6~ That Random Walk

After a long day of crazy lessons where I had been bumped into a really hard advanced class (that I struggled all day with) it was finally 4pm and I had a free evening with nothing planned. On my way back to my dorm I bumped into Hazel who suggested going for a walk around the city since the weather was good~ So off we went on what turned out to be an adventure !

I've got to hand it to them, Hangzhou as a city is really beautiful with some pretty cool buildings, it looks great in the daytime and even better at night when it comes alive with lights and the hustle and bustle as people finish work, I've always loved the atmosphere of the streets in China and Hangzhou did not disappoint.

Hazel and I just picked a random direction and walked wherever something looked interesting which is a method I really love to do when travelling, we found a really huge English looking tower that we nicknamed 'Big Ben' and was our point of reference for when we were near the campus as it's so tall and odd compared to all the other Chinese style buildings. 

After picking up some bubble tea we tried to find some shops and something to do, it was really good to chat together, I think that was one of my favourite evenings as I got to really know Hazel, we totally have the same sense of humour so the whole night I was laughing so much my stomach hurt! She's one crazy hopper loving girlie~ 

At one point we were walking along a street when a lady behind us answered the phone pretty violently, kind of screaming into the phone but it's a little more normal in China - anyway we she scared the living daylights out of us because she was right behind us when she answered, and after hanging up she said 'sorry' to us in English and when I replied in Chinese she was amazed! She started questioning us on where we are from, our Chinese ability and other things then introduced herself as someone working for Mary Kay and asked if she could have our contact details to be models in the next makeup competition shoot!! We literally couldn't believe it, only in China eh! As it happens we later found out that the shoot clashed with our classes so we couldn't make it, but what a funny experience! This is why I love China! Haha! 

We kept walking on our little adventure and found a shop selling animal parts like chicken feet, necks, organs etc, so we bought a chicken neck each, the lady was a bit surprised since usually a person would order a weighted amount, for example 500 grams of neck, or 1kg of feet but we went over there and asked for just 2 individual pieces which took some explaining, but after a few minutes with a bemused expression she handed us two little necks individually wrapped bless her - probably the weirdest customers she had had all day! 

Meaty snacks!

At this point we were pretty tired, we had been walking almost 4 hours and had explored quite a bit, we were getting a bit of attention in the city area and a few people were shamelessly taking pictures of us without even asking - we made an Oreo which killed me I laughed so hard~ Great memories :) 

On our way back we realised that of course we were lost (Hazel was also part of our lost group at West Lake - seeing a trend here?!!) It had already gotten dark and China just looks so different at night time, we couldn't remember the way we had come and were stuck for ages trying to figure it out. We still hadn't memorised our campus's name at that point and our university has 5 campus's so it was a bit impossible to explain to a Chinese taxi driver where we wanted to go. With both our phones dying we luckily bumped into a lovely Italian lady who just happened to speak English, Italian, French and Chinese fluently (ohmygoodness I want to be her!), and she helped us out by translating and writing down exactly where our campus was, she was pretty cool and her life was inspiring! I would love to be like her in 5 years time, working in China full time with a pretty decent handle on Mandarin - one can only hope! 

After all that, Hazel and I were really determined to find our way back without a taxi as we had already walked all that way, luckily Hazel found a street name that she remembered looking at on our way into the city which basically saved our lives and bought us much closer to the campus, it was a kind of large alleyway with lots of tiny shops (that were closed) so it felt a bit dodgy to be in a quiet area but all was okay as we ended up coming out of the street and finding Big Ben! You should have seen our reactions we were sooo relieved, I almost wanted to kiss the building! 

On our way back we passed the Barbecue Guy and it smelt so delicious so we picked up some food to eat on the way back - I have no idea how they get all that flavour onto a vegetable because it is genuinely one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten, always look forward to that when I go to China! We took our BBQ and walked home, totalling around a 5.5 hour walk and a pretty amazing time seeing real China and getting to know Hazel! ~ 

4~ West Lake (西湖)

The day's schedule started with class at 9:30-11:30 followed by a tour of West Lake and 河坊街 (He Fang Ancient Street) which sounded promising. Charlotte and I went down for breakfast early in the morning where we met Bella and Hazel for the first time. They were struggling to order noodles bless them because the lady could only speak Chinese so I ordered for them and I guess it all went from there! Who knew these two girlies would be my closest friends on the whole trip from them on!? 

