Shipping Off to Boston

(Ola)

Just as we were getting into the swing of things, we were introduced to new host families. We moved in after the Sakura festival on Sunday and have loved getting to know them. Maggie and Ivy, Abby and my host sisters, both live in the dorms at school but moved back home for two weeks to host us. Unfortunately, I am no longer able to bike to and from school as Ivy lives 40 minutes away from the school, across the Qiantang river.

Bubbling (Many Exclamation Points)

(Nik)

This past weekend the good folks at Hanggao had a lot on their plate: on Saturday, While we enjoyed the Xixi wetlands and their river pearls, the school was administering several sections of the Gaokao, or college entrance exam, and on Sunday, the student-run Sakura was to be held. Wode Tian! (My heavens)

Shakespearean Cues?

(Lindsay)

But old folks, many feign as they were dead;

Unwieldy, slow, heavy and pale as lead.

Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Act 2, Scene 5

Though it is highly unlikely that the Chinese government takes its cues from Shakespeare, in China women must retire at the age of 55, and the theory behind this mandate is that women who are 55 and older tire easily. Really? Walk through any public square in China and you will find more than enough evidence to easily debunk such a cockamamie idea. Everywhere there are women lined up in rows, dancing to music either played by live musicians or blasted from boom boxes. And they aren’t just dancing; they’re moving and grooving. Some of them even put John Travolta to shame.

Hair Salon

(Lindsay)

Yesterday, in the evening, I went to get my hair cut at the local hair salon. When I held my forefinger and thumb a half inch apart to indicate how much I wanted taken off, it seems the stylist took me to mean that was how long I wanted my hair. Holy Eisenhower! Nevertheless, my hair will grow, and the experience was yet another adventure. I had heard there was a salon on an alley just off one of the lanes of the silk market, and I might have missed it but for the old fashioned barber’s pole outside the door. Inside, customers occupied each of the two chairs in front of mirrors, and beneath the mirrors were all the clipping and combing paraphernalia you’d find anywhere.

Mastering Mahjong

(Abby)

Hello readers! Because our days are becoming more or less the same structurally, most of the blogs from now on will be about our thoughts on cultural happenings here in China rather than retellings of our adventures. We will have some more adventures, however, so stay tuned for those stories! If you do like tales of adventure and can’t wait for the ones to come, click the “next page” button located at the bottom of the blog homepage to scroll back to the blogs about our days of travel!