Hangzhou's Welcome

Ni hao!

Firstly, thank you to everyone who has thus far commented. It's really fun to read your replies and know that I have listeners! (Or readers, really. :) )

In anycase, the reason my blog has been delayed so far is due to the fact that I have not been able to have internet hook-up until just today. It's a bit of a process- you have to supply a copy of your passport and your student ID number, and then the next day you come to them and they have forms ready and a guy to set up your internet. A lot of websites are banned and to my dismay, one of my gaming applications doesn't work. However, I'm going to see if there is a way I can get it to work by plugging in a few tidbits of information. :3


But, back to the beginning!

I flew safely from Hong Kong to Hangzhou and luckily for me going through customs was a breeze. Nothing like America or Greece, so I was thankful for that. Then David Purnell, our program director, met me at the airport and helped me take a taxi to Hangzhou and told me a lot of great stories already about what he planned. It surely is going to be an interesting semester! David seems like a really great professor and reminds me a lot of Prof. Udry! So needless to say, I'm extremely happy to have him around and to hear his wonderful stories about Hangzhou and the wealth of information that he has to share.

All my things are put away in my room now at the International Dorm at Zheijiang University. Getting there by taxi was not difficult at all and all my things were easily put away. My room is small, about half the size of Carthage's basic rooms but however I do have my own bathroom which is quite nice. The other 8 students who are here from the same program are also really fun to be with. They're all very nice and friendly, and they're all beginners to China like me! So it's really fun to be timid adventurers like me!

But in any case, the first few days were more about settling in. The second night we gathered together and went out to eat with David and he ordered a bunch of different dishes. My favorite was something called Mantou, which was like a doughy bread dipped in a really sweet sauce. In truth, I've been craving it for the past few days- but most likely that's due to my sweet tooth missing my Melopan from Little Tokyo.

Yesturday we traveled to West Lake- the famous lake in Hangzhou that attracts a lot of sight seers and romantics about China. It truly is magnificant. The past few days have been a little bit hazy- which isn't too common, but it adds to that mysterious appeal of China- at least, in my opinion. It was at West Lake where we learned a great deal about some of the prominent stories and figures of China. In truth though, it was only a handful of stories and we're learning more everyday.

At Mr. Gou's Villa- (not really a guy's villa, its more of a little tea house stroll) I tried the famous Dragon Well Green Tea. Hangzhou is famous for it, due to an Emperor of the Qing Dynasty (forgive me, I forget his name) proclaiming it as one of the best teas in China. Hangzhou itself is really known for its tea and silk, along with West lake and it's scenic appeal.

We ended yesturday by climbing over one of the hills back to campus- and by hill, it seemed to me more like a mountain when you think that I'm used to Minnesota hills. It was still really beautiful and I saw a lot of fascinating sights. Bamboo forests, tea bush fields, the Broken Bridge, etc...

Today we did a lot of walking as well. More sight-seeing around West Lake. We visited a few tombs, and if I were prepared when writing this, I'd be able to tell you exactly what and such. However, I'm writing this quickly so I can take a shower and get ready to go out tonight. I have a ton of pictures, but unfortunately the internet here is so slow that I'd take forever for me to even put three in this blog. I'll try to include a few though with every post, if possible.


But yeah! That's a very, very brief summary of what has gone on thus far. Hopefully I won't have to backtrack so much, now that the internet is working. But here are some random thoughts of mine to leave you with about China. (They're random because I'm too lazy to give them a proper order and such...)

1.) I drink a lot of tea in China.
Seriously, I didn't realize I'd be drinking so much tea. I mean, I knew I'd be drinking a lot but I didn't know I'd be drinking THIS much. They offer it at every single meal, and thank goodness I like it. The more I drink it, the more I like it although I found I'm not a big fan of the flowery teas. Lucky for me, around Hangzhou they serve Dragon Well tea and Green tea more than anything. At every meal (other than lunch, usually) I drink about 2 - 3 cups of tea. Be prepared when I come back to the states, because I'll probably be wanting it!


2.) Hangzhou seems to have two very different sides.
From the few days of what I've seen, I find that scenic-wise, there are two sides to Hangzhou. When you immerse yourself in West Lake, it is a gorgeous forested area filled with parks, flowers, trees, hillsides and a great deal more. But then there is the large, towering city that houses over 3.5 million people. You wouldn't guess, walking through the busy streets of Hangzhou, that West Lake even existed! Yet the funny thing is, immersing yourself in West Lake... you'd think the same otherwise too!



I hope everyone is doing well back at the States!

~ An Kang Mei
Kalah