I am out in Hangzhou, China lecturing for a few weeks. Then off exploring a few more cities before I return home. All is great here so far. The School of Informatics in the Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics have put me up in the modern Xiasha Campus accomodation and have given me a nice suite with a kitchen, washing machine, fridge, living room, leather sofa, computer with speakers etc. Then the bedroom and bathroom are next door in another adjoining room. Happy days.
Most of the cultural difference so far revolve around the food. For starters, nobody warned me that nobody seems to have any English in this region, and that a knife and fork were seemingly never invented here. This can prove difficult when deciphering what is on the menu and then of course, trying to eat it. For example, yesterday's option in the accomodation restaurant was chicken claws in barbeque sauce or fish heads. I went for the vegetarian option. Today I ended up having eel, but didn't realise until I'd eaten it and the chef told me. Well he didn't so much tell me as dragged me over to the fish tanks and pointed to the bucket on the ground where about 50 eels were swimming around. Ended up having pigeon, duck's bill, frog, turtle and a few other delicacies along the way.
There are three Dundalk IT students studying out here for the year and I have met them a few times. They are all getting on really well. Two of them are staying in the apartment lived in by DkIT students from last year. The other guy is across the way in the same apartment block. They seem to be nicely set up with jobs, friends, extra curricular activities etc. Not easy coming out here for a year. Quite daunting actually.
As I head up to Beijing and back down to Shanghai next week I'm sure there'll be more to tell.
