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Student Stories from Around the World

Tag: Hangzhou (page 2 of 3)

Introduction: Tobiah Meinzen in Hangzhou, China!

For as long as I remember I knew I wanted to study abroad when in college. Growing up I was
interested in exploring new places, a trait I probably inherited from my father, a high school history
teacher who was born in India and served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Sierra Leone.

tobiah2I chose to attend Valpo in part because it provided a flexible schedule for engineers to study
abroad. As an engineer, Valpo’s Hangzhou study center is a huge asset. Given the huge manufacturing
and economic resources of China, collaboration with China has become a crucial element of any large
engineering transnational corporation, especially the consumer electronics industry which I am
particularly interested in.

When the Caterpillar Scholarship became available, it made my decision even easier. My
engineering advisor and I had already set aside the fall 2014 semester for me to study abroad.

I think the biggest way I have prepared for studying abroad (besides Valpo’s pre departure class)
has been by reflecting on my previous experiences moving to entirely new places: Holden Village,
Alaska, and Valpo.

In reflection, I have found that it is often the little things that are most surprising or hardest to
adapt to. I know there will be obvious differences between myself and the residents of Hangzhou,
language being the biggest. But by recognizing the big differences it is often possible to miss the effects
of the little differences.Tobiah in Alaska

For instance, when I worked at Holden Village a political philosophy was very obvious in daily
life and religious services, yet when I arrived at Valpo I found that politics could be a very polarizing
topic and were thus not talked about frequently. This difference in the treatment of political issues is
surely one I’ll have to be aware of in China where the government is relatively authoritarian.

Another difference I found was in attitudes towards recycling and consumption (aspects of
environmentalism). Holden Village was very aware of their environmental impact and we hand-sorted
all the trash and recycling, whereas at Valpo recycling is a much more passive act, simply a different
colored bin and in Alaska there were no recycling facilities, most of their trash is incinerated.

Therefore I have found that awareness for little aspects of a new culture/society can have a
dramatic impact on how I conduct myself in society and can help easy my transition into a new culture/
environment.

!Additional Note: Since graduating high school I have maintained my own blog at
blog.tobiahmeinzen.com (80 posts, 5000+ views) which details my travels including 9 months spent at
Holden Village and two summers working in Dillingham, Alaska. Both experiences have been similar to
study abroad in the sense that I moved to a new location without any connections. My posts from my
time at Holden and in Alaska include photos, details of day-to-day life and reflections on my experiences
in those places.

Putting the ‘study’ in study abroad

“Studying is an easy aspect of studying aboard to neglect. While we all came here as exchange students knowing that we would have to go to class and study as if we were at home, it’s very easy to get swept up in the exciting and new environment around you and forget all about classes.

Last week we had midterms that counted for seventy percent of our grade. We had four midterms in total covering each of our class. If I had been asked a week before midterms what helped improve my Chinese language skills the most while in China I would have said it had been my day to day interactions with the people in my area. It was not until I started studying for my midterms that I realized why my interactions with people in China had helped improved my Chinese language skills so dramatically.

Every lesson I learned in class gave me the foundation I needed so that I was able to build on it through my daily activities. I never noticed before how dependent the amount I learned outside of the classroom was on what I learned inside the classroom. The material I was taught inside of my different classes allowed me to retain the information I received outside of them.

While studying for our exams last week was both stressful and tedious, it gave us the chance to reflect on how far we have come in such a short while. What I will take away from last week’s midterms is to appreciate the study aspect of study abroad because despite the fact that the classes can be difficult at times, they have greatly influenced my experience in China and have pushed me to strengthen my skills and understanding of the Chinese language.” -Marquisha

Trip to Beijing!

“About a week ago we traveled to Beijing for the weekend. There was some hesitation early in the week as pollution there has been quite bad. But we took off, knowing the conditions would not be ideal, but that the iconic sights would still be there.

