The List:
1. It is impressive if you look like me and can speak Chinese. Even more impressive if you can play majiang (mahjong).
2. Speaking of majiang, it seems to be an unspoken rule every house must have a set, if not a room just for majiang. Some of these tables automatically set everything up for you - making the game even more exciting. (see movie below - due to technical difficulties this will not be shown - nor will my pictures. But Matt Sunderland's roommate (one of the coolest people ever) is working on a new way to get around the blockage so hopefully more pictures will be up and running soon!)
3. It does not matter if you are male or female, old or young, or how far away you are from the edge of the road - the bus driver WILL honk at you. Loud, continuous honking. For over an hour. He will also honk to alert people when driving around sharp corners. That is okay. Yelling at the old woman in the bike who looks to be having trouble pedalling, seems a bit unnecessary.
4. When you ask your roommate if you are going to be going to 爬山 (hiking - or more literally climbing a mountain) do not listen. Prepare for everything. Otherwise you might find yourself wearing flip flops and a dress while climbing up steep steps to get to the top of the waterfall. When you ask your roommate why she didn't tell you you were going hiking, she will say we didn't go 爬山, we went 爬瀑布 (hiking a waterfall).
5. More or less every region of China has their own dilaect, apart from Mandarin. These dialects aren't taught but instead spoken at home. This makes understanding Chinese even more difficult, although provides a fascinating insight into Chinese culture.
6. I apparently look Russian!
This list should not make you think I did not have a good time - because I did. It was nice to return to Hangzhou though, even if it had to be a little early due to lots of homework. I'm also planning on going to Shanghai this weekend for our "independent travel weekend." It seems like most people are making a trip to Shanghai, though, so maybe we'll "randomly" run into one another. I've heard some really great things about Shanghai so I'm really looking forward to seeing what all the fuss is about - and it's only an hour or so by train. In other news I am "leading" a majiang class tonight -- they only bought one set so I don't know how much learning will go on - but I can't wait to get back to playing again. This weekend made me miss it that much more. Love/miss you all!
I will be sure to pack hiking shoes and no dresses, since the language nuances will be totally lost on me. Oh, never mind -- Elise Cohen the Russian will be our guide! Dad's side of the family gets all the credit.
ReplyDeleteYou are quite the fan of majiang or majong - very nice. Jewish ladies palyed it voraciously when we lived in Manhattan and Queens many years ago. There were Majong parties all the time, and it was played at tables in parks. Our Chinese American friends on Long Island, New York always had a game around in view. Not so much in Maine:))
ReplyDeleteCan;t wait to hear about Shanghai.
Now I know flip flops are not good for hiking to a waterfall. It is fascinating that the Chinese are seeing your Russian genetic traits. All so cool! Keep the blogs coming. xo Alice
Elise, Delightful to hear about your experiences and especially why you should always assume that trips in beautiful setting require hiking shoes! That is quite an important lesson to learn and Eva is wise to bring her hiking shoes in December! Yes, you do have some Russian blood in you....so that may not be so far-fetched. It's hysterical about majong, which my mother played sometimes with other Jewish women. We kids of course had NO interest in it whatsoever. So let us know how it goes!
ReplyDeleteYou are so Russian!
ReplyDelete