Hangzhou Happenings ... and The Great Wall!

(Molly)

So much has been going on, I keep forgetting to write!

Our time at Hangzhou High School is going really well. The weather is especially great – if anything, it’s too hot and sunny! Our favorite teacher is our Calligraphy teacher. He gave us each names and then acted them out. Steve’s was “strong and great man,” for which he flexed his biceps. Mine means “accomplished girl,” which was a hilarious action – I’m not sure if he was flopping, dancing, or what. He often motions for us to dance during our breaks, which is also a great motion. The only English words he’s used to us are “OK,” “no,” and “disco.” I suspect he knows a little more, but he doesn’t use it. Our Chinese teacher is also very good. His English is surprisingly good, seeing as he teaches Chinese at the high school. He has been teaching us how to buy things, what the school buildings are all called, how to describe the weather, and how to describe our trip to Beijing. I really like one of our gym teachers, but resent the other because she makes us work too hard! Also, she is in such good shape, and we have to do the whole workout facing a mirror. I get so self-conscious. We were all sweating and aching after the last aerobics class. It turns out, however, that I am a pretty good badminton player J A lot of the boys here are killer at ping-pong. I have a table at home, so I am really ashamed when I see them playing – they are fantastic. Our paper-cutting teacher is sweet. I generally enjoy the class for the first hour, but I am not a very patient person, so after that I get really fidgety. Our classes are each two hours long. Next week our paper-cutting teacher will teach us how to make Chinese knots or macramé! Our Hangzhou History class continues to be awkward, as our teacher speaks to us in full paragraphs of Chinese and we stare blankly back at him. It would be pretty comical if it weren’t so pathetic.

The English Corner has also been going pretty well. We have lots of customers every day. Yesterday Steve and I talked to someone who plans to apply to school in America, so we gave him some advice about which schools to check out. Another girl comes to us with a sheet of questions every day.

I got a haircut here. It is the most Chinese thing ever, and I love it. I have side bangs and hair that is short on top, long on the bottom. I am the most Asian one.

Our weekends have been busy. We went to the West Lake Museum (a little boring), the West Lake itself (several times – very pretty), climbed a few hills. One of the hills had rocks that Steve climbed on – he was in heaven! I was walking down the path at one point when he suddenly leapt across in front of me from one high rock to the other, just like a monkey. My favorite day so far was spent with two of the students who came to America three years ago, Yang and Jackie. They took us first to the West Lake, where we rented a dingy. We got tired of rowing really soon, so we mostly just drifted and sunbathed. Yang and Jackie are very good friends, and for our benefit did all their playful sparring in English, so we had a very amusing ride. Jackie’s ringtone is “Beautiful, pick up the phone!” Yang English is phenomenal. He is going to restart college in the fall in San Diego. Then we went to a Starbucks on the lake. Starbucks + beautiful day + pretty view = very happy Molly. We went back to Hefang Street, with all the cool shopping, for a bit so that Yang could buy Steve’s family a porcelain tea set. Yang bargained a watch for me down from 85 to 45 Yuan, because we were actually serious about walking away and she yelled at us. For dinner they took us to a Japanese restaurant. It was awesome. I think I am getting to be a much more adventurous eater here – I rarely eat raw fish at home, but I took one of each kind on the plate. After dinner I finally got my Kareoke! We went to KTV, and got our own room. There was a couch along three sides, and a TV on the fourth. For someone who hates Kareoke, Yang was singing a lot. It’s one of Jackie’s favorite things to do. Steve loved it but can’t admit it now that we have left the room. He says it’s in the MAN-ual.

One Saturday we went to the Wansong School. According to the legend, a boy and girl (who was dressed as a boy – girls couldn’t go to school back then) fell in love there, and were forbidden to marry so committed suicide and turned into butterflies. Now it is a gathering place for aunts and uncles with nothing better to do to come and set up dates for their single nieces and nephews. It was insane. There was a clothes-line with classified ads hanging from it, and all around us our hosts could hear old men and women saying “my nephew has a good job,” and “my niece is very beautiful.” Steve was offered the choice between one man’s 30- and 40-year-old daughters.

This past weekend we went to Beijing! We took an overnight train (6:30 PM to 7:30 AM). When we got there we were swept away to have breakfast and then run off to a Museum. It was actually the nicest museum we have been to, but we rushed through it because I wasn’t feeling well, and maybe he could tell that none of us are crazy about museums generally. Maybe it was so good because we didn’t have time to get bored. There was a big event going on in the lobby, for the 504th day to the Beijing Olympics… don’t even ask. They’re obsessed. There were teams of adults and children wearing t-shirts in the five Olympic colors. Half were painting a huge banner that went all the way around the room, and half were sitting in the ring formation on the floor.

Next we went to a Lama Monastary, which was pretty neat. The buildings were beautiful. In one building was a huge standing Buddha (or Sakyamuni) maybe 50 feet tall, made out of a single sandalwood tree and painted gold. Steve and Jill both bought Buddha statues at the temple, and then got them blessed. Now that they are blessed, they can’t say that they bought the buddhas, but that they “invited” the buddhas from the temple.

The food in Beijing was awesome. We ate at the same place for lunch and dinner on the first day, because our dinner reservation was overbooked. That was fine, because the restaurant was great. The noodles were good, and we had pear with caramelized sugar all over it (pineapple like this is my new favorite food, I think).