We left early Friday morning from the station and proceeded to sit for about 5 hours on the long but fast ride. We were greeted upon arrival by Professor Lin (he had been touring the country for a week), who put us on a bus and took us to the Temple of Heaven, where we were welcomed by rain, pollution, and our tardiness. We were unable to actually enter parts of the Temple as it was too late in the afternoon. The Temple itself is a humongous park/square type of place with some interesting history relating to the emperor and The Mandate of Heaven.

After a walk around the Temple, we came out by the Pearl Market, where we were those typical tourists bartering and consuming in the portrayed Chinese market. We bought and bought and asked for cheaper prices. Still, a noteworthy place.

Dinner was incredible that night. We celebrated a couple of birthdays in the group over Beijing Duck at one of China’s most famous Beijing Duck restaurant chains. Professor Lin ordered well and we all enjoyed ourselves.

Professor Lin left Saturday open for us to plan our own day. That meant many different things for all of us. However, we all started the day out together by going to the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. Tiananmen Square is comparable to the National Mall in DC. On the four sides of the square lie The Forbidden City, The National Museum, The Building of the People’s Congress, and Mao’s Mausoleum. Some of us toured the sites around the square. I chose not to, and I spent my day with a friend eating great food, walking around Hou Hai (a lake surrounded by shops and restaurants in old buildings), and shopping at Beijing’s markets. 

Sunday morning we woke up ready to visit one of the sites of the Great Wall. After two days of pretty horrible smog, we woke up to a clear, blue, and beautiful sky. After a short drive but a long trip to the site, we were dropped off at the foot of a mountain. While there, we had a couple of hours to make a climb up and down the wall. I think most of us found the site pretty incredible, as the hype of the site was matched by our experience. A noteworthy feature: the discrepancies between the sizes of the steps. This made the climbs up and back intriguing as some steps varied very noticeably in height.

After the Wall, Lin treated us to another huge meal. We followed that with a traffic-filled ride back to the train station and long ride back to Hangzhou. Overall, a very enjoyable weekend. While we spent a short amount of time in Beijing, I don’t think any of us wasted time, as we all were able to visit and experience the parts and sights of Beijing we found most fascinating. Hopefully though, the short stay there will prompt us all to return and experience more of the nation’s capital. ”

-Calvin

Home sweet Hangzhou!

October 15, 2013

Our week coming back from vacation did have an interesting start, with a typhoon. Luckily our group was safe, but other places in town had some serious flooding and many people were without power.

Professor Lin took our group out to Wai Po Jia (Grandma’s Place), which is a popular restaurant in Hangzhou. The food was delicious and we got to hear about everyone’s trips everywhere from Kashgar to Hong Kong to almost Nanjing. Everyone was very excited from their trips and really seemed to have a good time.

The week went by normally, we had to get back into our daily class routine many of us had tests or quizzes this week. And then this Friday we got to get together with the students we will be working with for our recycling program at Jianxing Honor College of Zhejiang University of Technology. These students are in the Honors College at their school and had to be interviewed in order to take part in this project. They had put up a huge banner for the starting of the project. They had put out fruit and coffee for us. They had even put up balloons! Professor Lin spoke in Chinese and English to the group about how excited we are to work together. We were supposed to come up with ideas of how to implement a survey of Chinese students. From there we are supposed to compare the recycling processes on Chinese and American campuses and finally come up with recommendations for future action on recycling. ” -Margaret

Another view of Xi’an and the Muslim Quarter

“你好 from Hangzhou!

(Sorry for the lateness of this update – I took off for a flight to Hong Kong the day after we returned from the Xi’an trip, and have been recovering during these past few days from the excitement. :))

Much too early on the 27th of September, Professor Lin (and his wife, who arrived in Hangzhou a few days prior) ushered fifteen sleepy Valparaiso, Luther, and Roanoke students into a bus to the airport as we began our journey to former Chinese dynastic capital Xi’an. (Xi’an or 西安 translates to “Western Peace,” which if I remember correctly had something to do the hope that a peaceful name would lead to fewer wars.)

