small road embedded in an area of solid green hills. Forests cover the tops of these hills but the bottom 3/4 are lined with neat rows of tea bushes. The rows hug the curves of the hills and are only interrupted by a few paths running up the hill. We, of course, decided to climb up this little path which gave us views of the hundreds of rows of tea tracing every hill that surrounded us. The only problem was that climbing this hill proved to be more difficult that we had anticipated due to the fact that its been raining all the time so the typically wicked steep dirt path was now a wicked steep thick mud path... but that also made the whole thing more exciting I guess. After the tea house we rushed over to catch a show in a place called “Song City” which is sort of like plymouth plantation in the sense that it’s a recreation of another time period with people dressed up in authentic costume but was also just a typical tourist trap in it’s shops and a few forms of entertainment such as the haunted house. The show we went to was by far the coolest live performance I’ve ever seen. When we first walked into the theater I felt like I was at a sporting event instead of a show because of how high and far back the rows of seats stretched (Even Mr. C said he hadn’t seen a theater that big). Also, during multiple parts of the show in order to capture the effect of rain there was actual water coming down onto the stage. Throughout the whole thing the front section of seats would slide apart and from where moments before rows of audience members had been sitting actors would be lifted up on platforms. Later, people rode across the stage on real horses. And there were several effects that I don’t even know how to explain. Basically, it was just insanely awesome. After the show we walked around song city for a little while and watched a ceremony (twice actually) where a young woman throws a ball of ribbon into a crowd below and whoever catches it is supposed to be her husband. At the end of this busy day my host family took me out to dinner followed by a lovely stroll along the river.