On our second day, Saturday, we went to the Forbidden City first. It was huge, but not as breathtaking as I expected it to be. The back, where they kept the concubines, was quite beautiful, but the front all looked the same. The Summer Palace, however, was breathtaking. It has a huge lake, with an island in the middle. There is a cherry tree on the island that was in full bloom when we went, which was very beautiful. The Palace itself is great too, with intricate corridors and pagodas. Along with the Forbidden City, we went to Tiananmen Square, which is not very notable except that it’s huge, and the guide didn’t mention anything about the massacre.

For lunch, we had an Imperial Banquet. The restaurant was set up when the emperor was overthrown in 1911 and his eunichs didn’t know how to do anything but cook for the emperor. We had over 10 courses, and stuffed ourselves silly. Our favorite was Chinese hamburger, which was a little bit spicy!

In the afternoon, Jill and Candice opted to go back to the hotel while Yang took us to visit his school and Beijing University. His school, The Peoples’ University of China, was a dump! No wonder he’s moving to San Diego! There was one nice building, which was MASSIVE – nearly all the classes are held there. We were not allowed to enter his dorm room, but he said 5 people live there, and from the outside it looked pretty nasty. Beijing University, on the other hand, is gorgeous. A prince used to live there. It has a lake that looks like Central Park with cherry blossoms. You can’t even tell that you’re in a city.

On Sunday we drove out of the city towards the Great Wall. First we stopped at a Ming tomb with an underground palace. It was very impressive – very large and all marble – but bare, since the excavators had taken everything out to protect it from the oxygen. The museum about it was pretty neat.

Lunch was not great – it seemed to be the only place around and was full of tourists. They had gelato, though!

THEN WE CLIMBED THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA!!!!!!!!!! Coolest thing ever. So worth the steep climb (it was quite a workout). It was quite crowded. It was windy but the walking was demanding enough that I was hot in just a t-shirt.

Dinner was Peking duck, which was pretty awesome. You get a whole duck, and then put pieces in moo shi pancakes with sauce. We also got lo mein for the first time in China – it is not really common here.

After dinner we went to the Peking Opera, which was rather hilarious. They speak in REALLY high voices, so when they talk about war it’s ridiculous. “I will fight you fiercely,” they say in a voice two octaves about a regular voice…. The costumes were crazy, but the percussion was really grating. I’m not a big fan of Chinese music.

On Monday, we went to the Temple of Heaven. The structure itself was beautiful but not unlike anything we’ve seen. The park around it was most notable – all around there were hundreds of retired old men and women doing exercises – dancing, playing with a string and spinning weight toy, working out, playing hackey sack, ribbon dancing, even choral singing. It seems funny that they don’t really get a childhood here until they are old.

We went to lunch at a noodle restaurant, which made Candice and I very happy! After lunch we went on a pedicab tour. We toured an old couple’s house, which was rather bizarre… their house is a tourist attraction. Whatever. They were nice, and had a talking parrot.

We flew back to Hangzhou Monday night, and we three kids were picked up at school by our new host families. My host sister’s English name is Lavender, which fits her personality but I don’t feel comfortable calling her because it’s such an uncommon name. I also somehow got it into my head that her name is Jasmine (I’ve had Aladdin stuck in my head, and my Chinese name, Mo Li, translates to Jasmine), so I’m afraid of calling her the wrong name. She is 16, but looks 13. She is very sweet though, if a little immature. Her parents are very nice. Her father is a policeman, and her mother is a businesswoman. Her mother’s mother lives with her, and is hilarious. She fits every stereotype of a Chinese grandmother. She always grabs my arm to make sure I’m not cold, or tugs my jacket to see if I’m hot, and urges me to eat more and more food. She also shows up in my room and tucks me in if I’m sitting in bed with the laptop they put in my room. She tries to talk to me in hand motions, and I never understand. She also laughs at my lack of chopsticks skills. Lavender has a little brother. I wasn’t sure that she was serious at first, because students here tend to refer to their cousins as brothers and sisters, but she actually has a little brother who lives at his school during the week.

One night this week, Lavender took me to see the dancing fountain in the West Lake, which was really neat. The fountain dances to Carmen, the Nutcracker, and some funny Chinese songs. It was impressive, and also really funny because there two rouge spouts off doing their own thing – the two klutzy members of the dance company.

On Tuesday Helen (the English teacher who came to America with Yang and Jackie) took us to buy fabric for the dresses (or in Steve’s case, jacket and pants) that we are getting made. Candice and I are both getting prom dresses. Picking out the fabric was very dramatic. We started by looking at samples. Candice fell in love with one that they didn’t have. I came in looking for purple, and didn’t like any of the purples. I finally liked one, but they didn’t have that either. Then we found a pile of ones we really liked, but it turned out that those were reserved. Then we took to searching through the actual fabric, since the samples were lying. Candice wound up finding the fabric she loved and they had said they didn’t have, and was a very happy camper. I found a fabric that was in the reserved pile, but was black, and Ms. Arkin and Candice talked me out of it, saying that black is not a good color for prom. I finally found a purple in the same pattern as the reserved fabric, that I like a lot. Helen tried to convince Jill to get a hot pink or red fabric, which was pretty scary. She finally found a purple and black one that was really nice. Steve’s choice was not as dramatic – blue and black, pretty easy. We were there for a total of an hour and a half.

The next day, the tailor came to take our measurements, so we didn’t go to class that afternoon either. Lavender kept asking me when I would come to class, saying that they were really anxious to meet me. When I finally showed up on Thursday, the class broke into applause. They are a much more raucous group than my last class – I enjoy it a lot.hhhERz

Classes ... and Food!