After a one hour bus ride, two hour plane ride, lunch at our hotel, and some sorely-needed naptime, we spent the afternoon at the Xi’an History Museum and the surrounding area of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. I’ll be the first to admit that history is not my favorite subject. Being quite tired and going to a city with a history of 3,000+ years (*and* having to retell the adventure) was a little bit frightening. But, you really do have to be impressed when you consider the intrinsic willpower of a city (and culture) that could persist for so long.

Monks outside of a pagoda in Xi'an (photo credit to Mickey Suber of H-23)

The museum was divided up by the different dynasties that ruled the ancient Chinese capital. There were some really impressive exhibits there, such as a reproduction of the 500,000+ year old skull fossil of ‘the Lantian man.’ Other exhibits, including statues of Buddha, models of homes, and ancient writing, gave insight to life in those eras.

Afterwards, we headed towards the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, aptly named after a goose whose spontaneous death at the site of the pagoda inspired an ancient branch of Buddhism to stop eating meat, or so the legend says.

It is one of the oldest pagodas still in existence, as it was built during the Tang dynasty soon after they started experimenting with materials besides wood (which was prone to rotting) with which to build pagodas. Built and rebuilt several times, and surviving an enormous earthquake that took off its top three stories, it currently stands at seven stories, or 210 feet. Like most other pagodas, it was used to house ancient Buddhist artifacts, and specifically held sutras brought back by famous monk Xuanzang who traveled the Silk Road to learn more about Buddhism from India. (As you may be able to tell, this was my presentation topic during the trip.)

We spent the evening around the significantly more modernized area near the pagoda. Many were gathered around an enormous fountain in front of the pagoda, while others milled around looking at the various statues of
important figures in the history of Xi’an. Several street artists were entertaining passerby. Further away was the mall-like complex where we got dinner with a ceiling that projected random nature imagery, among other things. Needless to say, the general atmosphere was much livelier than I expected in this area.

The next day was probably the highlight of the trip for me, as we got to see the famous Terracotta Warriors – one of a select few history tales that has interested me for quite some time. Long story short, these warriors were commissioned by Emperor Qin in the 200s B.C. to protect him in the afterlife. However, as I understand it, their creation and the location of his tomb was a huge secret – basically a legend before it was actually discovered in the 1970s.

There are three chambers of thousands of soldiers and horses, with the biggest having 6000+ soldiers. They are just as incredible as you can imagine. Still, there is much left to uncover – including the Emperor’s burial chamber. Even though they know where it is, there are concerns about opening it because of its age and even the possibility that it’s booby-trapped. (Yes — Indiana Jones style.)

After lunch, we saw the Muslim Quarter and the Great Mosque. Interestingly, though unsurprisingly, the mosque area is distinctly Chinese in architectural style, rather than Middle Eastern. As it is still a place of worship for the Hui Chinese Muslims, there were parts of the mosque that could not be entered.

Outside the tranquility of the mosque, however, was the bustling Muslim quarter full of cheap clothes, cheap souvenirs, cheap food and some of the most aggressive shopkeepers that you will ever meet. Those who dare look at anything for more than a few seconds will be bombarded with greetings, asking “what do you like?!” Occasionally, they may make it difficult for you to leave. Though it was not terribly different from other bargaining markets in China, it was still a lot of fun. (It’s the area that many of us ended up visiting during our free time the next day before the flight home.)

So, these are the highlights of our Xi’an trip! Our next big trip is Beijing, but I’m sure someone will
write soon about our in-between adventures. 再见!

Best, Michele” -Michele

A trip to the historical city, Xi’an

” Our trip to Xi’an was the third class trip out of Hangzhou, second mandatory class trip, and is probably the most distant class trip outside of Hangzhou with a 2.5 hour flight. Xi’an was a strange and remarkable city, needless to say, vastly different from Hangzhou. Knowing that many foundations of thousands of years of political, and cultural history were born, here, in this very region seemed to make things all the more unusual and enigmatic besides the more practical differences. Certainly, much of the class already seemed to comprehend the sheer enormity of the impact of Qin and Tang dynasties on future generations of Emperors, bureaucrats, artisans, and so forth.

