[VLOG#31] A Hike With My Host Family

Iona

(Video only)

“‘Ohhh! You’re going to be there when the new tea comes in!’ - Mrs. Viz”

Kelby

My host family doesn’t sleep. That’s the impression Henry and his mother give, anyway. If my last blog didn’t convince you, let me attempt to pursue made you once more.

This past Sunday - ironically the day of rest - was one of the most tiring days I have had in a while. As of now in Hangzhou, Spring is approaching. In America, Spring Can mean many different things: flowers blooming, warmer weather, graduation soon approaching, etc. In Hangzhou, only one thing matters - new tea leaves. The new tea leaves are in! Naturally my host mother knew this, so she decided to take Liz, Mrs. Waterman, Henry, and me out to pick tea.

The tea trees themselves are not in the city, so we had to drive about 45 minutes into the hills to pick the tea. Being foreigners, we were very fortunate to have permission to pick the new tea. Apparently Henry has a friend from middle school who’s family owns a small patch of trees. The friend’s family owns a restaurant near their patch of trees, so we were able to drink some tea and eat some sunflower seeds before working. After that, we climbed into the hills.

Walking on Water

Elizabeth (Liz)

Quote of the day

            Yeah, yeah         - Henry's Mom

Hello all,

I am glad to report I am all better even though Kelby and Iona are not. Nonetheless after school today we headed out to hang out with Henrys mom who was taking us to the enduring memories of Hanzhou light show. The drive to get there was crazzzzzyyy. So much traffic!! But it was worth it. The show was pretty much like all the other operas we have seen, a series of acts that demonstrate the variations that is Chinese opera. But what made this so special was the fact that it was legitimately on the water. Basically all the dancers and singers would preform on these docs that were so thin it looked like they were walking on water. On top of that the water itself reflected all the lights that surrounded us which in turn provided this surreal atmosphere. I think my favorite parts was when the huge lines of women holding umbrellas all danced on the docks in sync and when they projected this giant fan on the water during the butterfly lovers dance. We are all so thankful Henrys mom brought us to experience this wonderful show and she herself was a lot of fun as well with her spunky attitude and fearless driving.

Thats all for now!

[VLOG#30] Morning in the Life

Iona

(Video only)

A Tour of West Lake

Ms Waterman
(teacher)

We spent today with Dana, our friend who was the China Exchange teacher from Hangzhou this year. She and her husband offered to bring us to West Lake to visit some of the scenic spots. The weather cooperated wonderfully! Even though it was quite warm (almost 80 F!), we were thrilled to see clear blue sky and bright sunshine. It’s the first really clear blue sky that we’ve seen since we were in Lijiang a month ago, and it makes me more aware that I’ll never take our beautiful blue skies at home in Massachusetts for granted again!

Our first stop was the Leifeng Pagoda which we climbed to see the view from the seventh floor. The lake lay below us and we could identify a few places that we recognized: the Broken Bridge and the Long Bridge. Dana also showed us the island with the three reflecting pools that are one of the lake’s scenic spots. Inside the Pagoda, we spent some time admiring the carved wooden panels covering the walls which tell the story of White Snake, a legend about Hangzhou. The story tells the love story between a human and an immortal god and ends in the destruction of the Pagoda. In reality, the Pagoda was destroyed many years ago by an earthquake, but I think I prefer the legend’s explanation of a vengeful immortal. After spending over an hour in our woodworking class this week painstakingly trying to shape a small piece of wood into something resembling a heart, I have a new appreciation for the art of carving, and I marveled at the level of detail and the intricate shapes and figures that the artist created to tell the story.