(Candice)

Its been a while since i last wrote, sorry. All of this traveling has got me drained, i knew i was going to be tired but i had nooooo idea what tired was until I came on this trip. All that aside i have moved into my new host sisters home. Saying bye to Tracy was hard becasue we have become best of friends and I can’t picture China whithout her. But i email her everyday and i am going to her house Friday for her birthday. My new host sister is Jenny, she is very nice and her family is too, but it seems like time is flying by, i can’t keep track of what day it is :).

My classes in school are very interesting. My favorite is Chinese painting (of course) dance (even though it hurts, are teacher knows what she is doing. And she can do it well for a long time unlike us who are in pain within a few seconds), and i lloooooovveeee callligraphy. The man who teaches that class is my favorite teacher in the whole school. He is the funniest man, and is really good at teaching us how to attempt to be good at Chinese writting. He is forever laughing and smiling. I remember the first class i had with him, he was so serious. I thought he was strict and to the point. But after a couple of classes i guess we all got more comfortable with each other and every class sicne then it’s been nothing but laughs, especially when he tries to get one of us to disco at every break.

I have met alot of new students since the last time i wrote. Angela is very interested in American culture, especially music, and she is always bringing me candy (becasue of my name). Michael is a musician who raps, and listens to jay-z, he is also in charge of all the clubs- Mr. Popular. Bruce has hosted exchange students from all around the world including Germany, and is mad that the school wanted to give someone else a chance this year (so he wasn’t able to host Steve). The class 10 boys are my favorite. They are all so down to earth and funny. They visit me at the English corner alot and i talk to them between classes.

Now lets talk about food. It is hard for me to find things that i love to eat in China because the food is so different but let me make some suggestions to some of you who may be visiting China in the near future HHmmm MMhh:

• The tea house- very good buffet, fried chicken, dunplings, and the tea is OOOHH MY GOODNNESS good lol
• Chinese burrito- i don’t know what it is called but it is vegetable and some meat seasoned very well stuffed in a wrap (sold across the street from the school)
• Corn on the cob- Sold on every corner but i eat the ones sold in front of the market across the street from the school.
• rice wrapped in leaves- Brown rice in some good sticky stuff wrapped in leaves ummmm.
• Hangzhou breakfast, a piece of bread rapped in another piece of bread with some sweet stuff inside.
• baozi?- steamed bread stuffed with tofu
• Noodles- many different flavors, fills you up, great for long train rides.
• apples- the apples are so big here and according to tracy i need to eat healthier because candy and soda is bad for my health so an apple a day will help me stay slim (so true but still funny)
• and anything from the Sichuam Province, because it is spicy and delicious!

Oh one more thing, while traveling through China i have met the most interesting people. My favorite is a man named Peter (English name). he is from Singapore, knows 12 different languages. Lived in San Francisco was a professor, and was invited to Beijing by the Chinese goverment to open a business......what a life, and i thought visiting China was a big thing :)

"Ni Hao" goes a long way ...

(Ms. Arkin)

“Ni Hao” really goes a long way. Whenever I see people and they look at me sternly, I just say in my best pronunciation possible, “Ni Hao” and their facial expressions soften immediately. They say, “Ni Hao” or “Hello” or even start a conversation with me. Sometimes people try to start a conversation with me in Chinese and then I just say “Wo bu mingbai” ( I don’t understand) and they laugh and smile warmly. I think just the effort of saying hello to people in their own language is appreciated.

Today was my first day by myself in Hangzhou. It is strange to suddenly switch from non-stop activities to all of a sudden being on my own! I like being by myself though, so I enjoy the opportunity and challenge of exploring a foreign city on my own. I am still trying to get my bearings and figure out what is around me (shops, restaurants, cafes, etc.) and how to get there (and back). For those who know me, you know that my sense of direction is somewhat compromised - to put it mildly. I wish I could implant a GPS system into my brain so I wouldn’t get lost so much. Actually, today I did not get lost at all, but I’ll admit I was not very daring in my ventures. I remember when I was in Bangkok two summers ago and it took me three days of solo venturing to get up the courage to take a motorcycle taxi. But after 2 weeks there, I was perfectly comfortable taking taxis and the subway and somehow making myself understood. I am sure I just need a little more time in Hangzhou to feel the same way. Although, it seems there was much more English spoken and written in Thailand. Here, very little is written in English (signs, maps, menus, etc.) except numbers. Anyhow, I am getting sidetracked.

I made my way out of the apartment around 11:30am. It was nice finally being able to sleep lateJ. No matter what time zone I am in, or how hard I try to overcome this, I will never be a morning person. I am entirely sure of it. Anyhow, I explored the “warehouse” marketplace across the street from the school where they have all sorts of stuff from functional clothing to souvenirs to household supplies. Of course, you need to bargain and I really wasn’t in the mood. I find it hard to bargain when things are less than a dollar to begin with. But I also know they see a westerner and quote me a price 3 times the regular price. It is annoying that they don’t put price tags on the merchandise so that it would it at least level the playing field from which to start!

After my marketplace adventure I walked around a few blocks and found a bakery that I liked (made a mental of note of how to get there). Then I went to school to get my bike (which I left there yesterday after the field trip) and went for a long bike ride. I decided to try to find the big grocery store that Rose took me to, so I could get some more diet coke and also be comforted in the fact that I could get there on my own. It was much quicker on the bike. I found a drug store which I didn’t go into, but think might be the place for the headache pills.

