Mid-Autumn Festival

It is now Mid-Autumn Festival. We had a luncheon in Hangzhou, so we all headed down their Tuesday night after work. The metro was ridiculous. Again, the metro was RIDICULOUS. We took a train to Hangzhou and it only took about an hour and a half.

When we arrived it was a mad house at the train station. I think we over payed for a taxi, but I think by that time we did not care how much we payed because we were tired. Sue, Jenny, and I spent the night at Tia's. The MAIS students are more or less split half and half between Shanghai and Hangzhou.

beautiful view from the market

 I must say that I was very shock upon arrival in Hangzhou. I think I have grown very accustomed to my lofty life in Shanghai. I live in Pudong, which is a new area of Shanghai and I think it could easily be argued that my neighborhood is the west LA of Shanghai. Hangzhou is developed, but it isn't Shanghai. It is much more "China". There are less affluent people and much more of the city seems like what you would imagine China to be. In no way does this take away from the city, but it was a shock to me. I think I would have culture shock very bad if I were to live in Hangzhou.

one of the dishes at Grandma's Kitchen

Wednesday, we had a luncheon at a place called Grandma's Kitchen. It was a very nice restaurant and Dr. Kim and Professor Wyman were there to greet us. It was great to see them. They gave us hugs and poured us pijiu 啤酒 or Chinese beer. Professor Wyman sat next to me and we had a long talk about some of the issues I have been having at Jin Cai. It was great to talk to him as it was good to release my frustrations. Our meal was a typical Chinese meal with many dishes. 


After lunch we headed to the West Lake area and shopped. We faced endless stares and even had our picture taken by a few people. We even took a picture with someone who thought they were being slick in taking our picture. A few people said "hi" to us in order to show their English abilities. It was a rainy day, which was nice. Typically the rain would be hot, but it was really cold the last two days. It seems that it might finally be transitioning to fall/winter. 

Overall, I had a great time in Hangzhou, but I do not foresee myself returning anytime soon. The city does not have a metro system like Shanghai, so transportation becomes expensive with each cab riding being 40 kuai or more. 

Sorry for the delays in my postings. Stay tuned for more


再见！！！