Nimen Hao Everyone!

Nimen Hao Everyone!

It’s a lovely Sunday here in Hangzhou – the weather is finally perfect! The first two weeks were outrageously hot and humid (even compared to North Carolina – and that’s saying something!) and the following two weeks were chilly & rainy (also similar to North Carolina… what a surprise). But this weekend has been lovely! Mid 70’s and rain-free, I just can’t get enough!

The weather here is, in case you didn’t pick up my hints, extremely similar to that of North Carolina. Hot, hot, hot & humid in the summer, cold & gross in the winter (without too much snow, though) all while fall & spring are completely unpredictable (one day it’s 50 degrees, and the next day it’s 80… I swear this weather is bipolar). So, I suppose you could say, “Well, she’s lucky – she’s already used to this weather!” However, I would like to point out that this type of weather is my least favorite part of North Carolina. I thought, “Hey, I’ll be living on the other side of the world, I’ll finally get some better weather!!” Oh, how wrong I was.

But never fear! The rest of this experience more than makes up for the less-than-desirable climate. I’m still enjoying my classes; it’s great to finally feel like I have a rhythm going. And I’m sure my students can tell too. I’m also figuring out the food & public transportation. Not to mention, I’m making some great friends!

This past week (October 1^st through the 7^th) was a Chinese national holiday. The name of this holiday? “National Holiday.” Doesn’t get more simple than that! China’s National Holiday is equivalent to our 4^th of July – it’s the day the People’s Republic of China (that’s the official name of China, by the way) declared itself. The actual day is October 1^st, but our vacation lasted all week! Sweet, right?

During my time off, I spent a lot of time reading, watching television (I bought both seasons of Modern Family – loving it!) sleeping & relaxing. I had movie nights with my friends Rachel & David, and went to eat at some new restaurants. On Wednesday, I took a short trip to a place called XiTang (Pronounced: Shee – Tong) with some friends.

                                                             Rachel & me in Xitang

Xitang is also in Zhejiang province, and it’s somewhere in between Hangzhou & Shanghai. It only took about an hour and a half to go there by bus. I went with Rachel, Justin & Zach, who are all also foreign teachers at HNU. Xitang is a fairly small place, but very cool! You could compare it to Venice or Bruges – it’s a city built around canals. It was very beautiful & very Chinese. We ate some delicious food (Fried Pumpkin, Sesame Seed Candy, Sweet Chinese Pastries) and went to a ton of fun shops. Most of the shops sold “traditional” Chinese souvenirs. I bought some Chinese blankets, jewelry &, of course, postcards. The best part, though, was the view at night. The canal was lined with hundreds of Chinese lanterns – lit up and glowing red. In the canal floated colorful paper flowers & boats, each carrying bright candles & wishes for good fortune. And, luckily, a beautiful moon sat shining above it all. It was absolutely wonderful. If only my camera could have captured it like my eyes did. We only stayed for one night, but it’s such a small town that we were able to see most of it in that time. And I had a really lovely experience.

Canal in Xitang

Narrow alley in Xitang - notice the paper lanterns.

Now, I’m back in Hangzhou prepping for the week ahead! I still can’t believe I’m living in China – every day is a new adventure. I hope that everyone is having a lovely October (I sure am!) and I’ll be sure to update you about my next adventures (whatever they may be).

Zai Jian!

Olivia