Hangzhou - First Impressions

(Ms. Arkin)

Where do I begin? I have been in Hangzhou for 3 days now. I think. I am losing track of time and the days of the week are beginning to blur together. I guess I’ll back up and start with the 24 hour train ride from Xi’an to Hangzhou. Ugh. I have to admit I was DREADING this. 24 hours cooped up anywhere but at home with TV, phone and internet is way too long for me. Anyhow, the train station was an experience in itself. Our guide, Richard, tipped one of the station employees 100 yuan (about 13 dollars) to help us get all of our bags onto the train (we have a lot of bags….heavy bags) in time. The trains don’t stop long at each station and masses of people charge onto the train so you have to be quick, tough and very pushy. Anyhow, the young man that Richard tipped was delighted to take on this task. He kept holding up the money and admiring it, then putting it in his pocket and taking it out again. He did a good job – he plowed through the crowd carrying two huge suitcases and arranged them all in the cabin so we could have space for our feet. Well not to bore you with the train details as there is really not much to say. Fortunately, it wasn’t as bad as I thought. I read a book, did cryptoquotes, ate junk food (unfortunately I ate all my food in the first two hours) and slept. Before I knew it. we were there. No one on the train spoke English so we were lucky we noticed that we pulled in to Hang zhou station about 35 minutes early. We shlepped our suitcases down two flights of stairs and nobody was there to greet usL.

After about 5 minutes of standing in one place, we were swarmed by the Hangzhou High School welcoming crew. DS has some competition here in Hangzhou when it comes to hospitality. I have never felt so welcome to be anywhere in my life. We all got huge bouquets of flowers and our bags were whisked away by other people so all we had to carry was our flowers. The host brothers and sisters were there to meet the kids and also many administrators from the school. It was a big flurry of commotion and soon enough we were on a warm bus on our way to lunch. Candice had a big smile when they came out with many baskets of French friesJ.

We went to the school and had a meeting with the principal who told us how happy they are for us to be here and how they want to do anything and everything to make our stay comfortable. After a tour of the school, Rose (an English teacher here) took me to a supermarket so I could buy some drinks and snacks to keep in the apartment. Then Rose and Wang Huo (also an English teacher) took me out for dinner for more food. Eventually I got to go to my apartment! I was a little worried when I first entered the building as there are no lights in the common areas (unless you know where the light switch on the wall is) and the cement hallways are dark and scary. But once you get in the apartment it is bright and cheery and warm. I haven’t spent much time here yet because as usual I am too busy. I have already had Chinese class, Handwriting class (flashbacks to elementary school), Physique (Chinese dance / boxing) and Hangzhou History. I will start to teach in the afternoons next week

Oh. The banquet. I can’t believe I almost forgot to mention the banquet. In addition to all of the welcoming attention we have received, we also had a formal banquet last night at another restaurant. The administrators went along with all of the host kids and some teachers. Once again too much food, but we also had wine . Mr. Hoover told me before I left that I should order wine. The reason…… whatever the guest of honor (yikes ME?) orders to drink, that is what everybody will drink. Apparently when Mr. Hoover ordered orange juice, there was some disappointment among the group. The principal made toasts through the entire evening and Naichuan (the exchange program coordinator) sat next to me and translated. He also coached me on some much needed proper etiquette as well as explaining things to me (like the constant toasting). The only thing he didn’t warn me about was the chicken head that I scooped out of the bowl of soup.

Everyone here is so nice and helpful. At school, I get breakfast lunch and dinner. The chef puts a whole festive display together at the table where we eat. While I appreciate the special treatment, I also feel bad because I don’t want to make a spectacle of myself. And when I am the only American eating breakfast in a cafeteria of Chinese people and my place setting has bright colored napkins fanned out of a glass along with paper umbrellas and long plastic curly straws with glitter trimmings, I feel like a spectacle. The chef is so cute though. He always comes to make sure I like the food and give thumbs up. The food is always good but he gives me too much and sometimes I don’t know what it is I am eating. Tonight I had chicken nuggets and ketchup. Big thumbs up!

I have been getting headaches for some reason and it is funny that no one in China that I have asked understands what Advil is. They don’t sell such products in convenient stores or even in huge supermarkets. I think they don’t get headaches here. Maybe I should drink more tea.

Hangzhou MARCH 9, 2007

I had handwriting and paper cutting classes today. They were fun but my hands were cold and my fine motor skills are pretty lousy to begin with. Oh well.

Today is International Woman’s Day. The school had a field day for all of the women teachers and I got to play badminton, jump rope, shoot baskets, pick up marbles with chopsticks and play hackey sack with a magnetic feather. I didn’t win anything but I got prizes for trying - pantyhose and dish towels. Then all the women teachers went on the bus to a fancy hotel for a huge buffet dinner to celebrate Woman’s Day some more. Helen (one of the English teachers who has been helping me with all of my questions) pulled me off the bus at the last minute and we got in a car with two computer teachers and drove to the restaurant. We drove through Hangzhou in a little red Chevy.

Hangzhou (Saturday, March 10, 2007)

I rode my bike to school at 8:30am to meet for the trip to the West Lake. I like riding a bike by myself in China. It makes me feel like I live here even though I can’t speak Chinese and my blonde frizzy mop hair is about as un-chinese as it could possibly be. Anyhow, I went to the Lake with all of the kids and their hosts (Tracy, Charles and Natalie). William (another English teacher) went too along with two of the school administrators in charge of student activities.

