From the East Coast to Hangzhou: West Lake

Ni Hao Everyone!

Sorry for the delay – life has been surprisingly busy. I’ve had to prepare a lot of paperwork for the University/my classes. Last weekend (Sept. 10 – 12) was a holiday weekend; it was “Autumn Festival.” I suppose it’s similar to the “Harvest Moon” (the full moon last weekend was beautiful, by the way). Over the weekend, I caught up on sleep and also visited the famous West Lake (Xihu, in Chinese).

First, I went to West Lake with Terry & Rachel (two of my foreign teacher friends) on Saturday. We went to the tourist-oriented side. We visited an ancient temple (very cool) and also walked across the lake, where we witnessed beautiful views like ancient pagodas on hilltops & serene, lotus-covered water. It was very lovely, and very “Asian.” There were a lot of other people and tourists around us though, so it was not very secluded.

On Monday, however, I visited the lake again with my friend Noah (the Chinese student who picked me up from the airport). He took me to the more secluded side of the lake, where there were not so many businesses and tourists. We sat on a sort of deck over the lake, next to old Chinese men & women playing Chinese chess & Mahjong. I really enjoyed this because I felt like it was a more authentic taste of China’s culture. We also walked across the street from the lake, where we wandered through a tea plantation. It was on a hill, so it sort of looked over the lake and other parts of Hangzhou – I really loved it. And it was so secluded – not hustling & bustling with people like the rest of the city.

After exploring the lake, Noah and I went to a restaurant called “City Perk.” Sound familiar? Yes, it is a (nearly) exact replica of the café from the show “Friends.” Not to mention, upstairs the restaurant rents out party rooms that look like the apartments of the main characters. I couldn’t believe it! To top it off, while eating in the Friends Café, you watch episodes of Friends where the characters are in the same café! Oh the irony… But it was very cute. The picture is of Misa (a Chinese guy we met at the café – he spoke English well and loved the chance to speak with a foreigner), myself & Noah. What an experience.

My week at school went well – Thursday, of course, was incredibly long. But at least this time I was prepared for it! And I still really enjoy my students – and I’m under the impression that they are enjoying my class as well! So everything is going well so far. And I hope the same for anybody reading this. Until next time…

ZaiJian!

Li Wei Ya (My Chinese name!)