[VLOG#3] Day Two in Hong Kong

Iona

Year of the Dog

Kelby

Today was our first full day in Hong Kong, which is also the day of the Chinese New Year.

Elizabeth, Iona and I woke up this morning at four as we are all getting acclimated to the time change. We looked out at the city in the night and the view gave us a whole new perspective of the city. The city is very different compared to our American cities. I tend to describe Hong Kong as a hybrid between New York and Miami, for the entire city is bursting with life, light and opportunity (New York), while the architecture and weather is that of Miami.

[VLOG#2] Day One in Hong Kong

Iona

And so it begins ...

Iona

And we’re off! The sisterhood of the travelling silk pajamas (our group name) had a very early rise on this Valentine’s day; everyone excited to see what the next 63 days will hold. The slight detour to get to the airport didn’t distract any one of us from meeting at the airport for 4am this morning. Before heading into the airport via security, we said goodbye to our parents, and Mrs. Viz and Andy were also sweet enough to send us off.

[VLOG#1] Boston to Hong Kong

Iona

[FIRST POST of 2018 Exchange] Exchange Group En Route to Hong Kong!

Mr Viz (Editor)

We're happy to report that the 2018 D-S China Exchange Group is en route to Hong Kong as we speak (via Toronto)! It was one of the earliest departures ever, with a 4am check-in.  But even with the sleep deprivation, the excitement was palpable ... that indescribable mixture of emotions of the delegation, wondering what adventures lay before them in China and at Hangzhou High School in particular, and the emotions of their parents, who were to be without their kids for 8 whole weeks.  Overlaid upon that the feeling of slight apprehension, this is what makes travel, especially the international kind, so amazingly wonderful!

This year's Exchange group, consisting of Kelby, Elizabeth, Iona and teacher Rebecca Waterman, has already named themselves The Sisterhood of the Traveling Silk Pajamas and has promised to keep us up to date with all their adventures through timely postings.  Follow this blog to get automatic updates and watch for a Twitter account shortly.

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Silk Pajamas, with Ms Viz

This departure was especially emotional for my wife (Ms. Viz) and myself, marking the last sendoff with her at the reins of the Exchange program.  It has been such an awesome experience for both of us; I'm sure she'll post her own blog entry soon.  All I can personally say (and speaking as an ex-Newton School Committee person, well aware of what their program has meant to Newton) is that this program has been an incredible asset for Dover-Sherborn and Hangzhou for the last 16 years.  May it continue to flourish next year and well into the future, as its mission and purpose become increasingly more vital and meaningful.

[LAST POST of 2017 Exchange] The Weather in China : From Snow in Beijing to Pineapples in Yuanyang (written Feb 25th)

I would like to express my sincere thanks to everyone who advised that we pack for all sorts of weather while here in China. We’ve experienced virtually every type of weather there is. We started our journey with Spring-like weather in Hong Kong and are currently riding on the train from Beijing to Hangzhou through a snow-dusted landscape.

On our first day in China we needed windbreakers and light sweaters on the ferry from Kowloon to Hong Kong Island and subsequent tram/funicular railway up to Victoria Peak. We shed layers on our hike along the trail which circled the base of Governor’s Hill and we’d stripped down to t-shirts on the virtually vertical hike up Governor’s Walk to the Victoria Peak Garden.

Hannah's Foodventure Part 2: Hangzhou

I knew that my host sister Sunny and I were going to get along on the first day when she brought me back to her house and then said "Hey, do you want to go explore the 5 story supermarket near my house?" (I said yes, of course). Sunny had a passion for Chinese food that would take us to restaurants across Hangzhou and earn her the affectionate nickname "Food Fairy Godmother". With that in mind, here's the cuisine highlight reel from Hangzhou!!

The Spicy, Stewed, Whole Head of a Duck (except for the eyes)
You read that correctly. Day 2, Sunny and her mom took me to a tiny local favorite restaurant, where Sunny asked me if I wanted to try "something I probably wouldn't see in America". That turned out to be the entire head of a duck, cooked with lots of peppers. It was seriously DELICIOUS. You weren't allowed to eat the eyes, Sunny wasn't sure why, but we ate everything (note: we each were served our own individual duck head) including the brain! It was the coolest way to jump into food in Hangzhou.