I have to admit, my cynicism led me to believe that the west lake was not going to be as beautiful as everyone says. I’ve heard and read so much about how gorgeous it is and read the famous quote so many times that compares the West Lake to “paradise on earth” that I was convinced I would be let down. Not true. It is stunningly beautiful. Even on a gray, dreary day like today. Some of the trees are just beginning to bloom. The willow trees are my favorite.

I had a really good day. We took little wooden boats to an island within the lake that has another lake within the island. It was very calm and relaxing. I like thatJ. Of course we had another feast for lunch! We went to a restaurant and had a private room and more food than you can imagine. I have learned the Chinese word for “full”.

I wish I spoke more Chinese but every time I try to say something in Chinese, people either answer me in English or have absolutely no clue what I said. It is hard being tone deaf and trying to learn a tonal language.

Candice's "Home Away from Home"

(Candice)

I have settled into my home in Hang zhou and i am very happy here. I confess that i have told people that i was not nervous about moving into my host family's home- but i was. I dont even think i realized myself that deep down inside i was worried that i was not going to feel comfurtable in this "home away from home". But to my surprise this nice apartment i am living in feels like a real home, not just a house. My host sister's name is Tracy speaks perfect english and is very nice. Me and her clicked instantly, laughing and talking all the time. I think we also get along because we both know the meaning of "alone time". Honestly i need my space at times because without alone time i get easily irritated. ( i think it is because i was an only child for 9 years and was used to just having my own space whenver i wanted it and she is an only child so she needs that space too). I feel like i have known her for a lifetime and if there is one thing that i would have to define as the best part of this trip, i would say it is making a new lifetime friend. I know me and her will keep intouch because i get along with her family and her so well. At dinner me, her mother, and her just talk about whatever, for hours while snacking on apples, chocolate, and hickory nuts ( SOOOOO GOOD try them if you havent) while sipping on tea. Her father is always working but when he is around he is just as welcoming, he even gave me a new name but i dont know how to spell it so im not going to try. Her mother said that i should come back every year and that she feels like she has a second daughter (tear..where is the tissue box when you need it). she has gone out of her way to make my stay here comfurtable. For example when they asked me what i use my butter with ( they dont use butter at all so they didnt know) i told them toast. Every morning when i open my door there is a stack of toast sitting on the kitchen table waiting for me. And i am not complaining because i love toast and i have been trying to get some bread in China everytime i sit down to eat. When i ask for bread the waiter looks confused and says "NO". Tracy says that i am simple because there are so many amazing foods in the world and out of all of them bread and butter is my favorite.

School is very interesting. I introduced myself to the class and for the whole period they asked me questions. "what do American students think of us? tell the truth", "what do you think about Bush and the war?" (ha ha please don't get me started on that man), "who is your favorite singer?", "your mother is puerto rican?","how do you feel about brittany spears now that she has done some very bad things?.i used to like her music but she doesn't act proper so i dont know about her anymore, tell us what you think", and so on. I really loved answering the questions and they really loved asking them. i have so much more to say about my stay here but tracy's father needs the computer so stay tuned......

(WOW IM IN CHINA EVERYONE...REALLY IM ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD, i am still in shock)

Train to Hangzhou: New Friends and Our New School

(Molly)

The train ride to Hangzhou had its ups and downs. When we first saw the compartment, we were horrified. It seemed very cramped, especially since we could not fit all of our suitcases under the bed. We got used to it, though, and had a comfortable first few hours. At dinner time I started to get cranky, because we had a hard time procuring food. We checked out the dining car, but everybody was smoking and we thought maybe we could do better. What we really wanted was ramen noodles in a bowl, which we see everywhere here. We walked up and down the train, and saw everyone eating the noodles, but no one selling them. We returned to the dining car and found that it had filled up during our walk. At this point I was very, very cranky. We decided to get out at the next train station to buy noodles. This turned out to be a lot easier than we expected. At one point we thought the train was leaving, so we sprinted back to the car. It did not leave for another 10 minutes. Oh, well. We tried to get hot water, and they understood what we wanted but gave a complicated answer that we did not understand. It did not seem to be about money, because I recognize most money words. Finally they just gave us water, and I was a very, very happy camper. I expected not to be able to sleep, but I slept about 12 hours, which was pretty great.

Our train arrived early, and our hosts and teachers were very apologetic when they showed up and we were already there. They brought us each a bouquet of flowers, and then took us out to eat at a western restaurant. I had French fries, chicken wings, and spaghetti, and once again was a very happy camper. When we arrived at the school, we had a short welcoming ceremony with some administrators and teachers. It was pretty awkward, because Naichuan told Jill to save the gifts for the welcoming banquet, which turned out to be a bad call. We just sat there awkwardly for a long time.

My host sister’s name is Natalie. Her English is quite good; she is hoping to come to DS next year. Her parents speak a bit of English from college. When I first arrived, her father was on business in Beijing (he seems to help design the test to get a medical license). Her mother likes to feed me. We have a big dinner, and then we always have fruit, and then we have nuts. I’m going to put on so much weight while I’m here! Her father is delightful. When he got back from Beijing, he pulled out his English phrase book and pulled out every semi-applicable saying he could find: “have fun,” “I hope you feel at home,” “have a good trip,” “give my regards to your parents,” “remember me to your family,” etc. It was really cute. He also liked my pictures. I am having a hard time describing the kid I babysit in simple English, because he has 6 diseases, none of which is simple. They also tend to think he’s my brother – why else would I babysit him? Also, kids here call their cousins “brothers” and “sisters” for some reason, which makes it hard to tell whether they understand that Nat is really my brother. One girl was also worried that it might be too personal a question to ask how many children were in my family.