The first day fell like an anvil. It hit us hard. Most of us (including the narrator) were relatively unprepared until the morning of, thus we spent much of the late night packing. And of course, even after packing, there was always a certain specter of excitement, knowing just under 4.5 hours, we would board a plane to visit the very roots of bureaucracy. By about 4:30 am most of class was already awake and by 4:55pm most people were ready to board the bus—however the bus did not depart for some 10 minutes after 5am. Needless to say, the bus and plane ride over was deathly silent. Upon our arrival, the climate difference was most evident. Xi’an was dusty and rather dry and greatly contrasted Hangzhou’s humidity and vegetation. Perhaps party because of a relative absence of vegetation, the air seemed somewhat more polluted. The smoggy air nuanced many, including my roommate, and especially those whom were already suffering from illness, which has been felt across the international dormitories.

We finally checked into our hotel rooms around 11, 11:30am and ate lunch shortly afterward. By some by some miracle or hand of God, Professor Lin allotted us an unscheduled, but much needed nap between 1-2pm. After which, we visited the exterior of the Early Chinese dynasties history museum and the exterior of the White Goose Pagoda.     The Chinese dynasties museum was surprisingly good. I thought it was interesting that by having the artifacts sorted by each dynasty, one could roughly compare and contrast what each dynasty emphasis. The early Zhou period had many ritual vessels and various bronze artifacts indicating that the Zhou government found at least some if not most of it’s legitimacy through religion and religious ceremonies.

We went and ate at a large mall like food court near the White Goose Pagoda. It was a peculiar mall/food court because of it’s notable ceiling featuring an enormous moving electronic image. It was like the ceiling had one screen saver of epic proportions that changed themes every 10 minutes. I apologize for not adequately describing this phenomenon. Needless to say, this rather gaudy technological demonstration dazzled everyone. By 8:15pm, everyone was ready to return to their appropriate hotel rooms.

Terracotta Soldiers in Xi'An (photo credit to Ryan Hough from H-23)

The next day, we visited the most famous terracotta soldiers dating back to the end of the Qin Dynasty. Paxton, Nelson, and I wandered around the three different chambers. While the well-known, well documented chamber 1 was very impressive, it was very surprising to us how little they have managed to uncover, especially in the other chambers. We can only imagine the thousands more buried underground. We decided that it would be very interesting to return to Xi’an in three or four decades to see how much progress they have accomplished. Hopefully, with future technologies that will enable to preserve the soldiers better, the Chinese archeologists may have the ability to uncover the rest. I cannot help myself but laugh at the fact that Qin Shihuang’s terracotta army is, by far, the most disciplined army the world has ever seen—considering that they have had sentry duty in perfect formation for over two millennia.

After the terracotta army, we moved on to the local Hui mosque. It was a very small mosque—of course, hardly anything similar to the ones found in Jerusalem, Spain, North Africa or the Middle East. It was very natural looking with scattered pools of lily pads and fish and sporadic trees. It was a nice break to simply sit down and enjoy the nice weather. I felt a separation between inside the Mosque and the outside (which was an enormous market). Of course, after visiting the mosque we visited the Hui market, which was filled with various trinkets, food, make name-brand clothing items, and communist memorabilia. Everything was to be bartered for. Some were better than others at this, but I soon discovered that I was not one of them. We departed for dinner by 5pm. The next day was fairly uneventful. We had free time between 11am and 6:30pm. The vast majority of our group returned to the Hui market to get massages and to continue the exploring that was cut short from the day before. By 6:30pm, everyone was ready to return to Hangzhou, and thus we did promptly. Our three days covered only a small increment of the city. There was much that we neglected to spare time for. My speaking professor stated that, “you could easily spend an entire month trying to explore Xi’an. Three days is not enough.”

