Back to Hangzhou

Traveling is not always glamorous. The day began with leaving the hotel at 9 AM to take a cable car back down the mountain to depart from Yellow Mountain. However, we were met with a very large queue at the cable car station. So, we waited for about three hours to finally get into a car. The picture below is of our wait, just to prove the traveling is not always fun!

However, the view down the mountain was stunning, and it was definitely fun to see parts of the path we had climbed up the day before. One picture of the cable car view is below.

After getting down, we stopped for lunch at the same restaurant as the day before (no one got sick, so that means it was an OK place to eat!!). On our way back to Hangzhou we stopped by one store by the side of the road, and then by an old city (tourist) market. The market entrance is pictured below.

I did buy a four piece painting of Yellow Mountain and a little stone pig (it is the year of the pig) from stores at the market, so it was worthwhile. The Yuan seems to go very far here with goods being quite cheap. Then it was time to drive the three more hours back to Hangzhou so we can do our homework that is due tomorrow. I am putting that off as I type on my blog instead….

A Climb Up Yellow Mountain

Today began with an early start at 7:30 AM to drive the four to five hours to Yellow Mountain (Huangshan Mountain is the Chinese name). Though we had to practice our Chinese sounds on the drive, otherwise it was peaceful. The scenery during the trip was beautiful with the countryside passing by my window. There were many farms built into the side of the hills, and the farmers were always out working by hand in their fields. We stopped for lunch at a place called Mr. Cheng’s Restaurant, and then finished our drive at the base of the mountain range. Half of the group chose to ride the cable car up to the hotel, but twelve of us were brave enough to decide to climb the 6.5 kilometer path (about 5000-6000 steps I think) to the top. I was especially excited since I like this type of challenge. We all had our ponchos on since it is constantly damp and often raining during the climb, but after a bit everyone had them off because it didn’t ever rain much on us. The picture below shows a part of the climb.

As everyone spread out during the climb, I picked up my pace and ended up alone for the majority of the climb. It was a fun climb because of the view, all the waterfalls everywhere, constantly dodging the porters, the cool moist air, and the challenge of it. The picture below is of me towards the top of the climb.

I ended up finishing in one hour and thirty-two minutes, and then exploring some other paths before waiting for others to finish so I could have help finding our hotel. One of the many porters is pictured below. These men carry all supplies (like water, laundry, fire extinguishers, propane, etc.) up the path and carry anything that needs to go down the path. This is a job I would not want.

We stayed at the top of one of the mountains in the Xi Hai Hotel, which was quite nice and offered beautiful views. (Another perk was getting to watch the BBC on TV—but more on that later…) After my long climb, I was ready to eat a quick dinner and get to bed. It was a wonderful day though in a very beautiful place. Pictured below is one of the many rewarding views after a tough climb.

Pizza and a Movie in the Room

This day began with language class for three hours this morning and then lunch at a French restaurant. The French restaurant sounded good because it would be a change of menu at least for one meal. I had some type of stewed steak and rice that was pretty good. After lunch we had an hour and a half lecture on Changes in Chinese Culture by a local professor. After this we headed to the Trust Mart to stock up on goods for this weekend’s trip to Yellow Mountain. We bought food, water, and ponchos for the time we will spend on the mountain. Since all food that is at our hotel at the top has to be carried up, things can be expensive. So, we are bringing most of our own food and water, along with a day’s change of clothing. After returning from our market trip, we spent several hours trying to, and then successfully ordering Papa John’s Pizza. Jose, Katie, Jessica, and I ate pizza our room and used our classroom’s projector in conjunction with my laptop to watch a DVD on the “big screen” wall. The picture below is a view of part of the Trust Mart’s selection. Note: I will be away from computer access through Saturday evening local time, so it will be a day or two before the next blog update.

A Visit to a High School

This morning we had to rise early to ride a charter bus to Yiwu High School. After a two hour bus ride through some very beautiful countryside with lots of rice and cultured pearl farms, we arrived at what looked to be a college campus. Yiwu High School (partly pictured below) is a top high school in the area, and only really high achieving students gain admittance.

