Snoopy, Guitars, and Lipstick

(Colin)

In my previous blog post, I started with an attempt to make it shorter than before.  As doing so did nothing, I shall make no such attempts in this post.  I shall simply let the words flow out of me, and whatever length this particular post chooses to be, it shall be.  Here it goes.

Last week was our last week with our first host families.  In celebration, ryan’s host family took us all out to eat at a restaurant known for a dish called “Beggar’s Chicken”, in which a chicken is encased in mud clay then tossed into an oven. 

“Are you a Professional Eater?”

(Lizzy)

None of us can believe that our time at Hangzhou is half over! It feels like we just arrived, but we are already switching host families in just a couple of days. I am excited to meet my next host family, but at the same time I know I will miss my current host sister, parents, and rabbit very much. I could not have asked for a more welcoming and generous family and I look forward to showing Apple around when she visits the US.

No, I don't eat competitively.

(Chris)

This week is turning out to be my most enjoyable so far here in Hangzhou.  In addition to visiting English classes and giving my little presentation, I (along with Ryan, Colin and Lizzy) have been invited to other classes and clubs.  The other day, we were all invited to an after-school party.  We were the guests of honor for a club that has the kids playing a bunch of games to practice their English.  

Apparently I’m a Good Cook(?)

(Colin)

Though my last blog post was rather long, I feel that it is better to do many short ones than a weekly long one.  On that note, I shall do my best to limit this particular post to a decent length.  However, as I do have a tendency to rant, I can give no guarantees in the first paragraph.

Moving on. ...

Apple on Ice: the Return of the UNO

(Ryan)

I have to say that weekends in Hangzhou are the most eventful weekends I have ever experienced.  I can't believe how much we can cram in into just a few days.  It makes me sad that we only have a few more weekends left.  There is so much to do here, and I'm afraid we wont be able to experience it all in our stay here.

Friday night was a fantastic way to end the week and start a fun-filled weekend.  Colin, Ray, Lizzy, Apple, Dawn, Steven (my host brother) and I met after school to go to a karaoke bar ...

Pedal Away

(Chris)

We've just begun our 3rd week in Hangzhou and I thought I'd talk about this city in this post. The school has given me a bicycle to use for the 5 weeks that we're here and I've been riding pretty much every day to explore the city. The one great thing about the layout of the roads here is that they have bike lanes on almost all the streets. The lanes are separated by cement dividers or large vertical reflectors that line the entire bike lane. It's fantastic!

Party!

(Lizzy)

While not as bad as Boston, Hangzhou has certainly been chilly the past couple days. The school (Hanggao) has the odd tendency to revel in the cold, however. Rather than shun it with heating and insulation, they embrace it by opening windows and doors as much as possible. This does help explain why the drinking water is preferred hot. To say the least, the inescapable cold (including constantly wearing winter jackets and being able to see our breath in class) is taking some getting used to among the DS group ...

Dumpling Monsters and the Curse of UNO

(Ryan)

It has been more than a week since we arrived in Hangzhou, and I am loving my stay here.  The city is beautiful!  Everywhere you look there is something nice to see, whether it be trees, parks, water ways, old architecture, stone carvings, statues, or the modern buildings.  After our hectic train journey into the city, it was nice to finally get some rest and relaxation ...

A Ray of Light

(Colin)

After an 18 hour train ride, during which I slept like a baby and saw 5 nuclear power plants, a new chapter of my Chinese experience (not to be confused with my upcoming novel about a Chinese space pilot named Hangzhou-lo, who flies the Millenium Dragon), began ...

Mucho gusto, Potato Tiger.

(Chris)

It is the beginning of our second week here in Hangzhou. I’m sitting here reflecting on what we’ve done so far and it’s hard to believe that it’s only been one week. There is so much to talk about that it’s going to be hard to condense it all into a few paragraphs - I’ll do my best to make my observations descriptive, yet brief ...

First Week at Hanggao (Hangzhou High School)

(Lizzy)

Our first week in Hangzhou has been quite eventful. Immediately upon arriving in the city after an exhausting 18 hour train ride from Luoyang, we were greeted by our respective host families at Hanggao, our new school. My host sister’s English name is Apple, and she and her family have all be extremely hospitable and kind to me; especially since my first week here has not been the smoothest.

My first day; however, seemed to indicate good things ahead. I got my first glimpses of the beautiful city, including West Lake, which the residents of Hangzhou are most proud of, and for good reason. Everything is green and fairly warm here; a drastic and welcome change from the bleak coldness we have become used to. Though the lake is technically to the West of the city, it is very part of the city center, and the parks surrounding it are often quite crowded with people out enjoying the day.

After enjoying the sights around the lake with my host family, I began to feel sick back at the apartment ...

You can call me Thunder.

(Chris)

It is Tuesday morning here and I am sitting in my cubicle in the Foreign Language Teachers’ Office at Hangzhou High School! They gave me my own little space with a computer, cappuccino mix, tea and a file cabinet. It’s perfect!

Let me start out by saying how fantastic the staff and administration here have been since we arrived! There was a welcoming committee of about 6 teachers at the train station waiting for us. With big smiles and an excited look on their faces, they gave each of us a bouquet of flowers as we got off the train on Sunday morning. They helped us get through the mob that was departing the train station and then threw us into some vans to bring us to the school ...