School in America?

(Emily)

Students who wish to go to school in America really have to take the initiative--its a lot of extra work. They must teach themselves the TOEFL and SAT vocabulary (although most get tutors). Also, the SAT is not administered in mainland China, so students must fly to Hong Kong multiple times. Our translator friends tell us that when they took their SAT’s they were surrounded by other mainland students at the airport, at hotels, and at the shopping malls. The test taking center they were at held 3000 people--and there were only five bathrooms, and they had only five minute breaks to use them. Not as much fun as our SAT’s, in short. Most students just take the GaoKao though--I think our perspective is a bit skewed because our guides and many of the kids we meet at English corner have more to do with us precisely because they want to practice their English.

Exploring the Creative World of American Film…Chinese style!

(Joseph)

Last week I embarked on a somewhat challenging and intimidating task: teaching the famous American film Citizen Kane to junior-level Chinese students with no experience studying film at all…and all this in less than 45 minutes. Of course, I did not really teach as much of the film as I would have liked, but we covered an amazing amount of film in our limited time.

Teaching Experiences at Hangzhou High School

(Joseph)

After a busy week teaching 14 sophomore classes here at Hangzhou High School, I am really enjoying the cultural exchange here. The students are rapt with attention when I speak of American history, life, education, and housing. In fact, I have become somewhat of a celebrity here.

Weekend Fun

(Mel)

This weekend, just as the one before, was completely exhausting but totally worth it. Even though our host siblings have to go to school on saturdays they found time on friday night to join us for some karaoke. Even some of our host sibling’s friends came with us as well as one of our translators, Emily. There were enough of us to get the VIP room which was large with a wrap-around couch/bench along three walls and a huge flat-screen TV on the other. We also had three microphones, an all you can eat buffet, and four hours to spend. I think it’s safe to say that everyone had a great time. By the time we left each person had sung at least one song (most of us many more than that) and we were all quite impressed by Jim’s (Andrew’s host brother) singing voice.

Reflections on Hangzhou

(Andrew)

Wow. I cannot believe it has already been a week that we have been in Hangzhou. So many things have happened that need their own separate blogs, so I will just give a short synopsis of what my first impressions of Hangzhou and its people are.

At around 10am on 2/14, our train from Luoyang arrived at Hangzhou’s train station. Ironically exhausted after our overnight train ride and journey throughout China, we were greeted by a smiling delegation, composed of administration members, faculty, and our host siblings.

A Tale of Two High Schools

(Allen)

Time has really flown by since our arrival here at Hangzhou. Since arriving last Tuesday, we’ve been at the school for over a week. During that time, I’ve grown to appreciate DSHS a lot more…let me explain.

Hangzhou Seniors

(Mel)

Saturday night we met up for dinner followed by a stroll around a night market with the group who came to DS last year. It was really great to get to see Swan, Kevin, SR and Wang Fei again and to hear what they’re all up to now. Here in Hangzhou we’re all being hosted by sophomores so it’s hard to compare their classes to ours but having an opportunity to talk to seniors really got me thinking about the two school systems in a way that’s more relevant to our lives as seniors. So here’s a warning to any seniors who are reading this if you’re sick of hearing about the college process stop reading this blog now (but I think this could be a new spin that might make the whole thing seem more manageable!).

Luoyang and Nanjie (from the past)

(Emily)

The last stops on our journey were a bit surreal, and made our final destination all the more welcoming. In Luoyang, China's ongoing and uneven transition into the present was obvious; while other cities we've seen have been shining and modern, and surpass those of America and Europe, Luoyang semed in some ways to be stuck in the previous century. ( Not the eighteen hundreds. No horses or telegraph lines.) We passed block after block of raw, dusty earth masked by temporary walls, and unfinished, wounded-looking buildings whose metal supports arched into the air like exposed bone. At first, we thought the weather as just overcast, but it turned out that the sky in Luoyang is permanently smoggy. The entire effect was rather dystopic. It is at times like these--well, all the time, but especially times like these--that I wish I spoke more Chinese. Luoyang, while not a prime vacation spot, is still home to millions of people who must have some affection for it. The language barrier bars me from the human interactions that I'm sure would round out my impression of the city.

To Eat or Not to Eat…

(Joseph)

To eat or not to eat…

...but there is no question about eating in China, where everything, including the kitchen sink, gets eaten.

(I apologize in advance. So much of our experience here has been about eating and, although I hesitate to write twice about the same subject, I am blogging once again about the food and eating culture here in China. I promise to find another topic for my forthcoming blogs.)

Lists

(Emily)

I found the answers to two question that had been bothering me:

1. Question: How could you possibly slice a fish into perfectly even cubes while leaving the flesh attached to the skin and then get rid of all of the internal organs?
   Answer: You turn the fish inside out before you cook it.
2. Question: Why do the Chinese set off fireworks all the time?
   Answer: Because they can. Apparently fireworks aren't just for New Years or other holidays--you can set them off when you get married or at the launch of a new business.

Chinese Flash Mobs and Other Strange Behaviors

(Joseph)

Our team, or the mighty G.O.A.T.s (Going Overseas Adventure Team), had an…amusing time in Kunming, where we met Mr. Randy Hoover, Dover-Sherborn Middle School teacher. Randy was kind enough to take time out of his vacation to be our guide for a day and a half, and it was great to see a familiar and friendly face—with a mouth that spoke very good English.

When Randy mentioned the option of biking around Kunming, I must admit: my stomach dropped and my pulse quickened. If you have not already read my previous blog about driving in China, please do to appreciate my anxiety here. The thought of biking amidst a bunch of drivers to whom rules seem non-existent was not a welcome one, but Randy assured us that it would not be so bad, and that we, unlike the Chinese, would wear helmets for protection.

Transcendental Terracotta

(Mel)

As someone with a keen interest in ceramics, today’s activities were so awesome I’m still not totally convinced it happened. Seeing as yesterday’s flight got delayed by six hours we had a late start for our first full day in Xi’an but nevertheless (and not surprisingly) we were able to cram in lots of sight-seeing. The day was essentially a voyage to the terra cotta army but we made a few stops along the way.