After class and lunch we all met in the early afternoon to take the coach to West Lake (西湖). I had no idea how famous and ideological it was in China, with many traditional stories surrounding the origins of the lake and its bridges - in particular the broken bridge which is really famous for the Legend of the White Snake story (link is there if you fancy reading about it). 

The scenery was beautiful, it was my first time really seeing Hangzhou in the daylight and the short coach ride rook us through fantastic bamboo gardens and eventually ended up at the West Lake which was just stunning, words can't even describe the beauty. 

A boat had been arranged to take us around the lake and so we all piled on, Bella Hazel Charlotte and I started on the outdoor bit of the boat so we could see the view, it was pretty incredible. Me being me I of course got burnt as I had forgotten sun cream and didn't expect it to be so hot! It was baking especially being in the middle of all that water but it was totally worth it, near the end we just sat down and hung our legs over the edge near the water and chilled out watching the mountains and hills go by. 

I've got to say, we were quite popular there! As a huge group of 85 western students in China we constantly had photo's and comments coming our way, especially when our boat had come back to land and we were getting off we just had a crowd of Chinese people taking our photo which was kinda funny and a few of us posed for a laugh (I took pictures back of them mwaha).

Feeling famous!  

We were supposed to all be in one big group throughout the tour with one tour guide at the front and one at the back to herd us along the lake and its beautiful scenery, but you know what its like to take that perfect picture.. Somehow a group of us camera people got separated from the rest and as much as we thought we were walking in the right direction we were totally wrong. Not only were we lost on our second day but our Chinese phone numbers still weren't working properly (you have to give it at least 24 hours to configure) which means we had no way to contact anyone else - nightmare! 

After some very awkward Chinese from my part that didn't get us anywhere, we used Hazels English phone to make the call to the school for help, which costed a ridiculous amount of money but kind of saved our lives there haha! While we waited for help to come and find us we had a little chill out which I actually appreciated much more as I don't like being in a huge group like cattle. The sun was starting to set a little so the atmosphere was really serene and relaxed and I appreciated just chilling there for 20 minutes while waiting for the tour guide to take us to the next destination - He Fang Street! 

3~ Orientation

Our first official day in Hangzhou started with a 9:30 orientation, where we all had a meeting in a very fancy conference room to hear about exactly what we would be doing over the next three weeks. We were given a huge amount of information over the next 2.5 hours which was quite hard to digest especially with jet lag kicking in but the excitement kept me going. We were asked to fill out loads of forms and then given our timetables which were packed full! Only 4 full days of free time during the entire programme and from 3 - 7 hours of classes per day I was a bit overwhelmed to say the least but it definitely looks like an exciting 3 weeks are ahead of me! 

After orientation we had our first class which was our module option. I had already chosen Chinese Business previously so headed on my way to class with my roommate. I'l probably dedicate a blog to the teaching styles and classrooms so won't go into much detail but today's class was just under 3 hours long! Kind of crazy I wasn't expecting that, while it was long it was really interesting and I'm a big fan of our business teacher Mary, who's English was flawless and seems to have a lot of experience in the trade. We learnt that Hangzhou and people who live in Zhejiang province are mostly owning their own businesses as its better to be a chickens head than a phoenix's tale (pretty awesome idiom there). 

Once class has ended we only had 15 minutes rest until the meeting point for the Opening Ceremony, where we met the big cheese (Vice President of the University, such an honour!) and we heard speeches from various people welcoming us to the University which was pretty awesome. We also had a speaker from the StudyChina students to thank the university for their hospitality - which is what i'l be doing for he closing ceremony in three weeks, I'm so nervous! 

The ceremony was really really nice, everyone seems to welcoming and we also met a group of student volunteers from Zhejiang who seem great fun and really kind. Their English is just amazing and they are mostly studying chemical engineering and other science things which is just incredible! Once the speeches were over and all the pictures were done (I got a cheeky selfie with the Vice P) we all went to the dining hall where a huge buffet had been laid out to welcome us to the university with free flowing beer and food it was pretty awesome to chill out and get to know people. 

Cheeky Selfie with the Vice President!

Of course as our first day in Hangzhou came to an end the jet lag kicked in hard and I think I was in bed by 9 absolutely dead to the world ready for an early start tomorrow! 

2~ Off to Hangzhou

I woke up so early this morning thanks to jet lag (probably one of the only times in my life that i'll naturally get up early) which worked out great as my flight from Beijing - Hangzhou was at 11am. The weather was beautiful and warm with a blue sky, so I decided to go for a walk around my old favourite places in 五道口 (wudaokou) which is where BLCU is located. 

