Since we did not have classes on Friday, Steve and I took a train from Hangzhou to Ningbo on Thursday night. The plan was to go to Putuoshan, a small touristy island off the coast, for a few days. On Friday, we woke up early and bought a ticket that included a bus ride out of Ningbo and then the ferry ride to Putuoshan. However, when we arrived at the docks, we were told that the ferries would not be running because the wind was too strong. Before we had time to process this change of plans, we were surrounded by people offerring us rides to Putuoshan via their privately-owned, thus non-legit cars and boats. We call these kinds of rides "hei che," (black cars), or in this case, "hei chuan" (black boats). Oh, and of course these "hei chuan" were charging us double the original price.
We decided not to try to get to Putuoshan. After all, we were already on the coast, so we decided to check out the area. We boarded the local bus back to Ningbo with the intention of just getting off if we saw anything that looked interesting.
The bus was a nightmare. It was old and uncomfortable, and opening the windows only let in gusts of car exhuast. As we drove through one factory town after another, people crowded onto the bus, jostling and fighting for seats. Our only view was of power plants, buildings and houses falling apart, tractors rumbling past the bus. The woman next to Steve got car sick and began vomiting. When we finally made it to Ningbo, we went straight to the train station to buy our tickets back to Hangzhou.
Then, on Saturday night, I got food poisoning from a seemingly benign plate of pasta. I could not eat anything without throwing it back up again for three days. On Monday night, Steve took me to the hospital were we paid 120 kuai for the doctor to tell me to ask me three times if I was pregnant and then conclude that I had food poisoning. His solution for the vomiting? Don't eat. Thanks. Well, my body was eventually able to work itself out and I am finally back to normal again.
This week is my midterm exam week, and then next week is my midterm break. I am heading off to Xinjiang for a week, where I doubt I will have internet access. You may not hear from me for a while, but I will have plenty of news when I return!
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Friday, March 21, 2008
Weekend Hiking Trip
Weekend Hiking Trip
Originally uploaded by penglisha
This past weekend, the whole program went on a weekend camping trip. On Friday afternoon, we took buses to a small mountain town a few hours outside of Hangzhou. On Saturday morning, we hiked up into the mountains to camp for the night. We found a spot that was pretty isolated and unaffected by China's development. The only people around were some shepards, their lambs, and a few people from a nearby village who came for the sole purpose of watching a large group of strange Americans who wanted to sleep outside.
Check out my pictures on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2030153&l=25a00&id=4403142
also: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2030152&l=5d21c&id=4403142
Nanjing
nanjing
Originally uploaded by penglisha
I apologize for being such a negligent blogger. It has been pretty busy academically now that I am taking four classes in Chinese! However, I am still making time to travel. Two weekends ago, Steve and I spent the weekend in Nanjing. We walked around the city, found an amazing western deli and a fabulous Italian restaurant. The highlight of the weekend was the Memorial Hall of the Nanjing Massacre. The museum was really well organized and effective. It is a huge, black marble building with different kinds of media depicting the Japanese invasion of Nanjing in 1937. There were photographs, videos, sound recordings, artifacts from the Japanese army, excerpts from the diaries of Chinese people as well as Japanese soldiers. All in all, it was really fascinating. Unfortunately, the weather was pretty miserable, so I don't have many good photographs.
Friday, March 7, 2008
Suzhou
suzhou
Originally uploaded by penglisha
Last weekend, Steve and I spent the weekend in Suzhou, a beautiful canal town a few hours north of Hangzhou. On Saturday morning, we went to the bus station and bought tickets to Suzhou. On the way to Suzhou, we flipped through Lonely Planet and decided to go to Tongli, just a half-hour bus ride from Suzhou. Tongli is a small canal town that has actually done a really good job of preserving its historical architecture. the streets are cobblestone and narrow, and they curve along with the canals.
We strolled around the town to check out the street vendors and the narrow wooden boats bobbing in the canals. When it got dark, we headed back to Suzhou for a night out. On Sunday, we found a great breakfast spot called Cafe Provence. Then we walked around Suzhou and took advantage of the sunshine, the DVD stores, and the Milk Tea stands.
Check out pictures from my weekend here:
http://middlebury.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2029669&l=ef24f&id=4403142
This weekend, I am headed to Nanjing!
Thursday, February 28, 2008
山村 Mountain Town
Originally uploaded by penglisha
Check out my facebook account for more photos of Jinyun:
http://middlebury.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2029367&l=8f9f9&id=4403142
I am traveling again this weekend, so expect more pictures next week.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Weekend in the Mountains
This weekend, Qingli, my roommate, invited me to the town she grew up in. It is a small mountain town outside the city of Jinyun south of Hangzhou. So on Friday morning, I left Hangzhou with my roommate, Chynna, and her roommate. First we took the bus to the bus station, then we took a long-distance bus to Jinyun. Then we took a cab up some windy roads into the mountains. Qingli's town is basically a narrow road that leads up into the mountains with houses on either side. Qingli's grandmother lives in a small house that is considered very nice because it has real floors (as opposed to dirt or concrete floors), two televisions, and a seperate building across the street for cooking. Apparently, it is common for some people to have their living quarters in one house and their kitchen in a seperate building.
When we arrived, we just walked up the street to get a feel for the town. People sat outside their front doors peeling oranges, crunching on sunflower seeds, and staring at us. Chynna received the most stares because of her blond hair. A few people called out to us, but we could not understand their local dialect. Qingli told us that when she was little, she only spoke the local dialect; she learned Mandarin in school. She stopped to talk to a few people as we walked. Although she had not visited the town in many years, everybody knew her grandmother, so they knew who Qingli was.