COOKING ADVENTURE!!!

As you may know, I LOVE to cook. I asked Sunny if they would let me cook them an American meal for our last night eating in their home. They agreed, and what follows is my Sunday afternoon cooking odyssey:

My first task was to plan the meal. I had to first take into account that despite having not one but TWO small ovens in their apartment, Sunny's family never used them and instead I found they were full of ceramicware and cutlery. Whatever I made would need to utilize a hot plate and a burner. Also, Sunny's absolute favorite food is fish, so I planned to cook salmon, something she said they never really ate because they didn't really know how to cook it. They also told me they wanted to try a salad, but the rest was up to me! I decided in addition to mustard salmon and a yummy salad recipe (which I stole from a close family friend who make's a mean dressing), I would make a daring attempt at Pesto Pasta and some simple stir-fried veggies. The list was set!

Food Blog: Part One

I knew the second my first bite of authentic Chinese cuisine touched my lips that I was going to need to save my food blog for the end of the trip. I needed to spend the two months we had really figuring out my favorite foods to share with you guys, because I love food and I think it’s been a very important part of this trip.

I’ve decided to divide my holy findings into two posts: food I ate during the travel portion of the trip (this post!), and food I ate in Hangzhou.

I did not take nearly enough photos of food during this trip as I should have!

Steamed Scallion Bun

Our hotel breakfast buffets were my first real experience of Chinese food where I could simply try what I thought looked good. On our first morning in Hong Kong, having eaten nothing since landing, I opened a steaming basket to reveal scallion buns; rice buns in a sort of layered, spiral roll, with pieces of scallion sprinkled throughout. A safe choice for the first morning, but seriously really delicious. So soft, warm, and with a very soft spring-oniony flavor.

The Mountain Terraces (written March 6)

This post is a belated one, about our day hiking through the rice terraces on the top of the mountains in Xin Jie, Yuanyang county, Yunnan. Yunnan province is almost as far south as you can get in China, and we spent a lot of our travel time in different places in the diverse and gorgeous area. Xin Jie, however, the old town on the peak of a mountain, surrounded by terraces and distant peaks and clouds, proved to be my favorite of all the places we went. Our arrival to this town itself would have stood on its own as a tourism event- riding in the back of our van for hours and it wound up and around switchbacks carved into the side of the mountain, steadily climbing ever higher, the drop offs on the edge of each turn growing steeper and steeper. Each hairpin turn was too sharp to see who was coming around the other side, the road had no lines or markings, and it wasn't wide enough for two cars to comfortably pass each other. The safest method of avoiding a crash was to honk your horn loudly at each turn so anyone nearby would hear you coming. (Car horns in China are generally used more as a method of alerting other cars to your arrival than as a last resort to warn a car or as an expression of frustration. They don’t ask a question, they simply tell other cars “Here I come, no matter whether you move or not” as the driver does just that.)

Happy Birthday to Me!!

What a wonderful couple of days!! Though I usually enjoy my birthday I was overwhelmed by the outpouring of warm greetings from the students, staff and teachers here in Hangzhou. (And of course by my three great DSHS students!) 

This was due in part, of course, to the information in my presentations to the Chinese English classes. In my presentation to the Chinese students I introduced myself, my family, favorite activities plus my educational and work background. I also included my birthdate in one of the slides partly to help them practice saying dates in English and also so that they’d realize that I was still working at an age when most Chinese women are expected to have retired and be at home with grandchildren (or dancing in the streets - but more about that later.). 

Anyhow, what I hadn't really contemplated was that in teaching over 1200 students that meant that they were all aware that my birthday was on Saturday! All over campus I received birthday greetings and at English Corner a group of students arrived with hand-written cards. The biggest treat was arriving for our Friday afternoon cooking class to find that the school had arranged a surprise party for me complete with balloons, a Birthday Girl crown and a beautiful cake made of a sort of angel food cake, cream filling, mangoes, pineapples and another fruit like a small tart apple.