I picked up breakfast from a little stall near the gate (30p for a spicy wrap and coffee!) and took a wander around, can't even explain the feeling! In that morning on my walk I made the decision to move my flight forward and try anyway I can to get back to China ASAP, i'm still working on it but we will see what happens! :P 

The morning flew by and quickly it was time to check out and get my taxi to the airport, Lirong and Kangkang came to the hotel to send me off which was so nice, I really can't wait to fly back and spend more time with them in a few weeks. Found out quickly that my taxi driver was just the cutest guy ever, he couldn't speak a word of English but was determined to speak to me throughout the 40 minute ride to the airport so I found my Chinese was really tested, probably for the first time as I usually hide behind my Chinese friends and let them do the talking. It was a bit awkward for me at first but gradually it became pretty comfortable, he even made me a little video and let me take a picture of him, such a funny guy! 

My cute taxi driver!

All went well with my flight, I flew with China Eastern Airlines to get down to Hangzhou, it was a bit weird actually I took a photo as we flew up over the pollution, it was like a dark line separating the clean and dirty air, really odd. Once landed I had to wait over two hours in the airport for the pickup coach to Zhejiang University so I just chilled out playing Lego Harry Potter and eating 包子 (baozi) which are stuffed buns and very delicious, normally priced at £2.70 in London China Town and only around 25p in China which is just amazing. 

I was picked up by two student volunteers at Zhejiang, they were really cute and looked after us a lot, thats where I met Charlotte who had just come in from a flight from London and who later this evening became my roommate. We took the coach to Zhejiang university (I slept the entire way as jet lag had really caught up to me then) and only had 15 minutes to dump our stuff before going on a campus tour. It was pretty dark and we were all just knackered so I didn't take in much to be honest (thats probably why during the following days I continued to get lost), but it was pretty cool to meet all the Chinese student volunteers, they are so so kind and lovely and I had fun practising my Chinese with them! We also all had ice cream from McDonalds  it was a new flavour out in China - sesame seed! The ice cream is literally just grey and looks a bit gross but really it tastes delicious and its been a huge hit in China so hopefully its being made into a permanent flavour! 

After the campus tour it was time to get into bed, it had been a LONG few days travelling over 20 hours in just 2 days I was absolutely knackered and so we went straight to sleep in our hotel style rooms, preparing to be up early the next morning for the induction meeting! And so Study China begins.. 

Our room for the next 3 weeks~

1~ Hello Beijing

So the day has finally arrived, Friday 27th March, the day I could return to my beloved China and I really couldn’t wait to get on that plane!! I took a Finnair flight from Heathrow – Helsinki, waited around at the airport for a few hours then got onto my Helsinki – Beijing flight where I had planned to meet my friends from BLCU (北京语言大学) from where I had studied previously last summer.

The plan was to stop off in Beijing for a whole day to meet up with friends and reminisce over the BLCU campus before flying on to Hangzhou which is where i'l be studying over the next three weeks as part of the Study China programme, so I just had one precious day in Beijing with my friends and I wanted to make the most of it!

My friend Lirong picked me up from Beijing airport at 9am Saturday morning, I haven’t seen her for 6 months so it was amazing to see her in real life again, such a great feeling!! We went directly to my hotel (conveniently located next to my old campus in Beijing) and then went straight for lunch at the canteen! Man i’ve missed that place so much, the food has such a wide variety, so delicious and crazily cheap compared to English prices (70p for lunch anyone??)!

Lirong and I stayed on campus for the day catching up and reminiscing from last year, I even got to visit my old dorm which was pretty cool, I can't wait to get back to studying in BLCU this September it's going to be great! 

After having a nap in the afternoon I was woken up by my Chinese girlies who were ready to go out for dinner! It was so surreal to see them all after so long, really strange but incredible feeling I've missed them so much! We wen't out to a restaurant outside of campus and ate lots of delicious food, although at the time I was still all messed up from the long flight and couldn't stomach much of it. After dinner we went to the beer garden on campus and chilled for a couple of hours. I've always loved the atmosphere in the beer garden in the evening. All in all a fab night, simple but perfect, almost like a dream to go back for one day into my old Beijing life of last summer and a day I won't be forgetting in a hurry~

Tomorrow morning i've got to get to the airport early for my final destination - Hangzhou! Fingers crossed I don't oversleep or something that would be an absolute nightmare!! Bye bye Beijing for now, see you in three weeks time~

Standing outside my old dormitory - Building 17!