Last Wednesday, H-23 had the priviledge of having dinner at one of the most well-known teahouses in the Zhejiang province. It was sort of a bittersweet event: we were there to greet Professor Lin and former basketball coach Homer Drew who would be in Hangzhou for a few days. It was a pleasure talking with the two of them and slightly relieved our homesickness- even if just a little bit. But the dinner also marked our last night with our resident director and his family. At the beginning of the trip we knew that they would be leaving about two months earlier than us, since their children needed to return to school and the parents had to return back for important work matters. But honestly, I can’t think of any better way to send them off back to the US.

Only some of the many snack plates

We first started off with plates filled with different sorts of nuts and fruits. And each time we cleaned off a plate, the waitresses would waltz in and bring us snack after snack. It seemed like the food would never end! We snacked for a least an hour before we were given the tea menus to look at. I couldn’t believe my eyes..most of the tea prices ranged from 150-350 yuan! That’s about $24-56! H-23 was really getting treated that night.

We each ordered our own individual teas, and they came in their own sets. I cannot remember what tea I ordered specifically, but I do remember it was delicious! In addition to our tea, we were given a menu that had about 6 items that we could endlessly order…probably because of the price on the tea.  After gorging ourselves on snacks for the past hour, I was by no means hungry..but I couldn’t pass up more food.  We ordered noodles, dumplings, rice and all that good stuff. By the end of the night I was more full than I EVER have been in my life. We bid farewell to Prof. Lin, Homer Drew, our resident director and his family. I was really lucky to have this opportunity to dine at such a nice teahouse and sharing it with such wonderful people. (FYI: I was still full the next day..)

The tea that Kate ordered

So now we are all preparing for our upcoming mid-term exams. We will be taking an exam for each class in about two weeks- I am slightly nervous but I know my Chinese has improved greatly since taking these classes. All the classes are taught in Chinese and at times it is difficult to keep up and understand everything completely, however, I feel that you really need to be immersed in the language in order to have a better feel for it. Side note: I am super bummed that I am missing out on the Halloween fun back in the US. Halloween is not really celebrated here in China- actually, when I talk to my fellow international students from all over the world, it doesn’t seem like Halloween is a big deal anywhere besides America. There are a few bars and clubs in Hangzhou that are having costume/Halloween parties, but it is still not the same as the US! So a few of us are planning on dressing up later that night and maybe hopping around the city in our costumes to see if we can find our own Hangzhou Halloween fun.

During our time in Hangzhou, we have been fortunate enough to have many natives and locals help us around while we are here. One professor named Cherry has been especially helpful, basically showing us the ropes and answering any questions we may have since the day we arrived. This past Saturday, Cherry’s daughter and her class invited all of H-23 to hang out with them! Finally, some people whose level of Chinese is about the same with mine! (though theirs is still better obviously) So we grabbed some taxis and made our way to the other campus, which was actually very reminiscent of Valpo for me. Cherry herself said so as well- maybe it was how spread out things were and the beautiful outdoor scenery (though I do think this campus beat out Valpo…)

The pretty campus scenery~

Once we arrived the children (about 10-11 years old) shyly greeted us. At first they mostly kept to each other and would giggle or whisper excitedly about the foreigners visiting them. We all started off bouncing a volleyball around in a circle, sort of like an icebreaker to show the kids that we were here to have fun with them.  Soon enough, game after game ensued and we ended up having a lot of fun with the kids! We played badminton, jumped rope  and even had a three-legged race. There was also a game where everyone sat in a circle and played a game of hot potato. Once you lost, you had to stand up and either sing, dance, show a talent or speak Chinese/English [obviously not the one that is your first language].

The kids had a blast with the jump rope!

Almost everybody lost.  There was everything from Tai Chi demonstration to beat boxing. What more can you ask for? Seriously though, it was so much fun being able to just relax and spend time with the kids. Once they felt comfortable, they were more than willing to play games with you or make small talk. It was a good opportunity for H-23 to have an active day as well.. we have been missing sports severely!! And while our campus has a lot of areas where you can play different sports, we have just been overall too busy/slightly lazy. So I think it was a good opportunity for both parties! (Note: In case you wondering, the title of this post is “跟小朋友们玩” (gen xiao pengyoumen wan)/ “Playing with the kids”)

...so did our big kids.