Our Arrival in Hangzhou and My Apartment

After a 14-plus hour over night train ride from Beijing, we finally arrived at our new “home” early Wednesday morning. The Hangzhou High School welcoming committee were on the platform to greet us and, after introductions by all, whisked us off to the the high school.

Hangzhou is a very cosmopolitan city with lovely architecture and areas of great natural beauty. (As we drove through the city that morning, however, we weren’t able to fully appreciate it until a day or two later.) We drove through the school gates past impressive academic and administrative buildings. Founded in 1899 Hangzhou High School is considered one of the best private high schools in the Zhejiang Province. With over 2,000 students, some 175 faculty members and a rigorous curriculum, it more closely resembles a university or college than a high school.

Settling In -- In Hangzhou

Hello friends! After one month straight of pure travel, we’ve finally moved in with our host families in Hangzhou. It was a big adjustment, but just a few days in and this incredible city is already starting to feel like home.
As I write this, I’m sitting in Hangzhou City Library with my host sister, Sunny. It’s Sunny’s family tradition to come with her parents to this gigantic, beautiful library to do their work every Sunday, which I'm 100% on board with because I love libraries and the wifi here is magnificent.

I moved into Sunny’s apartment on Wednesday of last week, after a bumpy nighttime sleeper train from Beijing and a warm welcome from the Hangzhou High School staff. I was a little bit worried that after the thrill of travel -a different hotel everyday, airports, monuments, hikes- that I would be more prone to homesickness in Hangzhou. I wasn’t wrong, and I think I speak for everyone when I say that being in a school and in somebody else’s home made us all yearn for our own family, friends, and bed. It even felt weird to not be living with Jenny anymore, we had gotten so used to the constancy of each other’s company. The first couple of days we all felt the difficulty of adjusting to the new environment.