Nonetheless, it was a good trip and I hope that any future class trips are just as fruitful and educational as Xi’an.” -Matt

How Crusaders assimilate into China!

H-24 about to enjoy some white water rafting!

“On Monday the 9th, we started our first full week of classes here in Hangzhou, China. In one week, we collectively spoke more Chinese than we ever have in our lives (which, quite frankly, is not hard to do living in the States). Other than the joys of class and homework, the week was rather uneventful. Many of us were too busy and or tired to carry out any major tomfoolery. On Friday, however, we had a massive thunderstorm go through Hangzhou. The storm raged for hours, going from roughly 6 to 9 pm. The water easily reached the high sidewalk, turning the road into what looked like a giant four-lane swimming pool. Traffic was backed up for miles, buses were unable to run their routes, and many had abandoned their cars, pulling them over to the side of the road. The stranded people tried to call for taxis, but they had absolutely no luck, as even the taxi drivers were trying to get home. So, many of them just waited out the storm in local shops and restaurants. Many of our group just stayed indoors, however, there were three (Paxton, Marquisha, and myself) who were at our new internship. Due to the storm, we did not get back to campus until almost midnight, and were sufficiently soaked from the journey.

The week of Monday the 16th brought our group to the first major holiday celebrated in China, the Mid-Autumn festival. The festival was on Thursday, which meant that we did not have any classes Thursday or Friday. It is celebrated with fireworks, eating many moon cakes, and many marveling at the bright and full China moon. Most of our group went to Qiandao Lake (Thousand Island Lake); a picturesque body of water with countless small island outcroppings interspersed throughout.  It was a really gorgeous lake.  Upon arrival on Thursday, we were given a choice of itineraries. We could either go and do a five hour tour group of the Lake, or we could go white water rafting. We chose the latter. Professor Lin also mentioned that we could hit up an oxygen bar, before the rafting, and we all were interested in going. However, when we reached the oxygen bar, our group was shocked to find that an oxygen bar was a little different here in China than it was in the US. In the US, an oxygen bar is like a normal bar, but instead of alcohol, you hook up an oxygen mask of sorts, and breathe high concentration oxygen, usually with aromatherapy scents added in. In China, we found ourselves in a forest-oxygen bar, which I guess is Chinese for a hiking trail. Outside of the initial confusion, we ended up really enjoying the great views offered.

China has many picturesque water-feature locations, such as the Thousand Island Lake and the Grand Canal (pictured here)

Then, we went white water rafting, which was an absolute blast. As we waited to get onto the river, we were mixed in to a group of ten or twelve Chinese people around our age. As we got into the rafts, we were given life vests, oars, and a plastic hardhat helmet. After getting into the raft and being pushed off, we reached a wider, slower area of the river. There, some of the aforementioned Chinese kids had taken to filling their hardhats with stream water, and pelting friends in other boats with the water. So, naturally (in our attempt to assimilate into Chinese society), we jumped into the firefight, pelting the nearest boat with water. They then threw water at us, and something akin to World War III started. As we reached the tunnel that ran through the majority of the course, we found ourselves in a closed in water fight. The battle ebbed and flowed through countless ceasefires, mutinies, and the like, until we reached the rapids. After getting off the lake, we all laughed at ourselves, high-fives each other and enjoying our childishness. If only all international conflicts were fought in this manner.  None of us were anywhere near dry until we got back to campus.

Coming up, we soon have a trip to Xi’an, but I’m sure that will be discussed in great detail in the next update.

-Ethan”

Settling in at Hangzhou

“This past week a group of us traveled to Lake Xihu (West Lake) in Hangzhou. Although it was raining on and off during the day, the lake was pleasant and we found ourselves walking through some of the trails and walkways along it. In the middle of the lake is an island, on which we wandered about and watched the water show that plays on the lake. The water spouts are choreographed to music that plays about every 15 to 20 minutes. While in the Lake Xihu area, we wandered around one of the malls and ate at one of the many restaurants.

