A Big Welcome from Hangzhou

(Abby)

Today started off with a bang when my water bottle rolled off of the top bunk of the night train and woke everyone up at 7 am. Our 15-hour overnight train ride was coming to an end and we were going to arrive in Hangzhou in an hour and forty minutes. Despite the limited space and luggage, all of us managed to put ourselves together quite nicely, if I do say so myself.

At the train station, three teachers from Hangzhou High School met and took us to the school. The taxi ride through the city was amazing. I honestly didn’t expect Hangzhou to be as nice as it really is. New buildings and many types of trees are everywhere and the city itself has a safe and interesting atmosphere. As we drove up to the school, a sign was posted on their electronic screen welcoming “the friends of Dover-Sherborn High School”. Our homestay siblings met us next with beautiful flowers at the front steps. My host sisters names are Rich, my host sibling for the first two weeks, and Maggie, my second.

We were next shown to a conference room, where we met the famous LV and Derek. They are very funny and send Ola and me into fits of laughter. We were also introduced to our translator for the day, North. Soon after, the whole school committee, including the principal, the many vice principals, the English heads and assistants, welcomed us to the school. We were presented with gifts of beautiful notebooks and our uniform jackets. The whole welcome ceremony was very formal, but it made us all feel very comfortable in the school.

LV and Anne, an English teacher, then took us on a tour around the high school. The campus is very big and beautiful, similar to a college campus. The classrooms are in many buildings and face out towards outdoor hallways. There is always fresh air passing through the classrooms, which is very nice. A huge stadium that students use as a gym houses many basketball, badminton, and empty practice rooms. It was interesting to us that although people don’t seem to put much emphasis onto sports here in China, they sure do put a lot of money into building extravagant facilities. We also noticed that not all of the students were wearing their uniforms consisting of a navy blue, red and white jacket and navy track pants. When we asked about this earlier, our host siblings said that some students break the rules and decide not to wear their uniforms. I would imagine that it would be hard to not get caught if everyone else is wearing the required uniform and you stand out in regular clothes. Many people, however, do this and seem not to get reprimanded. This surprised me because in America, we’ve been told that Chinese students follow school rules very diligently.

After walking around the campus, we were taken to the cafeteria to eat our lunch. All of our lunches are cooked by our personal chef, Bacon, and the food is very delicious. We were sat down to a big meal of fried fish, french fries, veggies, and yogurt. North also joined us for lunch, which was nice because we got to chat with her about her life in China as a senior. All of our translators, we get two rotating students each day of the week, are in their last year of high school and most of them are going to college in America (and even Canada).

After lunch, Rich and her dad, Mr. Ing, took me back to their apartment 15 minutes away from the school by car. The apartment complex they live in is very nice and very big. 27 buildings in total are in it. Ola and her host family also live in the building across from mine. The moment I stepped through the door, I was given my own pair of slippers and a tour of the home. It’s a three-bedroom apartment with a central living area and a small kitchen. I got my own room, which was stocked with water and cookies. The view from my room is also pretty amazing. I like to keep my shades open and watch the city lights (and the frequent lightning) while falling asleep.

Since Rich got to go home from school early, I was left to relax and do whatever I pleased while she started her homework. She did take a break to watch Agents of Shield with me though. We rested until dinner and I got to meet my host mom too. She works at a school as a teacher and my host dad is a building engineer. They are both very nice and made me feel very welcome in their home. They also entertained me with their college-level English, which is very fun to listen too.

I got very tired at the end of dinner, so I took a shower, put on my pajamas, and went to bed at 8 pm. The travel on the night train drained my energy, so an early night was needed. I was also getting up at 6 am the next morning, so I wanted to get as much sleep as I could.

Zaijian for now!