Day 10 & 11 Xiasha and Hangzhou

Another day over 100°.  We took the metro to Xiasha and when we came out - we had no idea where we were due to all the new buildings in the area. We called a DiDi car to take us to our old university. I was hoping to see some of the people I knew from the Foreign Affairs Office but summer hours meant they were on vacation. We walked around campus and noticed some brand new buildings and the wonderful fact that they had added AC and Heat to the classrooms and the dorm rooms. (It was always weird teaching in a winter coat and gloves).

left over bikes -- 

I found a 10 year old poster with Nathan Stillwell's photo on it. Nathan and his wife Elizabeth were two of the foreign teachers that helped me adjust when I first came to China.  I still remember how wonderful they were - I am glad that ZUFE remembers him too. 

We took my old favorite B1 bus back to Hangzhou and shopped in the silk market and had a delicious noodle bowl for lunch. 

Dinner that night with Penny's sister and cousin at a good Chinese restaurant. when you order you don't order a meal - you order dishes.  Menus look like this:

Day 9 - Hangzhou

We bought bus tickets for an about a dollar to Hangzhou, we arrived safely and with no police involvement. Penny's friend had offered a free place for us to stay but after the gas station incident and the police visit to Penny's house we decided to go the hotel route this time.  The hotel registers you with the government which saved us from having to wait in a long line at the police station.  Again lots of security present. SWAT guy was stationed at our elevations 24/7 with a fingerprint scanner. Photo below is change of shift for some of the street security.

The hotel was located fairly close (about a mile) to the famous West Lake and a metro stop and even had a very soft mattress. The only drawback was that it was so hot - no more mountain breezes or cool streams to cool things down just a little. All 3 days were 100° or higher.  A lot of sweating on my part and it wasn't lady-like at all. We walked to the nearest massage place - I got a good focused masseuse but Penny got a lazy guy that was whining all the time. Second time I went back I got the lazy one- didn't return for a third.

That evening we finally joined up with Penny's friend and her husband for a hot pot dinner in the QianJiang New District of Hangzhou. The restaurant had AC but with 4 small fires under the individual hot pots I didn't get to dry off much - I am just glad the beer has lots of water in it.

Besides increased security, internet blocking, and travel monitoring, one of the biggest differences between Hangzhou of '06 and '08 is how modern the buildings have gotten, especially in this newer part of town.  The shapes .....

 Representing the The Sun 

The Moon

Hangzhou's QianJiang New City - "Bund Wanna Be"

We hopped into our hosts' FIRST generation -(2005) Honda Fit. You don't see many old cars in China. The most common being the VW brand - but I was surprised to see a lot of new larger Buicks, and the smaller models of Chevys and Fords. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/motoring/2014-03/26/content_17376010.htm  Car prices here are comparable but the license plate and taxes can increase the prices by 50%.  

We rode back to the older part of Hangzhou and around West Lake. A lot of roads were blocked off due to dignitaries in town. They must have been really big-wigs  because they were riding around in the Rare Chinese luxury car called the HongQi (meaning red flag)

Tomorrow is a trip down memory lane...... a visit to ZUFE, the university where I taught and where Penny attended.

Travel and Visit Day

It was time to leave Penny's family home and head to Hangzhou. Even though we couldn't communicate thru words - I really liked Penny's mom, grandma and dad. They are happy, loving, and hardworking people.  The extended family is physically close by and the emotional and material support they provide each other is very evident and enviable. 

On the way out of town we stopped at the local police station and picked up my registration papers for THAT part of Hangzhou. 

We drove through some more beautiful country and stopped for a night in FuYang at Penny's aunt apartment. We had dinner at a fancy restaurant that has single rooms for your party. The room even had its own bathroom. Enough dishes for an army which was appropriate because our hostess brought her best friends family whose son is now attending the same military university that I taught at in 2011. I provided a chance for the soldier/student to practice his English.  Interesting tidbit I learned .....He told me that most of the soldiers do not wear their uniforms off duty because if they happen upon an disturbance or problem they are required by their service to act. 
There is always lots of toasting at these kinds of dinners, I am just lucky that the beer is a lot weaker over here so I can keep up with the locals. I just have to make sure they stick to beer and not the moonshine stuff that Penny's father makes from berries. (Penny's mom, and maternal grandma drink at least 3 oz. of that strong stuff @ every meal- Penny and her sister did not inherit that talent.) 
After dinner, we had a lovely visit with Tony, one of her BFF's from high school. Tony, who works at a bank, was able to give us the new and rare 10 yuan coins that have just come out. 

Family Dinner, Frozen Vegetable Popsicles, and the Police Visit.

Last night we had a big family dinner with Penny's Mother's side of the family. She has 5 sisters and her mom is still very active. (I am thinking the moonshine stuff Penny's dad makes is keeping her so well preserved). We killed, plucked and cooked a family goose for our loud and happy meal. It was the big one on the right. And yes - I helped pluck...