Celebrating birthdays abroad!

Aside from that, however, were our Chinese placement exams. Although the written exam did not last more than an hour, and conversational exams no longer than 15 minutes, they were still nerve wracking. Despite our nerves, though, we all did very well. Many of us were placed into our desired class bracket or higher. Class orientation was Monday and our first real classes began today.

Finally, this last weekend was my birthday! So, Professor Lin organized a group dinner at the hotel next to the city’s international book store. We were all treated to more food than we could eat, including a cake that Cherry brought for us. A handful of us got lost trying to get to the hotel, but our knowledge of Chinese allowed for us to communicate effectively with one of the locals who led us straight there.

All in all, I’d say this week was just as busy as the one prior!” -Loren

你好,杭州!

“I was asked to put together a little report on what we’ve done so far our first week in China. Sorry if this goes on long or is a little scattered-about. That being said, here’s the first week in review:

When you last saw us, we departed for security. The checkpoint was rather uneventful, and we made it to the gate with little consequence. We had some polite conversation and tried to get to know each other a bit. Before we knew it, it was time to board the plane. We were mostly in the same area. Everyone was within a couple seats to a couple people.

The group's first official meeting at O'hare.

The flight went much like you would imagine a 14 hour flight to go. There was plenty of entertainment available through the television monitors found conveniently on the back of every seat, but it still wasn’t exactly what any of us would describe as a pleasant experience. Especially those of us who had to fly with a drink in our laps, due to a certain student’s clumsy exit from the row. Once we landed, everything went according to plan. Professor Lin was waiting for us when we got our bags, we took a nice ~3 hour bus ride to Hangzhou and enjoyed a lovely meal before heading off to bed.

The first thing that really hit me, before any kind of culture shock was just the jet lag. I’ve never taken such a long trip before and wanting to go to bed at 7:00 was certainly not something I am used to (Though I’m sure some parents will understand. ;)) The waking up at 5:30 part was pretty nice. It felt like there was so much time for things in the morning! The first couple days all went the same way. We’d get up, get ready, go do stuff with Lin (usually including some free meals) and then have time to ourselves. Many of our number chose to go out and explore the city, while the more timid of us were content to practice our language skills and get to know the university campus.

For a little less than a week, we’ve been working with some language tutors to improve (or for three of us, start) our Chinese. These tutors are students studying teaching Chinese as a second language, so it works out well for both parties. I have limited experience with the other tutors, but ours is named Xiaoping or Nancy. She is very nice, and has been incredibly helpful for my studies. We are taking the placement test tomorrow, so more information on how people do will be revealed in the next mailing.

Stepping away from Academics for a bit, last weekend we went on a couple of fun trips. First, we visited the waterfront of Hangzhou and saw the Canal Museum and the Museum of Swords, Knives, and Scissors. I thought both were very interesting, but I also love museums in general. Everyone seemed to be having fun though. At the end of the day, many of our number rode around in inflatable go-karts baring the likeness of various cartoon characters. They’re designed for children, but college students are certainly a strange breed. Several of the business majors want to bring them to America.

Visiting the busy city of Shanghai!

Then on Sunday we traveled to Shanghai via high speed train. It’s quite an experience. It was my first time on a train and the experience was great. In Shanghai, we visited the birthplace of the Communist Party. It was really a unique experience. In China, this is akin to seeing Independence Hall, except no one knew the story. There’s so much history we’ve never heard about… After that we broke up for shopping and exploration.

I was told that this doesn’t have to be a novel, so I’m cutting it off now. Everyone is fine and having a great time!” -Mac

Fun in the sun

I’ve just returned to my dorm after a longgg day of traveling. Today, starting from about 11AM, I took three taxis, two ferry rides, one bus ride, one train and one bullet train to get back to sweet Hangzhou, ringing up 9 hours of traveling. “Wait, going back to Hangzhou?” you may ask (or may not, but just play along). Well, these past few days,  Zhejiang University students were fortunate enough to have a week-long break from their harsh days of studying. H-23 quickly took advantage of this break to travel to take a five day vacation to Shanghai/Xiushan Island.