In China first through 8th grade is compulsory. Kindergarten is not required and parents have to pay for their kids to attend it. Also, at the end of 8th grade the students who want to go to high school take tests to see which high schools they can attend. It is my understanding that Yiwu is a very good high school to attend. It was a huge, beautiful campus with dorms for the students to reside in since it is a boarding school. My fellow teachers and I were let off the bus and then led to a classroom where we were greeted as rock stars. Then, without warning, we were left to our own in the classrooms. None of us knew we needed to teach or interact for 35 minutes or so, but we all managed in our own classrooms by talking about the US, answering their questions, and just spending time with them. It was a lot of fun and most of us wished we could have had more time. The class of students I spoke with is pictured below.

After this impromptu English lesson, we were herded off to lunch and then a meeting with the principal of the school (he is at the end of the table on the left).

We left the school shortly thereafter, though again most of us would have liked to stay longer to learn more about the seemingly wonderful school. The bus then took us to a huge (and I do mean huge) market for bulk selling of all the junk you see in dollar stores around the US. After this we drove back to our hotel. After a birthday party and dinner for one of our fellow teachers, Claudia, Jose and I went back to the room to finish our homework for tomorrow.

A Mexican Meal

We had two hours more of Chinese practice this evening, and then Jose, Katie, and I went out to have burritos at a place called the Maya Bar. It was a Mexican restaurant just down the road from our hotel. The burritos turned out to be soft tacos, but were still pretty good. Having Mexican food in China is quite an experience!

A Chinese Bookstore and Bus Ride

This morning Jose and I woke up at 6:30 AM to go for a run around West Lake. West Lake is this supposedly beautiful lake here in Hangzhou, but we have never been able to find it. Jose and I set out with this goal, but fell short again today. However, we did get a nice run/walk in around the city in some places we had not yet been. Later we talked to a fellow student and got new directions to this lake. Perhaps tomorrow will bring the discovery of the lake. After a breakfast of bananas and peanut butter in the room, we headed out to a local bookstore that was much like a large Barnes and Noble. I bought some Chinese music CDs that turned out to be pretty good, a Chinese U2 CD and DVD, some books, and some Mao postcards. Pictured below are the Chinese translations of two familiar American books Hoot and The Cricket in Times Square.

After finishing at the bookstore we all parted ways and Jose and I went out walking around this new part of town. We walked a while and then started talking with a Chinese girl who knew English. She helped us pick out a bus to ride to get back to our hotel. Since the bus schedule is entirely in Chinese characters, it is impossible for us to read without help. Jose and I did get on a bus and then took it until it came near to the street our hotel is on. We stopped by a restaurant that looked nice for lunch, only to find a menu entirely in Chinese with no pictures. The waitress seemed to know this and just fixed us a bunch of fruit on a tray. So, we ate that and then the waitress brought us more. We grew concerned that she would keep brining more, but she didn’t. After lunch we went back to the hotel for our afternoon Chinese class. Below are Jose and I with our Chinese friends, and also us on our first Chinese bus ride.

A Chinese Pizza Hut

After lunch Jose, Katie, Jessica, and I wandered over to another part of town that we had not been around, and stumbled upon a really neat street market, lots of clubs, the stadium site of the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup, Trust Mart (a Wal-Mart of China), and lots of little stores in a mall. At the street market I purchased a cute little stone turtle after bickering for a lower price (20 Yuan/3 dollars). We spent several hours in the Trust Mart buying little odds and ends and seeing some interesting foods. There were actually live frogs and turtles available for purchase (and not meant to be a pet either!). After stopping by a McDonalds to see the differences between the Chinese menu and the American menu, we ate at Pizza Hut. Now, this Pizza Hut is not like any Pizza Hut you’ve been to before….it is very, very nice. The menu has pizza, but also many other things like fine dishes from all over the world. Jose and I started our meal with a green tea ice cream shake.