A quiet early morning at the Peng house - for a short time. It was laundry day and Penny's Mom had finished the soap cycle in the outside sink and you do the rinse cycle in the creek. Don't feel sorry for them, this provides the village women with an opportunity to gossip. I decided to follow Chinese tradition and walked down to the creek with grandma in my PJs - which was sort of liberating. While visiting you rinse, beat, wring and repeat in the cool mountain stream and shade under the bridge. 

Later that morning, thankfully after showering and dressing, a police car pulls up and 4 well built policemen get out. Their manner was very brusk and they wanted to know why I had not been registered in Hangzhou . Even though this village is called PengJa and a 3 hr bus ride from Hangzhou -  this area is still considered part of Hangzhou. The police examined my passport and papers and well as Penny's ID card. They took photos and typed stuff into their phones as Penny's Mom was plying them with tea, corn and watermelon. We are pretty sure they registered for us. In hindsight, we should have taken photos with them, but we were too nervous. Twenty minutes later they left with watermelon in their hands and Penny's cell phone number. I am sure the village is buzzing with the gossip of the police visiting the house. 

We had no more incidents with the police in PengJa or the rest of China. In total, I had 4 direct interactions with the police in a two week period, not counting the times the police seemed to hang around in the same area wherever I was. It might just be preparation for Hangzhou's G20 but I don't remember being so monitored during my '06 and '08 teaching years. Things here have changed......

Afterwards, we walked to the little store in the village to get some bottled water and some cold treats. The frozen treats look like a popsicle and have a surprisingly sweet taste except for the weird lumps. They are made from beans - either green or red. I know it is hard to imagine, but I actually enjoyed eating a frozen vegetable. 

Tonight's dinner is for Penny's dad's side of the family. It won't be as big as he only had 4 sisters - most of whom live in this same village. Penny's parents were born during the time when Mao was reminding his people that it was their duty to have lots of children to make China strong.  

Penny's House

Penny PENG's village is called PengJa, which sort of let's you know how high up on the social scale they are. (Ja means home). They built the new house about 5 years ago. It is 3 stories with the oldest living downstairs. As per tradition her 95 year old paternal grandma lives in the only downstairs bedroom. She is deaf and needs a little help but is aware of her surroundings.  Penny's mom is her caregiver. The 2 daughters have not decided how they want in their bedrooms designed on the second floor so they are still cement floors and bare cement walls. The unfinished third floor is for any of their grandchildren. When totally finished it will have 6 bedrooms and 4.5 baths. Her father owns a bus company and still drives a set 45 minute route and her mom is retired. I really wouldn't call her retired, she loves to garden and they have a pig, chickens and 2 ducks (as of today). And she is a great cook

 The new kitchen has a gas stove but Penny's Mom still uses the fire fed wok to cook her many varieties of dishes.

 

You use one bowl to eat and drink from so of course the beer was the first course. She put all the courses in the middle of the table and you get your bite, eat it, the get another bite from another dish, if there are bones in the piece of meat you lay them on the table. Rice is usually the last course and you get up and go to the rice cooker and serve yourself. Very efficient and builds great immune systems. I know all this sounds strange after reading, but I have had the best food here and very little stomach problems if I stick to my rules : it's ok if it's cooked. Fruit or raw vegetables need to be peeled and water needs to be bottled or boiled. (That means no salads and No opening your mouth in the shower!  ) 

To get ready for the 2 big family gatherings, we went into a slightly larger village to visit the farmers market and get some chickens and fish - the population here has definitely not seen many foreigners. It reminded me of Cuba with dogs running around, gutting occurring on the floor, and the freshest looking vegetables that would even encourage me to eat them.  The town had been spruced up for the G20 even though the foreigners are very unlikely to drive thru this remote but beautiful area. Roads were newly paved and store front signs were all new and coordinated. Blue skies and a natural spring is located in this area.

Naps after lunch  - what a nice tradition! 

Day 3 - Moving Day

Penny's father and cousin drove down to help load up penny's apartment  - into her cousins small new car - of course it didn't fit. Several boxes were mailed. Penny and I shared the back seat with the turtle tank, a small suitcase, our backpacks, purses  and the cat in a steam iron box. (Chinese knockoff version of a Cat Carrier?)

It was only a 2-3 hr drive that ended up being a  5 hr drive with lunch, a rest stop and a memorable gas stop.  Lunch was at one of those restaurants that was bridged over the interstate. For 20 yuan (3 dollars) you got the normal staple of watermelon, rice and the watery soup as well as your pick of 2 meat dishes and 3 vegetable dishes. It was ok cafeteria food. The reason I mentioned the restaurant was over the interstate was - we exited down the wrong side and of course couldn't find our car. 20 minutes later we are back on the road again.

