(FINAL POST of 2011 Exchange) Last Stop Beijing

(Lizzy)

I can’t believe that five weeks have already gone by, but we have already said goodbye to Hangzhou. Our train arrived in Beijing early yesterday morning, and though it took more effort than usual to extract ourselves, and all our things, from the train car this time, we made it. After we eventually managed to then get all our things into our van, we were transported to our hotel.

Here comes the Sarcastic Five!

(Dawn) 

[Ms Viz: Yes, the Sarcastic Four have picked up a FIFTH - Dawn, from last year's Hangzhou Group! Welcome Dawn!]

I don’t know if it’s still necessary to do a self-introduction. I’m sure some of you have known me as an exchange student to DS last year; some of you have known me from the earlier blog posts. Whichever way you know me, it’s very nice to meet you! I’m here, the fifth member of the Sarcastic group… I can’t be happier to join this blog…

Life with Potato Tiger

(Ryan)

It has only been a over a week since I switched host families and so much has happened so far.  My new family lives 25 minutes away from school by bike ride.  Their apartment complex is one of the coolest things I have ever seen.  Through the gigantic entrance way is a beautiful park full of large trees, flowers, jungle gyms, workout equipment, and a pool.  The apartment itself is really modern looking.  There are crisp edges and bold, popping colors everywhere.

Adiós Hangzhou.

(Chris)

It is Thursday, the 24^th and this will probably be my last blog post from Hangzhou.  I’m sitting at my desk getting ready for tonight’s banquet.  We’re hosting a dinner tonight to thank everybody who has made our experience here one of the best of our lives.  The guest list got a little long – we invited almost 50 people!  However, not everybody can make it, so we’ll have about 40.  I’ve been asked to give a speech – in Chinese.  I’m not going to lie…I’m very nervous.  

Broken Pizza and Eye Patches

(Colin)

Here goes another blog post; lets see how entertaining I can make it.

On Saturday morning, the Sarcastic Five (with temporary member Dawn) arose to a misty morning in Shanghai.  We met in the lobby at 8:30 am, ready for a day of exploration.  Having woken up at about 7:30, the meeting time of 8:30 in the lobby seemed to be a bit late for me, but nonetheless, we met.

Hangzhou to Shanghai in the blink of an eye.

(Chris)

We (The Sarcastic Four & Dawn) are now in Shanghai for the weekend! I’m sure Colin, Lizzy or Ryan has talked about Dawn in one of their blog posts. She’s a senior at Hangzhou High School and she has come with us to Shanghai. She is one of the best people you will ever meet! We are so excited that she is here with us.

“What is ‘Pancake’?”

(Lizzy)

We've all moved into our new host families, and I personally have been quite surprised by the differences between my two families. While my first family consisted of a daughter and her parents, I now have a host sister, mother, father, grandmother and cousin. Both parents work all day and often at night as well (though the father works at home), so the grandmother acts as the primary caretaker. She stays home all day, and only leaves to walk the cousin to kindergarten in the morning and go food shopping in the afternoon. She does all of the cooking and cleaning and has lived with the family since my host sister, Yi, was born. I am told that a live-in grandparent is very common among Yi’s classmates, as they often move in to help take care of kids when they’re small and never move out.

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 ...