Monday, July 20, 2009

belated

I understand this first post has been delayed about..two months! I have been writing now and then in word documents on my computer, but never posted them. I decided I will update in spurts on my happenings:

I studied Putonghua in Hangzhou for 6 weeks. While there, I lived in an International dormitory which has classrooms attached for a convenient roll-out-of bed for 8am class situation. Hangzhou has to be one of the most beautiful and interesting places I have ever been. Upon arriving to Hangzhou I was greeted by my uncle's friend Lu Xing Hua who only spoke words of English and Putonghua..(as I was warned) extremely fast. He picked me up from the train station and took me to the University and bought me white flowers intertwined on a leaf from a woman walking in the street. One obvious difference: driving in Hangzhou. I cannot speak for all mainland China cities because I have only been to Shanghai and Hangzhou...but the drivers are "ruthless". There seems to be no rules, but I find there is a system to the madness, as I have not yet witnessed any car accidents. Sneaking between parked cars, honking horns at cyclists, speeding toward pedestrians. If the road is too crowded, by all means, pop into the bike lane or sidewalk!
A handful of times I have been walking on the sidewalk or in the bike lane and cars have beeped at me to get out of their way! It doesn't bother me, I just get out of the way and walk on.

Life is a lot more laid back and spontaneous in Hangzhou. Perhaps it is because I am a student and have a certain schedule, but I find the city is never continuously energetic. The pace undulates and shoots out in spurts. I witness people working really hard or dead tired and sleeping. By sleeping I really do mean sleeping. I still think it is interesting people will sleep anywhere. At home, I have slept outside a number of times, mostly on a grassy area. In China not many people actually sit in the grass because they think it is dirty or taman bu keyi walk in it. I think the best place to sleep would be West Lake, on a sunny day:
I didn't take this picture to mock, but also to point out the closeness of friends in China (not only mainland, also Hong Kong). If girls are close friends, it is quite common for them to hold hands or arms while walking down the street. There isn't a huge emphasis on personal space. The dependence on others and care I have seen between friends is super endearing and it makes me sad we don't have this kind of strong knowing that others are there (and physically there) if you need them. Boys also have a physical closeness with their friends. I have seen boys walking down the street with their arm around a friend's shoulder. Usually 2-by-2, I have also seen them sharing umbrellas in the rainstorms which is so cute! I love the physical showing of friendships. It has nothing to do with being less manly, it is seriously common sense: "I don't want my friend to get wet so I will share my umbrella with him. How do we walk under an umbrella? Together!" It is such a simple visual difference, it is such a breath of fresh air.



No comments:

Post a Comment