Close to our final destination we stop for gas. There are not gas stations on every corner there are usually one or two per city and all government owned and price controlled. The attendants are women and they pump your gas. I made the mistake of maneuvering myself out of the back seat and all of a sudden Penny is frantically telling me to get back into the car. They make us pull away from the pump. We wait and then are directed to another pump, more talking and we were moved away again but told to wait. Penny told me to get my registration papers out. Police came and he looked at my passport and visa and Kunshan registration papers. I don't think he understood anything on the paper or visa but I kept smiling and he finally said 'ok ok'.  We got gas but with a lot more yelling. Worse case scenario is that we would have had to go to the local police station and register me in their town so we could buy gas. This was most likely related to the fact that G20 is coming to nearby Hangzhou in September. Lesson learned ? - don't travel with an American looking foreigner in the car.

Day 2

In the U.S. we are giving up cursive writing in the school but here the people are being encouraged to embrace their unique national language. One way is to take classes in Chinese character calligraphy. Penny was raised in a small town so did not have the opportunity to learn it as a child so she decided to take a class offered in Kunshan. I joined her last night for her last class. It is very rigid in technique but very artistic in the product. You sit using the exact same keyboard typing position I spent years nagging little six graders about. I could do that part. I could even hold the brush correctly but I sucked at mastering the brush strokes. To me it seemed almost mathematical with the art part blooming way after mastery. 

I spent 3 years in China and never tried "milk tea" it just sounded gross and had a grayish color and had weird slimy black balls floating around you sucked up through your fat straw. Last month, when I took Zac, Katrina and the girls out for supper at Pho #1, they asked for bubble tea and were so excited when they had it. I finally got the guts to try it. Pretty darn good except it pissed me off that I was too stupid to try it earlier. In China they were usually sold from really small stalls in thin plastic cups with plastic seals and big fat straws. Last night we went to a really fancy Milk tea bar - "Gong Cha"  sort of like a Milk Tea Starbucks with cushy chairs and wifi. Really delicious and I got a strange pleasure out of chewing the gummy tapioca balls. 

Tomorrow we finish packing up Penny's apartment and going to her parents house in a town outside of Hangzhou. 

One More Time

NOTE：No photos as of today - I took them - but Blogger, as well as Google, Facebook, and probably a bunch of other stuff is blocked in China. Using one of the Duke University computers I have been able to get the text loaded up --- but haven't figured out how to do the photos. I will put them in as soon as I get home.

Tuesday night has now turned into a giant blur, but I will document as much as I remember. Monday was a Long, long day. After a 6 hr layover in Detroit ( in the nice Delta Sky Lounge) I hopped onto my 14 hr flight into Shanghai. Immigration lines were not too long but it was a challenge finding Penny in the sea of hundreds of other dark haired people. The diversity in the U.S. makes locating a person in a crowd so much easier. We used DiDi ( pronounced deedee ) which is the Chinese knockoff version of Uber to get to Penny's apartment which is about 90 minutes from the Pudong airport. He was a great driver (fast but stayed in the lines) except the car quit in the middle of a busy intersection. A lot of honking and a little pushing was involved. My reward for traveling that far was a trip to a nearby foot massage place.

Today we spent registering and acclimating me to Kunshan. For breakfast, we walked about a mile to a little apartment complex with a shopping village. It was actually about a block "as the crow flies" but everything here is gated with limited access. You never get to take short cuts. Security guards at each gate - that profession must have a lot of job security here in China. I made Penny take me to Duke Kunshan University by bus so I could learn how to get back by myself in the afternoon. (Bus 22 - get off one stop after the Party School - not that kind of party - the government party).

We toured her office area and part of the small and very modern campus (lots of Gold certified LEEDS buildings). Each building had key card access and of course a security guard. Next chore was going to the local police station to register. Since I am not with a tour group I am SUPPOSE to register in every new city I go to.

After lunch at the schools cafeteria - garlic shoots with duck and a noodle bowl - I left Penny and walked to the bus stop for my first Kunshan solo ride. After successfully finding my way back to our breakfast street food area, I went to the local supermarket and tried to find all my favorite snack foods, I found a couple of my favorites, milk peanuts and the tiny pineapple jello cups. They are so small you just slurp them down. Yummy!

Back to Penny's 16th floor apartment to cool off in my underwear and take just a short nap - oops 4 hrs later I woke up from a hard sleep - hopefully it won't screw up my time change adjustments.
Boy working on this blog is sort of like trying to walk to the 2 block away store and it takes 40 minutes and a more than a mile of sweaty walking. No short cut - it has taken me more than an hour to copy and paste just the text from my ipad to Penny's Duke Windows computer and I know a lot of tricks .....Part of the problem is that the keyboard will randomly start translating my English into Chinese characters. I haven't figured out how to get the photos transferred yet. Looks like this might be the last one until l get home -- no more VPN after Friday - not sure if the providence of Zhejiang (where we are going next)  is as tough with their internet filtering.