All Work and No Play Would Not Be Good

It’s getting to be test time. With the HSK, Chinese AP test and finals coming we have all been nuli xuexi-ing (studying hard) and are all a bit nervous for the plethora of exams. But, alas, all work and no play would make Paris a dull boy, wouldn’t it? So, we have been finding ourselves going outside more and exploring the city. This may be because the weather has warmed up, or possibly because we know our year in Shanghai is coming to an end.

Since the spring weather has arrived, lots of botanical bijoux have been blooming. A couple weeks ago we went on a field trip to the Shanghai Botanical Garden, where we saw lots of tulips and some odd caves and “Shanghai’s only waterfall.”

 

At a University near where I live, there has been an explosion of Japanese cherry blossoms that are very pretty when the sun is out. Other than watching flowers bloom, we also watched the school’s international division destroy the Chinese student teams in the school-wide soccer competition.

April first brought some April Fool’s Day pranks, but none were too series. Someone (and I’m not saying who) was involved in the TP-ing of another dorm room. The victim liked it and had no hard feelings against anyone. 

 

Over 清明节 (qingmingjie, tomb sweeping festival), I went to my host dad’s hometown in Zhejiang Province and met some of his friends, former classmates and neighbors. While there, my host dad asked me if I liked bamboo shoots and I said “sure,” and thus our quest for the perfect bamboo shoot began. Bamboo shoots were in season so we ate numerous helpings of various styles at just about every restaurant or house where we ate a meal. We had fried, steamed, boiled, grilled, roasted, and raw bamboo shoots. In our travels, we discovered that not all bamboo shoots are equal.

While in Shaoxing city in Zhejiang Province, we went to a couple historical sites with old Chinese buildings. They were the homes of some of China’s greatest literary masters, including Lu Xun.

 

On our last day in Zhejiang Province we went to a tea market that sold some of the finest tea in China, but for a very good price, so we decided to buy some. During the whole trip we had been collecting and giving out gifts, but by the end of our trip we had collected more than we gave and the trunk of our little Volkswagen car was about to burst. It actually did pop open on the ride back -- riding over a few potholes, the trunk popped open and we had to stop the car and close it.

 

I spent Easter Sunday with three Italians, a Norwegian, and another American at the Formula 1 race at UBS Stadium in the outskirts of Shanghai. Out of the two days we went to see the fast cars, the first day was rainy, so the cars did not go at their fastest speeds to avoid crashes. We did see one small accident on the first day. A rider in a Mercedes-Petronas car was going a little too fast around a corner and spun out of control, performing a 360  ̊ spin. Luckily no one was hurt in the act and the rider (Lewis Hamilton) went on to win the prix. The second day the riders drove much faster because the road conditions were much better. Seeing cars go 350 kilometers per hour was quite a sight, and hearing the roar of the engines was thrilling. It was an event I would definitely go to again. Heck, maybe when I get back to North Carolina I’ll have to see NASCAR.

 

A few other recent adventures included strawberry picking in the suburbs of Shanghai, a trip to the Shanghai Film Museum, and shopping.

But now, back to studying.

Snow in Hangzhou!

 

 

My long Chinese break included a week in Nanjing, celebrating the spring festival in my host father's village, some free time in Shanghai, and a week in Hangzhou. Hangzhou is a city not too far from Shanghai. We took a train to get there, and we met up with our NSLI-Y Beijing friends. We explored cultural and modern aspects of the city. For the first three days we stayed in dorms at 浙江大学 (Zhejiang University), but for the last three days we stayed with separate host families. My host family was very nice and friendly and had a son my age.

While in Hangzhou we toured West Lake, Leifeng Pagoda, a local high school and a few temples. Pretty much the whole time we were in Hangzhou it was snowing, so whenever we weren’t doing something, all of us could be found at the local coffee shop drinking coffee or hot chocolate.

With our host families we got to celebrate 元宵节 (lantern festival). My host family and I went to their second house way out in the countryside and had a nice dinner with the host family’s grandparents. We also went to a big lantern display.

I really enjoyed our group's time in Hangzhou and the long break, but sadly, all great things must come to an end. We packed up and headed back to Shanghai on the train. And now its time to get back to studying and working out in the school gym to burn off some of the weight we gained over the break.

 

Part Two of a Long Chinese Break

Spring festival this year was spent at my host dad’s hometown in Zhejiang province and was filled with food, fireworks and family.

Fireworks at the ready.
 

 When we arrived in the little farming village of 竺州 (Zhuzhou) we were greeted by the family's tradition of cooking a large animal and distributing it to family and friends over a period of about three days. The animal was a dog, and it was a big one. Most places in China don’t do this, mainly just poorer agricultural areas where other kinds of meat are scarce or more expensive. It's just the way it is. Try not to judge.

 

Butchering the meat to share.