Our first class at Hangzhou High School was Hangzhou History. Calligraphy was much better. Our teacher didn’t try to speak English, which was easier because it is a show, rather than tell, class. Plus, I was not as bad as I usually am at calligraphy!

It’s hard to get a plain glass of cold water here. Yang, Steve’s exchange student from three years ago, told us that when he got back from America, he was ready to drink a glass of cold water, and his mother snatched it away from him and put it in the microwave. I guess it shocks your system. But it quenches my thirst! Every other drink tastes really sweet.

On Wednesday night the school took us out for a welcome banquet. This was AMAZING. The food was maybe the best I’ve had. Natalie must have told her mom how much shrimp I ate (bowls and bowls – it was sooo good), because we have had shrimp for dinner twice now.

At night I have been watching movies on my laptop (yes, I have a laptop in my room!). There is a website with free movies in English, with Chinese subtitles. The resolution is bad and they sometimes freeze, but there is a pretty good selection.

Our Chinese class on Thursday was great. Our teacher, Gao Li, is really good. I get confused on grammar sometimes, but he is good about making us practice the words we have just learned, and is really friendly. I also like William, Natalie’s English teacher. Mrs. Preiser refers to him fondly as “little William,” because he is short and young. Helen, who came three years ago, is very funny. She speaks very abruptly. Mrs. Preiser gave her a decorative box, and Helen was convinced that there would be something else in it, which was amusing.

Charles (Steve’s host) and Natalie took us to KFC for dinner on Thursday with a couple of their friends. I think we serve as an excuse for them to put off their homework and eat unhealthy food. KFC has awesome ice cream with hot fudge sauce. Many nights Natalie takes me to a bakery to pick out a pastry for the next morning. I have had doughnuts and éclairs, and once again am a very happy camper.

Being here is very different from traveling. I feel very out of control, because everything is planned out for me and a lot of the time I am not aware of what I am doing until an hour before I leave. I also have to eat whatever is put in front of me, which is all good food but not all to my taste. I think I will never be a picky eater again.

Xi'an Remembered

(Molly & Ms. Arkin)

Day One

(During the day, Pang Liu Village. See previous entries Pang Liu Village and Pang Liu Cont'd .)

For dinner we went to a dumpling restaurant. Downstairs they had a display out of all sorts of different dumplings shaped like chicken, turtles, pigs, flowers. You name it, they had it in the shape of a dumpling. We ate upstairs and they gave us rice wine to drink. It was warm and extremely sweet. The dinner must have been 10 courses of assorted dumplings. It was overwhelming but very tasty!

Day Two

On Saturday we went to the Terracotta Warriors. It was about an hour and a half from the city so on the way we stopped at a few museums and shops. First we went to the hot springs museum in which the name is deceptive. We froze to death. It was pouring rain and our umbrellas kept turning inside out and our clothes were soaked. We saw the ruins of a king’s bath houses and learned about a romantic(?) love affair between an emperor and the concubine whom he stole from his son. After the museum we went to a pottery workshop which was more like a giant souvenir shop in disguise. At first you get to see how they make the molds for the replicas of the terracotta warriors and see a few artists at work making lacquer furniture. Then you are released into a gigantic room full of souvenirs which included the replica warriors that were priced ten times higher than everywhere else!

Finally we got to see the terracotta warriors. It was very impressive. Many of them have not yet been excavated because they are waiting for improved technology. Also one thing we learned was that when they were first excavated, some of the statues still had paint on them. However, the paint has disappeared from too much contact with the atmosphere.

We had a Muslim dinner that night, which was amazing. We all liked it! There were many snacks – our favorite was the red bean pastry that was quite sweet. First they brought out a piece of thick half cooked pita bread that we tore up into TINY pieces and put in our bowls. They took our bowls and cooked the bread with lamb and cilantro soup. It tasted amazing but was very filling. Richard talked the servers out of giving us each four pieces, so we each got one. None of us even finished that!

Day Three

We went to the city wall and Molly and Steve rode tandem around the wall. Jill and Candice walked around and waited. We saw some amazing kites in the park in front of the wall. The wall was decorated with lanterns in every shape and size for the lantern festival that night. They had one lantern set of life-sized 101 Dalmations. We left and visited a mosque in the middle of the city. The architecture was in the traditional Chinese style and the mosque’s minaret was a tall pagoda in the middle of the complex. Then we went shopping in the mosque’s bizarre which had every type of souvenir we could possibly want for very cheap. That night we met Steve’s climbing friend, Liz, who is staying in xi’an for about four months. She was surprised to hear that we would stay with our host families for only two weeks each because she only stays with one host family the whole time and after three weeks still felt like she was just settling in. We went to dinner with her and then walked on top of the wall for the lantern festival. The lanterns were not much changed by being lit up, but the fireworks were impressive. People were setting them off all over the city. It was nice to be able to see them, after only hearing them all week. All sorts were going off in every direction, and it was very exciting.

Every night in Xi’an Molly. Steve and Candice went to the internet café across the street from the hotel. Jill used her computer in the room.