Then, we all shared some escargot (snails) and a supreme pizza. It was a nice meal and a very clean restaurant, which to be honest was a nice change. It was a little surreal to eat in an upscale Pizza Hut, but was a very nice change from the food I have been eating lately. After dinner we had an evening meeting tonight to discuss our goals for the program. Below is a view of the aforementioned Pizza Hut.

The First Chinese Class

The goal this morning was to get up at 6 AM and go to the famous West Lake for a run around it, but Jose and I didn’t make it. My Palm went off, but I just turned it off and slept in a while longer. Our room during our time in Hangzhou is pictured below.

We did get up in time for our first Chinese class this morning with our teacher Cherry. Cherry is her Chinese name translated into English. I will learn her Chinese name at some point and hopefully be able to say it. I learned my Chinese name is Ma Ke (with some accent marks that I can’t do here). My Chinese name is a straight translation from English and means the same. I included a picture of our Chinese teacher below.

After class we went out for lunch at a local cafeteria and tried to order food by just pointing at someone else’s dish. It worked, so I had noodles with some type of meat. I don’t think my dishes had been washed though, perhaps just rinsed out. Sanitary expectations do not seem to be the same here as in the states. Jose made a nice display of American dollars and Chinese Yuan below. A dollar is worth something around 7.6 Yuan right now.

Now we are supposed to be studying our new Chinese sounds, and I seem to be procrastinating by blogging...

On to Hangzhou

Today started with breakfast at our hotel in Shanghai and then a two hour bus ride to Hangzhou. We are going to be spending our weeks in Hangzhou, and our weekends on trips to other parts of China. Hangzhou is a nice city that seems much more livable than Shanghai. Once we arrived there we checked into our hotel and then went on a quick walk around the hotel to see the local banks, markets, bakeries, and restaurants. After lunch several of us then went on a long walk to the botanical gardens and to the local university. At the university I took a picture of this huge Mao statue in the mall of the campus. Chairman Mao, of course, was a famous controversial Chinese leader and is thought of here like George Washington or a similar American hero.

After our long walk around part of Hangzhou we took a little break and watched some Chinese TV. It was fun to try to figure out what was happening in the story when you can’t understand a word of what is happening. Then, it was time for dinner. This turned out to be a great adventure because we stopped at a restaurant that was busy (we figured that meant it was good/safe). The problem was that the menu was in Chinese and didn’t have any pictures.

We just each picked one dish each and took our chances. We ended up with chicken parts (we each had some brain—quite tasty!), some type of pork, and prawns. We even had some Cheerday drink that was supposedly from some green lake somewhere and is pure to drink. We did manage to each eat some of the food before rushing back to the hotel for our first introduction to our Chinese language classes. Tomorrow we begin in the morning with our language instruction. The picture below is of me, Jose (my roommate), and Katie and our fine Chinese meal.

A Word about the Blog

Just to let you all know, I am having some trouble uploading to the weblog. My upload pages are in Chinese, so I am having to go from memory as to which buttons and links to press on screen. Also, I can't actually even view the blog, so I can't see my work after I hit the submit button. I can't see the comments either. The Chinese filter the internet, and they must not allow blogs (and for that matter CNN, CBS News, etc.) So, I won't be able to read or respond to your comments. I should still be able to post, but I can't see or correct my errors. So, if you have a question for me, feel free to email me. I will update you more on the situation later.

A Whole Day Exploring Shanghai

Today began with our first Chinese breakfast, though I managed to eat mostly French fries, rice, and a substance they call orange juice. I’d imagine that there is very little real orange product in it because I think it is really just tang or a Sunny D variety, but it was drinkable. We then headed out to visit the old Shanghai area. It was a nice walk, and along the way we stopped to look at many things, including these older city streets where normal Chinese would live. I have a picture of one of these neighborhood streets below.

We wandered around this very touristy area for a while, and got to visit Yuyuan Garden, which has been there since 1559. We had several hours to explore on our own, and one interesting place I visited was a silk shop that showed us how to make silk from the cocoons. After that we had lunch at a local restaurant, and this meal was much better with many dishes being served in the middle of the table and everyone taking what they desired. The picture below is of me beside a funny Beijing Olympics sign that tells you that something is 300 inches away. A lot of the translated signs around are quite funny.

