I know it's been a while since I've updated, but it's been a really busy week. To catch up on my life a little bit here, I officially moved in to my room last Saturday. We were given single rooms in the International student dorm, which is really neat place to live. It's a really similar set up to freshman year all over again, with a hallway of a bunch of Wisconsin guys. On a daily basis we get to interact with people from America (NC St., Michigan St., etc.) but also students from around the world (Austrailia, Spain etc.). The local students here have been really friendly and helpful, showing us where to eat, giving us tips and helping us settle in. People in general are really excited to talk with an American to practice their english and just get to know us. We started classes on Monday, and we've been having a ton of homework for our Thermodynamics class. Besides the homework, everything is going great!
Hangzhou is an amazingly gorgeous city! I had always read online that it was one of the most beautiful in China, but it is honestly something else. The campus I'm living on (Yuquan campus of Zhejiang University) is situated at the bottom of a mountain and about a 15 minute walk from the West Lake area. It is ridiculously beautiful here. Even campus is far more scenic than I would have expected. All of the roads are lined with trees, providing a natural canopy when walking around. This is becoming more and more crucial because it's really starting to heat up here. The first few days were in the high 70's, sweatshirt weather for the locals. But now the temperature is creeping up higher and higher, and tomorrow it's supposed to 94. Not only is the temperature high, but what's deceiving about Hangzhou is how humid it is. Because of the surroundings, the huge West Lake, and the natural climate for a city of this latitude (same as Jacksonville, FL) the humidity is extreme every day. It's rare for me to walk back into my dorm room and find a dry room.
The food around here has taken a bit of time to get used to. Let's just say appreciate Americanized Chinese food, because it is not the same at all.
Besides doing homework all the time, I have found some time to explore the area. On the way over to Hangzhou, we met at the airport in Shanghai, and a group of us opted to take the maglev train to the airport. Now, this is a little bit nerdier of me, but this was amazing. I studied high speed rail systems for an engineering class earlier at UW, and finally riding a maglev was amazing. A quick explanation of a maglev train is that it is levitated off of the track by magnets, and then shot down the track. The ride was so smooth, quick and amazing. We reached a top speed of about 300 km/hr (186 mph), and it barely felt like we were travelling at all.
Another awesome exploration was running to the peak of the mountain right behind campus. Before I came here I thought Hangzhou would be a medium sized city. Which it definitely is for China standards, not American. Hangzhou is actually the size of Chicago, and once I was on top of the mountain, I realized it. The city goes on for miles and miles, with huge buildings everywhere.
Man, there's just so much to talk about, but I can't do it all in one sitting. So I'll end it here for today, but get back to it tomorrow. Here's some pictures of the trip so far.
West Lake, amazingly beautiful.
Our international dorm building.
Wuzhen, the Venice of the East, at night.
Our classroom. Chinese desks don't work too well with long American legs.
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