Internet Bar in Xi'an

(Molly)

Every night in Xi’an, we three kids would go to an internet bar across the street from our hotel. It was not marked in English, and to get there we had to go up an escalator in a store, but once we got there we were amazed. There must have been over 150 computers there; I kept expecting it to end, and it never seemed to. Everyone was playing video games, a big screen was displaying what looked like a DDR game (and was playing the music), and from another corner we could hear some sappy pop music that reminded me of Celine Dion (that happens with a lot of the music here). It was cheap, too! The internet cost maybe 50 cents an hour.

Pang Liu Continued

(Candice)

Yesterday we went to visit an elementary school. This was the highlight of the whole trip for me. We sat down with two teachers and the principal and got to ask them questions. I found this so interesting because i want to study education in college. All the students were so happy. I really enjoyed talking to them in English because they were happy top practice with me.."HELLLOO!" And "THANK YOU!" were the most popular phrases. Me and Jill taught the 5th graders the hokey pokey and they had a blast, i walked around an gave eveyone a sticker and they all were so grateful for them, i was happy to put a smile on their cute faces. This trip to the school really made me positive that i do want to work in the education system...because i loved being at that school, it wasn't a tourist spot. It gave me a good look at what life in China is for students in rural areas.

The students are not the only people who were amazed by our presence. I knew we all were going to stand out but I don't think i am ever going to get used to all the stares. When the children stare and smile its nice, they are so excited to speak to you. But when the adults, the ones who aren't smiling, stare and whisper, or switch seats with their daughter so she doesn't have to sit next to you, it gets annoying. I decided not to just sit there and stare back. I was standing outside and a group of people who were a few feet in front of me just turned around and stared at me and whispered. I put a big smile on and said "hello" and then they gladly smiled back and said "hi". I know its not them trying to be disrespectful, i would probably stare too if roles were switched. In America almost everyday i am reminded that i am Black and Puerto Rican. But in China i am reminded every second that i am Black, Puerto Rican, and American. And that is something that i had to adjust to.

Speaking of adijusting lets talk about asthma :). China is not the fresh air capital of the world. It is so wierd to walk into the hotel or a restarunt and always smell the strong scent of cigarettes. I haven't gotten sick from it but it is so irritating! It makes me soooooo grateful that i live in a place where people have to smoke outside...i have had to get used to sitting down chomping on my delicious rice and noodles (fried rice with egg is sooo good mami take notes lol) and then getting a wiff of the strongest cigarettes i have ever smelled.

Besides that i really do like it here. I admit it took me a while to get used to it. The toilets ( i avoided any toilet besides the one at the hotel for the longest time) the time difference, the food, crossing the busy streets ( cars don't stop at all!), and passing my nike shoes (air force ones) without being able to buy them :)...but i am adjusted and excited to get to Hangzhou.

Pang Liu Village

(Ms. Arkin)

Today was one of my favorite days so far. We visited the Pang Liu Village and got to teach a class of fifth graders. We drove to the village in the morning, which was about 40 minutes from our hotel in Xi’an. Our guide, Richard, grew up in Pang Liu Village. He is now a successful business man and is very active in his efforts to help further develop the village. One of his projects is the school (grades 1-6).

First we met the school principal and the school’s English teacher. We had tea and got to ask questions about the school, education, teaching, etc. It was nice to have the warm tea since they do not have heat in the school.

The kids were on lunch break when we got there. It was their first day back at school after the New Years vacation. Lots of children were playing in the courtyard and they all stopped to stare at us with smiles and giggles when we walked in. The school had put up a big red banner that said ‘Welcome Teacher and Students from Dover-Sherborn High School to Our School’ so we felt very honored and appreciated! The children absolutely LOVED having their pictures taken and were even more excited when we showed them the pictures with the digital camera. They just laughed and laughed. Then I would enlarge it for them and they would laugh even more! When we walked away, some of the kids followed us as far as they could, so that we would take more pictures and pay more attention to them!

Before we got to teach we went to lunch at one of the villagers homes. There was so much good food. Once again, too much food and lots left over. After lunch we went back to the school and saw the library that was founded from donations from people from New England. We also saw the computer lab. They have 28 computers. It is sad that they just had to get all new computers because the old ones (which were new to them) got stolen. They plan on getting internet service in the computer lab in the next week. I bet the kids (and teachers) are very excited!

After that it was time to teach! We split up in two groups. Candice and I went to teach the 5th grade class and Molly and Steve taught the 6th graders. Molly and Steve were fortunate in that the English teacher was with them, so she could interpret for them! We did not have anyone to interpret. Their fifth grade teacher stayed in the classroom with us, but she only knows a few words of English. So it was a challenge, but it was so much fun! First the children sang us the only song in English they know how to sing. It was “BINGO” (hopefully you won’t get that stuck in your head like I did) and it was so cute. I videotaped them singing with my camera. Some of the words didn’t really sound like English, but it was still fabulous. Candice and I taught them the Hokey Pokey. It’s kind of hard to teach things when they can’t receive instructions in their native language, but I think we did okay, considering. First we clarified right hand and left hand and they all had that down. Then we went to it. They put their right hand in. They put their right hand…. Well you know the rest of it. It was a very enthusiastic Hokey Pokey I must say. It was a riot! The kids were having so much fun - they were smiling, twirling and laughing hysterically. We couldn’t get a video though, because we were hokey pokeying too! After that we settled things down and asked them questions from their English textbook. I also put up pictures on the chalkboard asking them to tell me in English what I drew. They got prizes if they were right. Of course, everyone got one right and they all got prizes. One little boy in the back caught my attention because he knew the answer to every single question - even the hard ones that nobody else knew. I guess there’s one of those in every class! Anyhow, do you know what the prizes were? E-patches of course (e-patches are special stickers that DS Middle School teachers give out to students who exhibit “excellence”). Mr. Moran gave me a pile of them when I left and luckily there were just enough for all of the students in the 5th grade class (about 45). They also got Dover Sherborn Middle School Pencils (thanks Mr. Estabrook) and more stickers that Candice brought. Candice went around and put the e-patches on their shirts and let them pick their favorite fruit “scratch n’ sniff” stickers. They would recite to her the English words for all the different fruits. Some of them pulled off their stickers hoping Candice would go back and give them another one!