We had the afternoon to ourselves, and several of us took a taxi to the Oriental Pearl (the Shanghai TV Tower). We spent several hours up inside of it at various levels looking over Shanghai, exploring a space exhibit, and seeing a Shanghai museum. After that we visited the Shanghai Ocean Aquarium that is located right beside the Oriental Pearl. The aquarium was nice and I did get to see several fish that I had never seen before. After the aquarium visit we took another taxi back across the river to arrange a river cruise to see Shanghai at night. After all of that, and an impromptu rain storm, I am back in the hotel and ready to leave Shanghai tomorrow morning first thing. The picture below shows the aquarium in the foreground with the Oriental Pearl in the background.

I am in Shanghai

Well, I did make it to Shanghai today on schedule. The fourteen hour flight was long and uneventful. The five movies that were shown helped to pass the time a bit, but it was still a very long fourteen hours. One interesting thing was just how far north we went on our route. We actually went straight north from Chicago and flew over the north pole before heading down over Russia and Mongolia. The picture below shows our flight path midway through the flight.

The picture below is of the north pole, or at least as best of a shot as I could get of it. I didn't see Santa around anywhere, but perhaps he is in Florida on vacation.

Finally, after clearing customs we took a wild taxi ride to Shanghai and then several of us went out exploring (and looking for dinner). I had a basic soup because after that plane ride, that was about all I wanted for dinner. We did get to walk along the Bund, which is the area along the Huangpu River. Enjoy a picture from my view this evening.

Note: The blogger website is coming up in Chinese, so I am having a difficult time posting. Please bear with me as I try to figure it out.

I Leave Today!

I am leaving today for my trip, and at the moment I am trying to get all the last minute details out of the way. My bag is almost fully packed, and seems to be fairly light this year. I wonder what I have forgotten?

I am heading out today on United flight 7637 from Indy to Chicago O'Hare and then on United flight 835 from O'Hare to Shanghai. I take off from Indianapolis at 7:45 AM and I should land in Shanghai at 1:55 AM local EST. It will be 1:55 PM on June 22nd there when I land because they are 12 hours ahead of us (and because of crossing the International Date Line). All told, it will be about 18 hours of travel. Hopefully the Shanghai flight has some good movies!

If you want to track my flights, you can visit USA Today Flight Tracker. Just enter the flight number and then click on the flight status to see a close to realtime map of the flight.

Update: (8:04 CST) I just arrived in Chicago O'Hare Airport and am awaiting my flight to Shanghai. United had computer trouble yesterday and that really messed them up, so I am really glad I wasn't trying to travel then! Pictured below is the Boeing 747 plane I will be riding on to Shanghai.

I leave for China in 110 days.

I am excited to say that I do leave for China in 110 days. Now, I have written that number in a different base than our normal base 10 system. Can anyone figure it out? I could also say that I am leaving for China in 11 days as well in yet another base.

If you would like to cheat a bit, after working hard to figure out the answer on your own using place value models, then visit this page to use the online base calculator.

I am actually in Greenpoint, Brooklyn in New York City right now visiting friends. It is strange weather here.....very cool and cloudy. I understand that it is hot and sunny in Indiana right now. If you would like to find out more about Greenpoint, Brooklyn, try reading this article.

Here is an image I found of Greenpoint, looking down Manhattan Avenue. You can see some buildings in Manhattan in the background. Also, below that image is a map that shows Greenpoint in the top left corner of Brooklyn. You can see how close it is to Manhattan (what most people think of as New York City). Remember, you can click the image for a larger view.

School is Out!

Today is my last day of the 2006-2007 school year. I said goodbye and happy summer to all of my students on Friday, and today I officially sent them all to 4th grade by signing their permanent records. I also readied my room for summer by putting everything away in the closets. The room looks a little different now than it did just a week ago. I am looking forward to leaving for New York City on Wednesday, and then Shanghai, China next Thursday, June 21st.