Blogs from Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China, Asia - page 9

We got back from holiday to find that we have another three days off, which is lovely. Gives us a chance to catch up with everything and do laundry (it takes ages, we have the world's oldest washing maching - you actually have to stand over it and hand spin it) before the term starts. On Tuesday night, our first day back, we were in a party mood so Tarik, Benny and their friend Tom came over and we got pizza. We then went out to KTV and much alcohol was consumed, to the extent that even Tarik and I had a go at singing. I did take a video but will not be posting that one anywhere! Despite the pizza we also ordered food in KTV which felt greedy but meant that none of us ... read more

Tips to lift a blue mood 1. Put your mp3 on shuffle and be reminded how awesome your music taste really is. Every song is a good one! This is especially effective if you are walking outside, but be warned, you may start grinning like a loon. 2. Learn something. In my case, I restarted my Chinese lessons, even though I've kind of been dreading them. 3. Cook. I find making things from scratch very therapeutic, and feeding other people especially soothing. 4. Teach someone. Amanda made a lovely roast vegetable pesto pasta tonight for the first time, with a little help from me. 5. Exercise. Even if you do feel fat in your gym leggings, it's the only way to get rid of the Christmas love handles. 6. Help someone. Rachael was feeling poorly, me ... read more

I'm not having formal Chinese lessons at the moment due to a combination of not being able to find the right teacher, and my general busy-ness. I'm using my Rosetta Stone fairly often, but the main conversation practise I get now appears to be in the bath. I've been going for more of the herbal baths at the salon, and in fact they want me to go back every day between now and when I head home for Chrismas. I don't *think* it's just because I'm really dirty, rather the bath is a preparation for this vibrating treatment I'm now getting. It's an absolute luxury, and all in takes about 2.5 - 3 hours each time. Goodness knows who actually has time to dedicate that long to themselves everyday - I'm going to have to get ... read more

Since returning to China in August, I (Elyse) have been interested in learning more about the economy,rules/laws and culture of the PRC(People's Republic of China). I have been reading the weekly English magazine that our school receives called Beijing Review. I feel a little more "in the loop" of what is going on in this monstrous country, by size and population, after reading this since we gave our tv to another teacher. Let's face it, the 99% Chinese channels just don't do much for either of us. For those of you that know me well you know I have a strange way of remembering odd facts and love to learn about them. So here is my quick lesson on China for all of our friends and family back in the USA. I have thought that China ... read more

This past weekend, Hangzhou Wanxiang Polytechnic celebrated its 60th anniversary and the school officials spared no expense on putting on a grand performance. We were made aware of this event shortly after our arrival to the school in August but at the time we were told it may conflict with our National Day break. We’re not sure why they would have told us that since the anniversary celebration was clearly scheduled 2 weeks after the fact. Plus, there was no way that Elyse and I would have forgone our honeymoon so that we could be apart of the festivities. We made it perfectly clear on several occasions that we are neither puppets nor mascots and had no intentions on ever singing or dancing. On the very few occasions that our last school in Shenzhen did invite ... read more