First Days in Hangzhou

(Max)

So it has been a couple of days now since our last post as a result of my not having a computer charger so the blame falls on me. We have finally arrived in Hangzhou after what has seemed like a lifetime of traveling but actually only been a little less than three weeks. Our arrival to Hangzhou High School was quite prestigious with the administration here making us feel like celebrities.

As we pulled up to the school we were shepherded into a conference room. We took a seat at an impressively long table on which there was an American and Chinese flag crossing in unison. All of our host siblings sat on the outside of the room waiving to us in welcome. Not but moments later the head master along with several of his vice principles joined us at the table and began a formal welcoming. We viewed a slideshow containing pictures of last years exchange students (Mike, Diana, Patty, & Brandon) enjoying different activities at the school. After this we swapped gifts between each other and proceeded onto lunch. Lunch ended and we all went our separate ways with our separate host families.

Mrs. Chen, my host mother, is just about one of the sweetest women you will ever meet. She is always so concerned about whether or not her cooking is satisfactory, if my room is nice enough, or if my wellbeing (i.e. if I am cold or not) is taken care of. My host brother, Jeff, is equally as kind. Full of questions of how I am doing, he leads me everywhere I need to be in school to make sure I do not get lost.

The school day is quite interesting. They have a rotating schedule much like we do at Dover Sherborn but the classes are forty five minutes long instead of an hour. All four of us exchange students start the day of by going to the first two periods of our host sibling. Sometimes its Chinese, or math, or geography…most of the time it is not in English. After these two periods the American students convene in a meeting room to start our mid-day course, which for us lasts three periods of our host siblings classes. Yesterday it was kung fu, today it is Chinese culture, and tomorrow it may be Chinese cooking or P.E. or several other options. As this two our block draws to an end we go to lunch.

Lunch for the American students/teacher is much different for the average Hangzhou High School student. We are put into a separate room adjacent to the dining hall and are giving a completely separate arrangement of food; we even have our own chef.

On average our day ends with a free period in which our host siblings and their friends come get us to play some kind of sport whether it be basketball, badminton, or soccer. After this it tends to be several past five o’clock and at this point all students go home. The school day, although several hours longer than our own doesn’t seem as such because of the fun we have from day to day.