On Saturday morning, we made pancakes with Qingli's grandmother. Chinese pancakes are thicker, more like flat rolls, and they have meat inside them. Then, Qingli's aunt led us on a hike up a mountain path. Chinese hiking trails are not actually for hiking. Most of them are farmer's trails that literally go straight up the mountain. The four of us breathed heavily as we climbed the steep path, but Qingli's Aunt kept up a quick pace and was not eve out of breath when we reached the top. At the top there was a Buddhist temple, where an old man burned incense. Qingli's Aunt chatted with him for a while in their local dialect while we ate our lunch and looked at the view. The we walked back down.
My visit to the country showed me just how serious the pollution problem is in China. Even in the mountains, the smog was so bad that we could not see very far. Also, the littering is a serious problem. Nobody sees it as a problem - they just throw their trash out the window onto the street or into the river. When we were walking down the mountain, I was carrying the plastic bag that had held our lunch. Qingli's aunt told me to just throw it in the woods. I told her I didn't want to litter, and she looked very confused, but she just kept walking. It made me sad to see such a beautiful town littered with plastic bags, wrappers, metal parts, boxes, old car parts.
I am currently writing this from an internet cafe in Jinyun. It is Sunday, and we left Qingli's Grandmother's house early this morning to get a bus back to Hangzhou. However, the earliest bus does not leave until 5 p.m. There are no real restaurants here - only stores and street stands. There is not even a McDonalds! I think this is the first place I have ever been to that does not have any fast food chains. So, the four of us are just hanging out until 5. All in all, it has been an amazing weekend. Everything I have seen in the past 48 hours is completely different from anything else I have ever experienced.
When we arrived, we just walked up the street to get a feel for the town. People sat outside their front doors peeling oranges, crunching on sunflower seeds, and staring at us. Chynna received the most stares because of her blond hair. A few people called out to us, but we could not understand their local dialect. Qingli told us that when she was little, she only spoke the local dialect; she learned Mandarin in school. She stopped to talk to a few people as we walked. Although she had not visited the town in many years, everybody knew her grandmother, so they knew who Qingli was.
On Saturday morning, we made pancakes with Qingli's grandmother. Chinese pancakes are thicker, more like flat rolls, and they have meat inside them. Then, Qingli's aunt led us on a hike up a mountain path. Chinese hiking trails are not actually for hiking. Most of them are farmer's trails that literally go straight up the mountain. The four of us breathed heavily as we climbed the steep path, but Qingli's Aunt kept up a quick pace and was not eve out of breath when we reached the top. At the top there was a Buddhist temple, where an old man burned incense. Qingli's Aunt chatted with him for a while in their local dialect while we ate our lunch and looked at the view. The we walked back down.
My visit to the country showed me just how serious the pollution problem is in China. Even in the mountains, the smog was so bad that we could not see very far. Also, the littering is a serious problem. Nobody sees it as a problem - they just throw their trash out the window onto the street or into the river. When we were walking down the mountain, I was carrying the plastic bag that had held our lunch. Qingli's aunt told me to just throw it in the woods. I told her I didn't want to litter, and she looked very confused, but she just kept walking. It made me sad to see such a beautiful town littered with plastic bags, wrappers, metal parts, boxes, old car parts.
I am currently writing this from an internet cafe in Jinyun. It is Sunday, and we left Qingli's Grandmother's house early this morning to get a bus back to Hangzhou. However, the earliest bus does not leave until 5 p.m. There are no real restaurants here - only stores and street stands. There is not even a McDonalds! I think this is the first place I have ever been to that does not have any fast food chains. So, the four of us are just hanging out until 5. All in all, it has been an amazing weekend. Everything I have seen in the past 48 hours is completely different from anything else I have ever experienced.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year was officially on February 7, but the celebrations started about 4 days before and only just stopped, 10 days later. The night of Chinese New Year's Eve, people set off fireworks in the street. I do not mean little firecrackers - I mean the really big, professional fireworks. From my hotel window in Shanghai, I could see about five different sets of fireworks being set off all over the city. Cab drivers stopped in the middle of the street and got out to watch.
The next morning, people set off more fireworks. And then again that night, there were more. The morning after that, there were still more fireworks. Don't ask me why - you can't even see fireworks during the day!
Now, 2 weeks after Chinese New Year, I am awoken every morning to the sound of fireworks. I feel like I am living in a warzone. Everybody has been assuring me for the past week, "They will stop tomorrow."
The other night, Steve and I walked around downtown after dinner. The streets were crowded with people just stolling around and buying street food. We covered our noses as we walked past the Chou Doufu (Stinky Tofu stand) - seriously, the worst smell in the whole world. A lot of people wore lit-up devil horns on their heads. I don't think they were meant to symbolize the devil, but I have no idea what they were meant to symbolize. My roommate said that people like to buy them because they are festive. When we finally got back to the school, people were setting off fireworks right in front of the entrance to the school. As we stood, about to walk through the gates, the fireworks exploded just above us.
The next morning, people set off more fireworks. And then again that night, there were more. The morning after that, there were still more fireworks. Don't ask me why - you can't even see fireworks during the day!
Now, 2 weeks after Chinese New Year, I am awoken every morning to the sound of fireworks. I feel like I am living in a warzone. Everybody has been assuring me for the past week, "They will stop tomorrow."
The other night, Steve and I walked around downtown after dinner. The streets were crowded with people just stolling around and buying street food. We covered our noses as we walked past the Chou Doufu (Stinky Tofu stand) - seriously, the worst smell in the whole world. A lot of people wore lit-up devil horns on their heads. I don't think they were meant to symbolize the devil, but I have no idea what they were meant to symbolize. My roommate said that people like to buy them because they are festive. When we finally got back to the school, people were setting off fireworks right in front of the entrance to the school. As we stood, about to walk through the gates, the fireworks exploded just above us.
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