After class we took more pictures in the courtyard and then we had to go. I wish we could have stayed longer and I wish we had more gifts for all of the students in the school. I also wish I had something to give the villagers who made us such an elaborate lunch.

Before we left the village we visited a health clinic they are opening in the village. They need doctors to come to the village and provide vaccines, etc.

Today was without any hesitation a highlight of the trip for me. Despite having a cold and an earache and the weather being gray, cold and rainy, the trip to the school was one of the most enlightening and worthwhile experiences I have had so far.

Chengdu Remembered

(Molly & Ms. Arkin)

Day One

Finally, we got to the part we had all been looking forward to: the Panda Breeding Center! Pandas have interestingly changed over time from omnivores to herbivores. The reason being they were too slow to catch animals. Now they dine on 40 pounds of bamboo a day, only a fraction of which their stomachs can actually digest. At the breeding center, 9 pandas were born in September so they were pretty small and cute. They were surprisingly klutzy, and moved very slowly. All they do is eat, sleep, and climb (Steve’s dream life). One of them was in isolation because he had a cold. When we left this panda, his keepers were trying to get him down from a tree so they could give him his medicine. We made a big loop around the park and half an hour later, they were still trying to get him down! We each paid 50 yuan (about 7 dollars) to hold and take a picture with a red panda. It was pretty small, and very furry, but looked more like a raccoon than a panda. The panda is actually a cross between a raccoon and a bear. Our guide told us a myth about how pandas got their black spots. A girl died saving a panda and at her funeral all the pandas came wearing black arm bands. They had to rub their eyes so much to dry the tears that their eyes turned black. Then they hugged each other and their arms turned black too.

After the pandas we went to a museum of ancient bronze works, but it was kind of a disappointment after getting to spend the morning watching baby pandas play.

Our hotel in Chengdu was our favorite because the rooms were huge and we got hbo!


Day Two

We drove to Leshan, where we saw the world’s biggest Buddha. It actually did not impress us as much as the Lantau Island Buddha, because it was carved into the face of a cliff, as opposed to gleaming atop a mountain.

Day Three

We drove to Mt. Emei, which is one of the three sacred Buddhist mountains in China. It is dedicated to one of the Buddhisatvahs. We took a cable car part of the way up the mountain and then walked up to a Buddhist temple, which was very beautiful. Inside Buddhist temples it is forbidden to take pictures. We also saw monkeys on the wall of the temple, which were pretty cute. As we left the temple, monkeys were congregated in a corner, and we at first mistook them for people. One of the big, ugly ones came over and started digging around for food in Steve’s pocket and Candice’s bag. Candice was traumatized. On top of the initial shock of being mugged by a monkey, it was raining so the monkeys hands were very muddy. Then Jill and Candice took the cable car back down the mountain to wait for Molly and Steve to hike down in the rain with the monkeys. Eventually we all met up with our guide, Han, and drove back to Chengdu since we had a 10pm flight to Xi’an.

Since we had time to kill before our flight, we went to a shopping area in downtown Chengdu. It was quite modern and for dinner we had McDonalds. Steve ate 20 chicken McNuggets. Gross.

Hiking Down Mt. Emei

(Molly)

Steve and I decided to hike down Mt. Emei. It was raining, so the ground was slippery. The path was laid with stones, slightly sloped and with a lot of stairs. I looked at so many stairs that I started to lose my depth perception! I also slipped once, which was slightly painful. The climbing-down-stairs leg muscles aren’t really muscles we use that much, so it got very tiring. It was worth it though, because the scenery was stunning. It looked like the Amazon, although it was much much colder. After about 1/2 hour of walking, Han pointed us down a different trail, at the end of which he told us we would find the wild monkey area. To get there took about 15 minutes, and was the most breathtaking scenery I have seen here. The path ran next to a mountain stream, which is one of my favorite things in the world. The monkeys were not so breathtaking. In fact, they were kind of obnoxious. When we first got there, we were crossing a wood and rope bridge packed with people blocking our view when suddenly one of the bigger monkeys plowed across the bridge. Despite all the signs I had passed telling me not to, I screamed a little. Then one put his hands on my pants, leaving muddy pawprints. It didn’t matter that much, because about a foot of my pants on the bottom was already soaked and muddy, but I was still a little peeved. We passed a monkey drinking from a water bottle, and one climbing on a screaming girl ( I was so glad not to be her). Clearly, these were not wild monkeys. When we got back to Han, we were rewarded with a fabulous lunch of local products. We laughed at ourselves because we looked SO bedraggled．We were soaked from head to toe, and my shoes are tractionless, so I was slipping all over the floor. We were so glad to see that tea at lunch. We also ate bamboo shoots, which made us feel closer to the pandas we had seen the day before. The hike down was uneventful, except that the scenery was beautiful and I wished it were warm enough to swim.