Hangzhou 杭州

Half the class decided to take a weekend trip to Hangzhou (杭州）, a city about an hour away by train and at least two hours by car. There was more traffic by taxi than anticipated, so when we got to the train station, we had to RUN as fast as we could. Luckily we found the correct entry way where everyone was lined up. We followed everyone outside to line up at our appointed train car number. We were unaware that our car was hundreds of feet away and the train was about to take off! We had to make a run for the car and made it just as the doors were closing. Once we were on, the train moved at a much quicker pace than I would have expected.

Upon arriving at the Hangzhou train station (杭州火车站）we waited in an extremely large crowd of people for the next available taxi. After settling into our hotel, we were close enough to walk to the West Lake, a lake containing the "broken bridge". In ancient times, when there was snow on the bridge, it appeared from the distance that the bridge was split in half because the one side of the bridge blended in with its background. At night, we walked to the shopping street lit with many Chinese lanterns. Hangzhou is a terrific city with picturesque landscapes!

Making Friends 我的朋友...

A few of us made some awesome Chinese friends. They showed us their favorite places to eat and constantly helped us learn common Chinese phrases. For many days, we just shared our differences and lifestyles with one another. It was quite interesting to learn that the girls had never made American friends before they met us, yet their English was nearly fluent. I could not believe how well-trained they were in their communication skills regarding English. As I got to know these girls better, they took me to the lake where a light-up fountain show was held. There were crowds and crowds of people (人山人海,a phrase meaning too many people) viewing the mystical scene. I had the opportunity to walk around the modern, inner city of Suzhou. I took my first subway back to campus. Here is the restaurant I ate at nearly EVERY day, because I knew exactly what it was I was eating. We also met lots of people who were interested in foreigners at this restaurant.

Excursion #2 The Canal 水

We often took extremely crowded public buses and taxis to explore the city. There was also a substantial amount of walking. On our second class excursion, we took the city bus to a canal which surrounds Suzhou. On the hour-long boat ride, a vocalist sang ancient Chinese folk songs along with her musical instrument, the erhu, while the tour guide spoke about the structures we passed. We enjoyed beautifully lit paths, trees, parks, and bridges. Here are a couple photos highlighting our experience...

Movie Theatre 电影

In our free time, we decided to go to a movie. It turned out, the theatre was inside of a very fancy performing arts center which regularly holds art shows, ballet, acrobats, and many other interesting activities. The building reminded me of the bird's nest in Beijing, China where the 2008 olympics were held. It was shaped into a curve and looked like webs of grey as the outside texture. When we arrived, we forgot to research what movies were out and could not manage to make-out the movie descriptions on the over-head board, so we chose a movie based upon the picture from the cut-out poster near the ticket booth. We ended up seeing "The Four" which was an action-like film with English subtitles. Each theatre showing a movie was separated from one another, no food or condiments were for sale (everyone brought their own food), and there were assigned seats! After the movie, we enjoyed a spectacular view of the lake right outside the performing arts building with a nice breeze blowing by.

Silk Museum 丝

After visiting the garden, Liu Laoshi took use to the silk museum. We were introduced to the process of turning silk worms into elaborate quilts, pillows, and garments. We even got to try to stretch some of the tough silk material across a large area the size of a bed. When we returned to campus, we continued to explore a bit longer.

First Day and Excursion #1 Humble Administrator's Garden 花园

Our first morning began with class, Chinese 201 taught by Tao Laoshi, a Chinese professor from Suzhou University. He started the class by having us introduce ourselves in Chinese. He taught through English, provided much repetition so that the vocabulary and tones (4 major tones in the Mandarin language) were engrained in our heads, and supplied a structured class with detailed instructions. Tao Laoshi and our Chinese professor from NAU Liu Laoshi held a large banquet for us to celebrate our first lunch in China. Our first class excursion included a trip to the Humble Administrator's Garden, the largest garden in southern China and the most famous garden in Suzhou. It contained very traditional Chinese structures and a vast history dating back to the Tang dynasty.

Beginnings...

Upon arrival at Soochow University after a 24 hour journey (14 hour plane ride), my classmates and I settled into our dorm rooms for oversea students. As I explored the campus I discovered an extremely serene, green, and friendly atmosphere. The East Campus (one of five campuses) on which I stayed had a large bridge over-looking the vast canal stretching for miles across the city. This is the view from my dorm room, the fifth story of the building with no elevator! The beautiful lilies were found throughout the campus. I was eager to begin classes and absorb the incredible language surrounding me.