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.
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