My host brother, my host dad’s nephew 大好 (Dahao) and I lit a couple boxes of fireworks to scare away demons for the new year. After that, we went inside to watch the Chinese equivalent to the Times Square new year party on TV. However, this televised event is different from the American one in that there is no ball dropped, but there are music groups, dance routines and other performances. Some of these performances consisted of exuberant magic shows and enthralling acts of physical talents. The show is broadcast nationwide across China.

At exactly midnight the real party started. Outside we heard the explosions of dozens of flowery multi colored fireworks. This display of fireworks was by far the most awe-inspiring and extraordinary firework event I’ve ever seen. The experience in this small farming village dwarfed any firework show put on during a U.S. New Year's celebration or on the 4^th of July. It was by far the most beautiful fireworks show I have ever seen.

The sound was pounding. It seemed like we were in a war zone or an air-raid. Every fraction of a second blasts were going off and they didn’t stop… not until 10 a.m.   -- the next day -- and this was the only downside. I only got about three hours of sleep that night. The sound was so intense that even with my ear buds in and iPod blaring at full volume, I still couldn’t sleep. In the morning I restlessly got out of bed and trotted into the kitchen where I hand-picked a couple steamed buns to eat for breakfast.

 

Steamed buns.

After breakfast we visited the tomb of my host father’s grandparents. We set out some food, including seaweed, apples, oranges and candy; we also put out some cups of whisky. This was all just in case their deceased relatives got hungry in heaven and wanted a snack. After putting out the food we burned some fake money and prayed.

My host brother,大好, at the tomb of his great grandparents.

 

Burnt offerings.

After returning to the house, we were invited over to a friend’s house for lunch. Like most social gatherings in China, the foreigner is the main attraction. I got lots of attention, asked many questions and was encouraged to eat a couple strange foods.

 

Me.

 

Chinese style lunch.

 

Mahjong.

Couple of older guys.

After lunch my host brother and I watched some TV. We watched a popular Chinese TV series, 爱情公寓 (aiqinggongyuan). It's a lot like the Big Bang Theory on American TV.

At dinner we were once again served a 竺州 delicacy, dog. Later that night 大好 and I set off fireworks on the roof of the house. We set off a couple of fountains, big flying fireworks and a firework-gun (possibly one of the most dangerous fireworks I’ve ever used).

Because my host brother had so much homework, we had to go back to Shanghai after only two days in the village. We said all our goodbyes and received some 红包 or little red bags with money inside.

Like I said, the spring festival, from my point of view, was about food, fireworks and family.

 

Part One of a Long Chinese Break

This past month was filled with tests, travel and fun! Finally all the big tests are over and we are nearly three weeks into a five-week break. The first two weeks of our winter break my host brother still had “extra school,” and spent many hours studying while on his break. So while my host brother was cooped up inside a classroom, I was either in my room working on my 161-page winter break homework workbook or out discovering new things about the city.

Looking up at the Pearl.

Looking down.

Recently I explored the Oriental Pearl (indoor rollercoaster, arcade, museum, revolving restaurant, skyscraper and radio tower – all in one) with a couple American friends on my scholarship program. Even though I’d already been to the Pearl once, it was still great to go back and look at the city with a “birds-eye-view.”

Me.

An interesting pedestrian walkway.

The construction is ongoing.

Last week my NSLI-Y scholarship group from Shanghai travelled to Nanjing, the ex-capital of China and a city that boasts thousands of years of history. Along with the other Americans from the Beijing NSLI-Y group, we went to popular tourists sites such as the Sun Yat-sen mausoleum, the Nanjing massacre memorial, and KTV (karaoke). We volunteered at several local YMCAs and elementary schools and taught young children and disabled students English.

School girls in Nanjing.

On our first night in Nanjing we ate hotpot, performed KTV (karaoke) and got to know our fellow NSLI-Y students based in Beijing.

Hotpot.

At the first YMCA we visited, we performed songs and dances for elderly people and engaged in conversations with them to learn about their lives as Nanjingians. The elderly Chinese also put on quite a show for us with their sword dances, Tai qi routines and exuberant style of singing.

Dancing grandmothers.

During the next two days we volunteered at a different YMCA, one for people ranging in ages from 16 to 60 with mental illnesses. We were able to interact with them by playing with Playdough, performing charades and sharing songs. We ended up learning their school song and we taught them “If you’re Happy and You Know It.” We were each assigned partners; my partner happened to really like basketball and had a lot of knowledge about the NBA.

Volunteering in Nanjing.

Later in the week we volunteered at a rural elementary school just outside of Nanjing. We taught them a little bit of English, read them “The Cat in the Hat,” played bingo and made picture frames to commemorate our visit. They also performed a quick Kung-fu routine for us. For lunch we got to eat at one of the children’s homes. At yet another YMCA, we taught kids English and choreographed performances with the kids, including some funny dances and English and Chinese songs.

In the classroom.

Lunch with one of the Nanjing student's family.

For cultural and historical enhancement of the trip, we went to the Nanjing Massacre Memorial. This memorial was built as a reminder of the Japanese attack on Nanjing in 1937, where over 300,000 Chinese were killed. The exhibits in the memorial were quite graphic showing the actual remains of slaughtered Chinese citizens and described in detail their deaths. It was a somber place to visit, but also had a message of peace. We also climbed the many stairs of Sun Yat-sen’s tomb and explored his mausoleum.

