All. The. Things.

(Heather)

China is a dangerous place. Now, before anyone goes off in a tizzy of worry, I don’t mean to imply that China is a physically dangerous place, nor do I mean that I’ve felt unsafe at any point (other than from the mopeds and scooters that careen precariously close to me on the street).

No, China is dangerous for your wallet and bank account, as there are so many things. There are so many pretty, lovely, stunning, beautiful, charming, intricate, delicate, rustic, artisan, whimsical, clever, unique, colorful, shiny, soft, sleek, silky, heavenly, gorgeous, ethereal, exquisite things. How about those adjectives?

Teachers and Teaching!

(Heather)

Before I write anything else, let me tell you about a new survival strategy I’ve adopted…it works well when you’re trying to cross the street with a delicate birthday cake in a box, and are faced with an onslaught of cars that largely ignore traffic lights or walk signals. I call it the “stand close to but on the other side of traffic from a local, and then mirror and match every step he or she takes” method. It’s worked so far, though I do have some guilt at effectively using local Hangzhou residents as unwitting shields against aggressive bicyclists, moped-ists (is that a word?) and motorists.

I Just Wish There Was a Way….

(Dareus)

I’m going to give you the lowdown on what we did today because that is what I am supposed to do; later I will tell you what I really want to talk about. 

So today started off with an exceptionally tasty breakfast. I inhaled what is called Ba Tsung in the backseat of my host dad’s car on the way to school at 6:30 in the morning. Ba Tsung is essentially sticky rice, meat, peanuts, and mushrooms formed into roughly the shape of a triangular prism. This triangle of rice and stuff is then wrapped in banana leaves and steamed to cook it. Afterwards you unwrap this geometric prism of deliciousness and eat it. So that was worth noting. 

From Clueless to Celebrity and Back Again…

(Heather)

After our trip to the Xixi Wetlands on Saturday—which was beautiful if quite rainy and wet—I ventured out to find myself a bite to eat. I ended up at a nearby coffee bar/restaurant, primarily because I’d read a few good things about the locale online, and additionally because they had an English menu I could point to and frantically gesture at. Miraculously, what I had pointed to appeared before me, and I was quite content for awhile with my dinner and the free wifi provided. Then, I realized I’d been waiting for the bill. For awhile…for a long while. So, I made eye contact with the waiter, smiled, and tried to mime check or bill by drawing a square and signing my name in the air. Yup! I was excited and elated and confident I’d been successful in communicating my desire. The waiter walked away with purpose, and came back with…

A Musical Day in Hangzhou

(Caitlin)

Monday started out like most days in Hangzhou do, with an early wake-up and a delicious home cooked breakfast courtesy of my host mother. We were running a tad late that morning, so Willow (my host sister) joined me and the boys in room 209 during the morning meeting, and we all chatted for a while before we had our classes. Around 9:30 we were wondering where our translator was, because usually Crowtis or Cindy or Dee-Dee comes to meet us in 209, but we headed out to go to our first music class anyways. When we got there we were greeted by Kay, the third student who had come to DS last year. We were all really psyched to see Kay, because we’d only seen her on the first day in Hangzhou, but apparently her schedule changed, and she told us that she would be out translator for the next few weeks.

Hospitality at its Highest

(Max)

This past week has certainly been one to remember. Last Sunday I joined my host mother and brother for dinner at quite a nice restaurant. We were having the dinner as a celebration of my host brother’s cousin’s tenth birthday. This was my host mother’s brother’s son.

So, we arrived at the restaurant where the rest of the family was waiting.

Museum City

(Timmy)

“Oh god, I don’t want to wake up now.” Back in America, the earliest my Saturday mornings would start was around 11 o’clock. Today I woke up at a nightmarish 6:30. I had to force myself to turn off the alarm blaring right beside my hand. When I finally did get up, I prepared myself for the day in a sluggish manner. My host dad took a taxi with me to the high school where the group, (we haven’t decided on a name yet), agreed to meet that day. It was a rainy day, fitting for the wetlands we were going to see. I said bye to my host dad as he left for the airport, (he left for his nephew’s wedding), and double checked to see if I had everything.