The Journey Begins

Day 1: I'm not going to lie.  While the opportunity to spend two weeks in China sounded like the chance of a lifetime, the closer I got to my departure, the more anxious I became.  After all, when I did a similar trip to Ghana in 2010, I had minimal contact time with my students and I contracted an intestinal parasite on Day 2 of my two-week visit, which ultimately put me in the hospital.  But this time, things are different.  I'm traveling with two other teachers from Dana Hall AND my lovely family! Here we are below in the Hongqiao Railway Station.

We arrived in Shanghai on the evening of Friday, July 8.  The first thing that I felt was the heat and humidity. It actually reminded me a lot of Ghana. We haggled...rather successfully, I might add, with a gentleman who arranged for a van to take us to our hotel.  Our driver spoke no english and we speak no Chinese, which soon became an issue when he got lost.  Nevertheless, we weaved in and out of the streets of the Pudong district of Shanghai, taking in the sights and smells. I'm in awe of the sheer number of people everywhere. As you look at the skyline, We literally fell into our beds at the hotel.

Day 2:  Up early and we made our way to the Honqiao Station.  Our first meal in China?  Kentucky Fried Chicken.  I know, you're probably thinking, "You're in China...eat Chinese food!" However, anyone with teenaged daughters will understand that this was a peace offering of sorts, to ensure contentment down the road!  So, we ate our chicken, got some coffee at Starbucks and waited for our train to Hangzhou.  The trains are remarkable!  We sat in first class at a cost of about $18 per person, and the train agents served us iced cream and other delicacies, as we whizzed past small villages and rice fields.  We were met by two teaching assistants from the Wahaha Bilingual School, who dropped us off at our apartments, where we will be staying with not only the other teachers, but also the students. Here is a nighttime view from our apartment.

We soon met up with two of my Dana Hall colleagues--Fred and Kim, and we all shared a delightful Chinese meal together at a family restaurant around the corner.  We ordered a LOT of food, which surprised the waitstaff, who kept eyeballing us as we attempted to determine the various delicacies we had selected from the menu.  Let me stop here and tell you that the inability to read in another language is a HUGE disability. Case in point--I selected from the menu, a dish of sauteed green beans. Little did I know that they were sauteed in hot pepper.  Without thinking, I popped several beans into my mouth.  Truly I have never tasted anything as hot as these.  They burned my lips, my tongue, my throat.  I thought I might pass out--I kid you not!  Thankfully, we had chosen several other dishes that more than made up for the bean fiasco, but I was still reeling from the meal hours later!  Interestingly, despite all of that food, the entire bill for six people came to about $40. I could absolutely get used to those prices!