I can confidently say that I absolutely love Shanghai. I think part of it is the fact that it really is a sister city of Chicago- just the feeling of being surrounding by tall buildings and city lights was amazing. However, as much as I love Chicago, Shanghai definitely has one feature that beats Chicago: the Bund. The bund is basically many historical buildings lined up along the river. What makes it special is simply how gorgeous the area is at night time. It really was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen- I don’t know why, but I’ve always been in love with city lights and skylines. At night, the colorful lights from the buildings across the bund reflect off of the water and create an amazing sight. In addition, different boats with bright lights pass by and add even more color to the dark night. Hundreds of people gather in the bund area to view the breathtaking scenery, and I stood with them that night. Honestly, I could have stayed there for hours. Pictures won’t do the sight justice, but it doesn’t hurt to share.

The gorgeous sight at night.

The next night, we went to the Shanghai Acrobatic Show: ERA. I had high expectations walking into the show, and my expectations were definitely exceeded. I won’t spoil it for you because it really is something you should see in person, but I will say that there are just so many moments of pure thrill and awe. There were actually moments when I had to hide my eyes behind my hands because it seemed like they were pushing the “thrill limit”.  However, overall, it was definitely an enjoyable show. No pictures were allowed, so unfortunately I can’t share any with you..but if anything, that should be more encouragement to go see the show! If you are ever in Shanghai, please check it out! You definitely will not regret it.

So after Shanghai, H-23 split up into two mini groups: half of the group headed back to Hangzhou to relax, and another group headed to Xiushan Islands. I, of course, headed to the island for some fun in the sun. It was actually slightly nerve wrecking, as this was our first trip that we were planning completely on our own without depending on our professor. He headed back with the other half of H-23, so the rest of us four planned our own mini-vacation. There were a few bumps in the road- we took a ferry from Shanghai to Daishan island and planned to take another ferry to Xiushan, however we missed the last one, so we had to stay a night on Daishan. And though it wasn’t planned, I’m sure glad it happened. We had some delicious sea food by the water, surrounded by locals enjoying the cool night breeze. The next day, we headed for Xiushan island…and once we arrived to the island, we realized something: people on the island actually speak a different dialect than the standard 普通话 (Putonghua)/Mandarin Chinese that we have been learning. It was slightly difficult communicating with the island natives, but in the end, we got by just fine. Other than that, everything else seemed to be great. Our hotel was beautiful- it really went for the tourist “island feel”, with white and wooden decorated rooms. Little tropical like flowers were scattered as decoration throughout the hotel. And only a few steps away was the beach! Since China’s waters are not exactly the cleanest, we didn’t quite go swimming or anything like that. But we took lots of pictures, admired the beautiful scenery and played around in the sand (I even learned how to skip rocks!).


Valpo and H-23's mark on Xiushan island

Having fun at the beach!

 

The view from our hotel entrance

So this morning marked our last day on the island. We had a delicious meal, enjoying the island’s fresh seafood. Afterwards, we lazed about the beach one last time and enjoyed our last moment of relaxation. And its a good thing we did…because once we left, we didn’t realize just how much time it would take to get back to Hangzhou! All in all, we had a great mini-vacation for our break here in China.

Did you all check out the Mid-Autumn Festival back in VU? In China, people celebrate the occasion by attending festivals and celebrating with friends and family. Unfortunately I didn’t do anything big to celebrate it here, though I did eat a mooncake! Yummy. Anyway, if you didn’t check it out this year, definitely go next year! I always enjoy myself at the event VU holds, enjoying Chinese music and snacks. It’s a good way to become more familiar with the culture as well.

The 9 hours of travel are starting to weigh me down. Time for bed! Talk to you guys soon.

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