And the Countdown Begins ...

Iona

And the countdown begins, we have had such an amazing time here in Hangzhou and we are desperately trying to take advantage of the winding down days! Yesterday after school, Liz, Kelbs, Sunny, and I met Mrs. Waterman and Dana in the English office at 5:30pm to go out for dinner and shopping together. Before this though, we had a ten hour long school day and it was productive for most of us; finding the time and place to make progress on our school work has been difficult but, VPN willing, we have been managing just fine. Coming home in a matter of days has been both exciting but also stressful as we still have to make a dent in our homework, strive to see all that Hangzhou has to offer (#striveforgreatness), and pack our rooms into our suitcases. I have just started the packing process and am finding it incredibly difficult to find the most efficient approach, wish me luck! When it comes down to it though, the Sisterhood will be just fine and everything that needs to get done will get done, though some good blessings and best wishes our way would still be appreciated :).

So on top of the tasks still left to do, we have been living life to the fullest and experiencing Hangzhou’s night life; Dana and Sunny showed us around Hefang St where we were able to satisfy most if not all of our gift buying! Very pleased with how the evening was spent, loads of walking and time with friends. The street had shops inside traditional style built houses which added a historic element to the experience, so cool to walk down the street. There were copious amounts of snacks inside the many different food stores so getting an evening snack was not a problem. Liz, Kelbs, Mrs. Waterman, Sunny, and I all bought gifts for loved ones and we are very happy now! The next challenge is to find a way to fit all this into our suitcases... I started out with one suitcase and one backpack and now I have two suitcases and a giant backpack and so many pounds of luggage...

Wish me luck!

[VLOG#32] Yellow Mountain Excursion

Iona

(Video only)

Nanbei Hu

Ms Waterman
(teacher)

Since Kelby and I returned to Hangzhou at 10:00 PM on Sunday night after spending the day at HuangShan (Yellow Mountain), I was a little tired on Monday morning for the day trip we took with the Senior 1 (grade 10) class. It's a good thing I had some longjing tea (caffeine!) to wake me up!

The trip was their spring outing and the destination was the Nanbei (North South) Lake. The lake is about one hour away from the city. The weather was sunny and warm again and it was great to spend the day outside. The kids spent the day with their host siblings' classes and I stayed with the teachers. I loved watching the kids travel in their class groups - each class carried a large red flag with yellow writing with the name of the high school and the class number (#1-12). There were also a few students who carried an even larger flag with the name of the school written in a creative design that students at the school designed a few years ago. The whole scene reminded me a little of how a military is organized in small groups. Each morning at school, the students in this same Senior 1 grade run laps of the school at break time in similar organized formation: one student leading at the front, the rest of the 48 students jogging in time in a crowd behind the lead student, and one student at the back of the group to mark the end of one class before the next class begins. While I like the idea of giving students 20 minutes for a break between classes (we do the same thing at DS!), I'm not sure I like the mandatory running. I like to run, yes, but the set up seems a little too militaristic for me.

Let’s Go!

Kelby

It’s confirmed. My host family does not sleep. This past weekend was a true testimony to such a statement.

Henry’s mother is a force to be reckoned with. I never knew a woman less than five feet tall could conquer the world in the way that she has. With every corner we turn we seem to be making a new friend. Anyway, this force I speak of willed me, Mrs. Waterman, and Henry to a mountain range (Yellow Mountains) three hours from Hangzhou. Saturday afternoon, we hop in the Jeep, drive to the mountains, and mentally prepare ourselves for the day ahead of us. That is where our journey begins.

Our day began at six o’clock on Sunday morning. I struggle out of my bed, tiredly moving myself towards the bathroom to wash up and get ready. Seeing that we were in the mountains, I had to dress warm. I pack my bag, go downstairs for some breakfast (the hotel had Coco Puffs), and then meet Henry’s mother in the lobby to go for our hike. We check out of our hotel, walk to the bus, drive up the mountain, and head towards the lift that will take us to the summit.

China Banquet May 3 ... Ms Viz's final one (very sad face!)

Mr Viz
(blogmaster)

The 16th Annual China Exchange Banquet is coming soon! Be sure to mark your calendars for May 3 at 6:30pm, and please note that ticket purchases should be finalized by Monday, April 30. See the ad at the top of the blog, and click it for details and the ticket order form.  Or, click here.

This Banquet will be a "sweet and sour" one because with her retirement, it will be Ms Viz's final one (but not as a participant, I'm sure!!). If you've had anything to do with the China Exchange over it's last 16 years, this would be a great opportunity to come and reminisce. That's why it's particularly important this year to get those tickets purchased, and numbers finalized, ASAP.

And if you can't make it, but would love to show your support for this amazing program, please note that you can still send in the ticket form with something entered on the Contribution line!

Hope to see you there!

Canals for Days

Ms Waterman
(teacher)

In the past two days, we have spent time at the Grand Canal in two different ways and in beautiful weather!

When we were in Beijing a few weeks ago (actually, it was almost a month ago- wow!), we saw the Grand Canal as we toured the hutongs of the old city. Our guide told us that we would see the canal again when we arrived in Hangzhou because the man-made canal connects the two old cities and measures about 1,500 km in length. The fact that it is man-made is incredible but the size of the project didn’t really strike me until I stumbled upon the canal on one of my afternoon walks. In Hangzhou, the Grand Canal stretches for miles and miles as it winds its way through the city from north to south. It is over one hundred meters wide in Hangzhou and used to be heavily used for trade. Now it is mostly quiet, but I have seen many large barges transporting cargo southward.

I have walked along the canal at least 5 times in the past 2 weeks and I have found it to be a wonderful place to walk in the spring. Most of the paths that follow the river on both sides of the canal are shaded by flowering trees (on windy days, I’ve walked through showers of pollen and tree seeds) and lead past bridges, apartment complexes, small playgrounds, and parks with pergolas covered in lilac vines. Unlike so much of the city sidewalks, these paths are quiet and calm and I never worry that I will be run over by a bike, scooter, or car. Needless to say, I’ve really enjoyed these walks!

Happy Qing Ming Jie from the Sisterhood!

Iona

The students at Hanggao get a 5 day break from school, so we had Thurs-Mon open to adventure. While it is tradition to get together with family members and honour the ancestors, the Sisterhood had no tombs to visit so we went shopping on Thursday. We all (plus Caroline) met up at the school gate early in the morning with Sunny (Hanggao’s exchange student from two years ago!) and she took us down Silk Street. It was so fun to catch up with her and get some insight into what her life is like after her trip to America. She has decided to devote a lot of her school career into studying for the SATs and is preparing to take the TOEFL (Test Of English as a Foreign Language) in order to make herself a serious candidate for American schools. All the best to her!

Chinese Universities

Elizabeth (Liz)

Hey all!

One of the big things I was curious about before coming to China was the University system. I knew what was the college process which as some of you may know in China they take the Gao Kao which determines your major and which university you can get into. But everything that came after that was a mystery. Luckily for us, my host parents are both professors at Zhejiang University of Technology, which is the number two university in Zhejiang Province, and my host mom offered to show us around.