Inside the Nanjing Massacre Memorial.

Nanjing Massacre Memorial.

Sun Yat-sen’s tomb.

Sadly we had to leave this new city and our new Beijing friends. We didn’t get to explore on our own very much, but that’s okay because all-in-all it was a pretty good trip. Luckily we’ll get to reunite with our new Beijing friends in a couple weeks in Hangzhou, another city in China that we get to explore during the end of our long break.

Beijing and Shanghai NSLI-Y groups in Nanjing.

Tomorrow I leave for Zhejiang province with my host father and brother (host mother has to stay home and work). We will visit with my host family’s family and friends and celebrate the Chinese New Year! According to my host dad the main activity is eating; I already like the sound of it. My last trip to Zhejiang in the fall was pretty fun. Maybe if all of the people I met last time in Zhejiang still remember me, it’ll be even more exciting this time!

Happy 2014!

For the New Year we got a day off!

Brady and I decided to stay at the school for New Year's Eve instead of going back to our host families. We wandered the subway, found a sushi bar, ate some sushi -- and then we found a Hardee's! So, after sushi, we had hamburgers and shakes.

Brady wanted to start off the New Year right, with a haircut (a Mohawk).

After dinner we drifted back to the dorms to watch some movies until 2014.

At midnight we lit some lanterns with our new year’s resolutions. (Good thing we had a fire safety lesson earlier this month.)

 

The next morning we were longing for some more American food and heard that there was a pancake restaurant nearby. We picked up Sara and Megan (the only other Americans who stayed at the dorms) and went on a search for pancakes. For the past four months we have been slurping up noodles for breakfast, so despite the unreasonable price for the flapjacks it was worth it. Mission accomplished.

Sara, inspired by Brady's haircut, decided she wanted to die her hair red for 2014. After looking around for hair dye, she decided to go to the same barber where Brady went. Her hair didn't really turn out red. It's more purplish-pink.

Sadly we still had night study on New Year's Day.

Tests are coming soon. Very soon.

Looking Back at December

Days have turned to weeks and weeks have turned to months, and the first semester has flown by. December brought cold, wind and smog. Like I said earlier this month the smog has hit record highs and has not gotten much better. Aside from all the major health risks and dangers from the smog, there is one benefit, no morning exercises!

To kick off December we had a fire drill at school. Unlike the American “stay calm” approach, our teacher told us to run like crazy as fast as we could out of the classroom. No calm there. Our teacher also told us to put a towel around our mouth and nose, which in my mind kind of increases our chances of catching flames, but we followed directions. The only towel I could quickly find was a pink one with flowers on it. To add to the chaos, someone “in” on the drill lit a flare on the 5^th floor of the boys’ dorm. It just got more fun from there. Everyone was running around campus like crazy, some with towels on their faces, and some with their pollution face masks. The drill ended with a fire extinguisher demonstration and everyone got a chance to put out a fire with a fire extinguisher. That’s was actually fun. And so, ended the annual fire drill at the High School Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University, or JDFZ, as we know it.

 

A few weekends ago, before Christmas, we went to 新天地 and 田子坊 (Xintiandi and Tianzifiang), two very popular tourist attractions in Shanghai. We were supposed to go a week earlier, but the field trip was postponed due to hazardous air pollution. These two landmarks are devoted to the traditional Shanghai 石库门 architecture, are also popular for shopping. After exploring the architecture and design, Keiondre, Brady and I found a DVD store that sold almost any CD and DVD known to man for less than 2 dollars. We bought a few.

 

During the days leading up to Christmas, we spent time in our history classes eating and making dumplings and other traditional Chinese foods. I should be pretty good at making dumplings by the time I get home.

 

To try to lively up the Christmas spirit my group of American kids all pitched in some money to buy a few Christmas decorations. We bought a stuffed Santa Claus, some Christmas stickers, and even a Christmas tree with decorations.

On Christmas Eve we had a gift exchange and everyone received some fun gifts. A box my mom sent FedEx with my iPod in it finally arrived, after a long hold up in customs. I think it took more than a month for that FedEx box to reach me. Regular mail seems to reach me faster than FedEx.

On Christmas Eve, we also had an assembly where some of the Chinese kids performed some songs and short plays. The choir also performed a few Christmas songs. That night we watched one of my favorite movies, a Bollywood hit called The Three Idiots.

 

On Christmas Day we had a day off of school and went to an amusement park called Happy Fun Land. We rode some precarious rollercoasters and walked through a couple outdated haunted houses. After we went to Happy Fun Land, all the international kids went to a KTV or karaoke bar type thing.

 

In China, Christmas is more of romantic holiday than the religious holiday in America. All over Shanghai there were signs that said "Merry Kissmas."

 

 

When we weren’t making merry for Kissmas, we have been studying very hard for midterms and other big tests. January is our big test month.