I know it’s been awhile since we’ve posted here, so much has happened and we hope to catch you up over the next several blogs. We went from the holidays in December, straight into the chaos of finals/papers/planning for a 5 week trip to SE Asia, right into our travels! I was hoping to have some time when we were traveling to write, but we never had any extra. However, traveling through SE Asia was amazing, and we have so much to tell. But for now, we have to go back and talk about Christmas and New Year in China.
While somewhat late, I’d first like to share how we spent our holidays, which were actually much better then we had anticipated. We certainly did not expect to see Christmas everywhere, decorations, etc, but they were, at least at the last minute. Our apartment complex even had a little tree. To some extent it started to look like Christmas, with more Santa and less Jesus (commercialized holidays seem to do well here). We spent Christmas Eve with friends at our apartment (we made our own gluhwein!), and for Christmas we were guests at another friends apartment. Although we weren’t spending it with our family, it still felt very comfortable because of our close friends here. Our Kiwi friends even invited us into their home to celebrate with their family NZ style with a roasted ham and biscuits- delicious. The Grinches at ZJU did schedule class on the 25th, but like most other foreigners, we forgot to attend. (Mike was docked 3 points on his final grade for missing the class)
For New Years Eve, we heard there were no fireworks in Hangzhou (What?? No fireworks??? Aren’t we in China?? I guess our New Years Eve isn’t much for them, compared to their holiday in February full of elaborate festivities). So, we decided to go to Shanghai. The plan was to go to dinner at a restaurant or bar, have some drinks, and partake in the revelry of the world’s largest city. Unfortunately a few days prior I came down with Vertigo. If you’ve never had vertigo, it’s a b***h. I couldn’t even sit in class and look up and down at the board and my notebook without getting dizzy. It wasn’t really a good idea to drink at all, unless I wanted to be miserable and nauseous. We ended up taking a free hotel shuttle from our amazing hotel to the Bund to see the fireworks there. Even though we’d been in China enough to experience crowds, we were not prepared for the crowd that night! Let’s just say, we’ve been there, done that, enjoyed it some, and will not need to do it ever again. The fireworks themselves were impressive,but there wasn’t much entertainment besides the fireworks. Everyone stood around, unceremoniously sober, taking selfies until 11:40, when a weird laser/animation show started playing on the front of the buildings. At midnight, fireworks began across the river, lasting about 10 minutes. Once they were over, the howevermanymillionsofpeople there were, all left at the same time. I’ve never experienced anything like that, a crowd all trying to move with police creating blockades, not able to escape. I almost had a panic attack. At least the fireworks were good.
The hotel we stayed at, 88 Xintiandi, we highly recommend. Great service, great room, great location. We found a great last minute deal, and although its normally more expensive, its probably worth the price.
And here are the pictures, which of course tell a better story
Early in December we saw a few minutes of snow
Walking through the gardens of Hangzhou
I found (mostly imported) ingredients to make Cardamom Rolls!
We put up some decorations we brought with us
Mike making Gluhwein for Christmas Eve
Had to take a picture on Christmas morning!
Our room at 88 Xintiandi (and Mike getting ready)
The police getting ready for later that night
Police and their barricades
We’re really here?
I can’t turn my head! Trying to keep vertigo at bay
The fireworks “pre” show (20 minutes before midnight)
OMG!! Did you get it? Did you get it??
Almost Midnight
I Miss my Vacuum 
Recent Comments