Fool In the Rain

It's raining.

Even the rain here feels different to me. That could be because my shoulders are quite sunburned (I was so tired when I got up to go the beach this weekend that I got everywhere but my shoulders) but I think it's more the intensity.

The other day a rainstorm rolled in at about 10 AM. The sky turned black and nobody could see anything. We all just watched in awe as a wall of darkness and water rushed across the city like an angry deity rushing off to exact revenge on some poor town that demands a flooding. The teachers were unimpressed and tried to bring us back to the lesson, but were unsuccessful until the clouds rolled out a few minutes later.

Right now, the thunder rocks the building sporadically. It sounds like artillery in sharp cracks and bangs. I have no idea how I'm supposed to get across campus to the meeting I have in half an hour without getting entirely drenched.

My roommate is also currently unimpressed by the downpour. He's 杭州人 (hang zhou ren) or a person who has grown up in Hangzhou. I feel like having lived here, this is probably normal. And they say the first typhoon hasn't even rolled in yet. I wonder what that will be like. Will I even be able to walk to class?

So I've seen a little more of China after visiting more of Zhejiang Province. What they say about poverty in part of China is totally true. On the train to Ningpo I saw houses with 3 walls and workers who seemed to live in their vans which were at least 10 years old. The apartments in Zhoushan were tiny and I doubt many had sufficient plumbing. I'm still in culture shock I think. Except for the food that is. I've eaten things that I didn't think I could eat before (fish cheeks and duck feet anyone?) but I seem to like it all. If I've learned anything besides language from this trip, I've learned that I can eat some very unusual things and look disgusting but taste fantastic.

By the way, the key to prepping your stomach is the local yogurt. A yogurt drink every morning for breakfast has served me very well.

Time Delay

Sorry about the lack of posts lately, but this first week of class was killer. At least I think the homework will ease up from here on in.

Starting from last Saturday, I have battled the landscape, the food, and the language of China, but I find that I love every minute of it. As flustered as I get at my inability to communicate on several occasions daily, I still come away feeling that I accomplished something, even if that is remembering the word for "chicken" or "textbook".

Going back the first sentence of the last paragraph, I wish I could show you the pictures of the hike we took into the hills (really mountains) overlooking Hangzhou, but that requires use of the "preview" function which conveniently does not work in the slightest. Nor does posting pictures because that would require an internet connection that doesn't move like a baby with bricks tied to its legs. And by that I mean slowly.

My roommate and I are getting along very well; he helps me study and I tell him about things in the USA that I like such as music and movies. I found yesterday that premise of The Big Lebowski does not easily translate into Chinese. Very upsetting.

Food and other things are mindnumbingly inexpensive here. I can get any meal for less than a dollar, but I think I spend at most $6 a day on food . Beat that Rachel Ray. Try to buy any good meal, and I mean damn fine meals, anywhere for 3RMB (approx. 30something cents).

The most unintentional fun I've had here since the "fun" of trying to locate my lost luggage was definitely going to a restaurant called "Houcaller Beefsteak" here in Hangzhou. It is, get this, a fast-food style chain of steakhouses. Fast-food steakhouses.

The atmosphere is distinctly reminiscent of an Applebee's on acid with a salad bar that has no lettuce (or vegetables at all really) and fruit flavored salad dressings. By that I mean where the dressings should have been were things like apple, pomegranate, and watermelon flavored yogurt next to a bowl of Thousand Island dressing and some very tasty crutons.

Zhang Fan, my roommate, and I both ordered the NYC T-Bone platter. I told the waitress I was French so I wouldn't have to speak in English (we aren't allowed to speak English due to our language pledge) and attempted to order my steak medium. When the food arrived we had an egg sunny-side up, a very well done steak, and a small pile of what I think was Chef Boyardee pasta all in one skilled and covered in a cracked black pepper gravy. Strangely, it was damn good. Nevertheless, having to explain that I disliked all things American and could they please stop speaking English was very strange.

First post?

Hey, everyone! First post from Hangzhou!

I don't have the internet yet, so I'm posting from my roommate's friend's computer. He's the only one here who has figured out how to connect so far but we should all have regualr access in the next few days.

It's incredibly hot here, easily over 100 every day. And so far, aside from causing a great deal of confusion with my broken Chinese and making a few friends so far, all I've done is taken a walk by the West Lake, which is amazing, and lost a bag.

The bag will get here soon I've been told. Singapore Airlines knows where it is, I jsut have no idea where it is. C'est la vie.

I'll post the pictures I've been taking (mostly of signs I think are especially funny) in the next few days or whenever I get the internet working. Just so everyone knows, I'm here safe and sound and so far having an incredible time. I'll post again soon.

史乃聪

I am now within 12 hours of leaving the United States. It's a weird feeling to know that for the next 6 weeks I won't be able to easily reach any of you except by e-mail and the occasional Skype call.

Within the next few posts I'll have pics of the trip I promise, although I doubt I'll be able to take very many pictures inside airports and such.

I'll drop a line later "today", although for some of you that could easily end up being sometime tomorrow night around 2 AM. My day is probably going to feel like it's 48 hours long.