Adventures in Guangzhou!

Our 8am flight touched down in Zhejiang province's Hangzhou around 10am. As we rode in a cab to one of the bus stations, I was once again struck by how clean and organized the city was compared to most other Chinese metropolitan areas. We managed to time it just right to buy some instant noodles and hope right on a three hour bus to get to Tunxi, a town neighboring Xiuning. After one more bus ride, we finally made it to the high school at around 2pm. It was a beautiful school out in the countryside, but it sure wasn't easy to get to.

Unfortunately we missed observing a class but it was still pretty incredible to see the students walking around. I've always known it, but my students at Huafu are incredibly rich and privileged in comparison to almost everyone else, especially those in small countryside towns. These students were incredibly warm and inviting but were absolutely shocked to see eighteen foreigners all in one place. Who can blame them? It was almost ten times as many white people as they had ever seen.

While one group of fellows chatted about curriculum, I went with another on a cultural walk, of sorts, through the town. We cut over the one main road and were immediately met by cobblestone streets and open fields. It sure was a far cry from the skyscrapers of Guangzhou. Snaking through the farmland paths and waving to the workers, we eventually made our way to a crumbling Ming Dynasty watch tower overlooking the surrounding areas. It was apparent that this was the original tower and not a recreated version, since there was even a tree growing out the top.

We made it back just in time for a much-hyped basketball match against the faculty of the high school. I figured it would be a fun, relaxing game but as I walked over towards the athletic facilities, I couldn't even see the court because it was surrounded by about a hundred students. I made it on to the court and saw the opposing team dressed in uniforms! There was even a referee and scorekeeper to round it out.

The game itself was quite competitive and surprisingly even. We were a bit bigger but overall worse, in terms of skill. It back and forth with several highlights by each team until the end of the game. We were down by about six with a minute to go and started a full court press that turned into a few turnovers and easy layups. Just as we tied the game, they decided to blow the final whistle. I was initially annoyed (since I hate ties) but laughed afterwards when we realized that they wanted the game to end in a tie in order to save face all around.

After playing a little bit of low-intensity soccer with a bunch of students, we relaxed for a while up in the Yale fellows' apartment and then went to dinner. Dinner was a little hole in the wall restaurant across the street from the main entrance to the high school, on that one main road. It turns out the boys eat there a few times a week and have a close relationship with the owner, a guy named "Dennis" who spoke incredible English. About twenty of us crowded around one huge table and ate a feast of dishes made up by the local cooks.

I don't know how they managed to do it, but with only about twenty minutes notice, they cooked up dozens of dishes for us with meat, tofu, and tons of fresh vegetables. We also went through the ceremonial toasts and one of the Xiuning fellows toasted Dennis for being one of his closest friends in the whole town. I think I'd be best friends with the restaurant owner as well! That food was damn good and incredibly cheap--the sort of place I would be at every night.

After dinner we went back to hang out at the school for a little while but ended up going to sleep pretty early since we had to be up bright and early. The only hitch was that we were staying at pretty much the only hotel around--a quick 40 minute walk down the road. Forty minutes?! Yes, forty minutes. I guess that's what happens when you're out in the middle of nowhere.