Sketch 1: It All Begins With

I named my blog "Tapestry of Travel" because it is my personal goal to document my travels as much as possible through designs, sketches, photographs. 

I must say, this first sketch is pretty bad. But hopefully I'll be disciplined enough to do more drawings and improve by the end of the year.

No. 4: 5 Things We Take For Granted In Australia

1. Indoor smoking ban

It exists here, but everyone still does it.

2. Clean air

This is Hangzhou now.
This is Sydney.
Exactly.

3. Warm weather

4. Road rules

5. No internet censorship.

I haven't been able to blog because blogspot is actually banned in China and my VPN has been down.

Chinese Language Placement Test.

As an international student, before you get put into your language classes, you have to be assessed. At Zheda, this assessment consists of an oral and written component.

After registration (which happens on an earlier day on the first level of the International College), you receive a sheet of paper with your name, student ID and test time & place.

Oral Test

For the oral test, you wait in a classroom with a few other students until your number is called. The test is a one-on-one conversation, depending on your skill level. My examiner asked me questions about my language background, Chinese studies and took out a book and asked whether I was able to understand it. The book she took out was from Year 4 and I struggled a lot. She ended up grading me to be in class 4, but it appears that there is no standard of measure between examiners. My friends (who have studied Chinese for much longer than me) were put in a lower "Grade" than me, when they are definitely much stronger speakers. In the end, the oral test doesn't matter too much as they take the scores from both your oral and written test to gauge what class you should start in.

Note: You cannot really prepare for the oral test, as it differs between examiners. Generally they are just simple questions asking you about your background, to get an understanding of your speaking level.

Written Test

There are at least two different papers for the written test. The difficulty level of your paper depends on how well you did in the oral test. Generally these papers are meant to challenge you, as they are generic test papers for people from what appears to be at level Year 1-3, or 4-7 (so there are a great variety of questions in terms of difficulty level.) You get only one hour to complete it.

I was given the harder paper and probably completed only 20% of it. The test paper starts off with simple translations from given Chinese characters to Pinyin, then Pinyin to Chinese characters. After that there are some "Fill in the blank" tasks. There are 5 sentences, and 5 phrases at the top which you have to fill in to match the sentence.

Following that are two comprehension tasks with True/False Questions. These passages were around 300-400 words long. The first passage I managed to understand, but the second one I could not even attempt it as the vocabulary was all new to me.

Then there are words that you have to use in sentences, and finally a long writing task. My question was "Write about an unforgettable place/person/moment." It had to be a minimum of 300 words.

The other paper's question was "Why do you want to study Chinese." 

There definitely isn't any pressure at all with these tests. They just tell you to try your best, and after a few days you'll find out what class is best for you to begin in. 

The desks in the testing room are all little cubicles with headphones and an electronic device drilled into the desk. You don't use this in the exam though.

A sneaky photo of the rows of desks in each classroom.

Results

At the end of the week, they post up the results in the common area of the International dorms. I ended up being placed in Class 3.6, which is an intermediate level. Books were 237RMB for my class, but for most classes they are around the same price.

Why The Question "Where are you from?" Can Cause An Identity Crisis.

25 February, 2014

¥5.60      Breakfast (Choc Chip Bread & Soy Milk)
¥10.00    Lunch (Uni Restaurant)
¥15.00    Dinner (五香牛肉面 - Five spiced beef noodle soup)

Total: ¥30.60 ($5.80)

Weekly Total: ¥4002.00

Total Spend: ¥4002.00 ($762.30 AUD)
- - -

Today was my first real encounter with other students. All the international students starting classes this semester at Zheda were allocated rooms to wait in while we did our oral speaking test. Afterwards, a few of us started chatting, and like that - suddenly my group of four became nine. There is a girl from Korea, a boy from Thailand, a boy from Germany and another one from Spain, and finally a fellow Australian from Adelaide. 

When I meet someone new, I always ask for their name, and their nationality. Both of the boys from Germany and Spain were born in their respective countries and they were also the children of Chinese migrants (like us ABC's - Australian Born Chinese). 

When I asked the boy from Spain his nationality, he told me he was Chinese.

When I asked the boy from Germany, he told me he was Chinese, but born in Germany. 

Answers like these make me question myself, because my very first instinct is to say I am Australian. I'm Australian, but my parents are from Hong Kong, or I'm Chinese-Australian.

I know this hyphenated identity gets talked about a lot, but it never really is an issue for me until I go abroad. I remember in Finland I would say I was Australian, and I distinctly remember an encounter with a friend of a friend who had heard about me, and when he met me he said "Oh, you're the 'Australian.'" 

I wonder if it's anything to do with how welcome migrants are into new countries, or whether it's about the culture. I feel that it's quite common for ABC's to say they are just Australian.

Both the European boys were born and raised in their countries, and yet they didn't mention it at all when I asked for their nationality. 

Perhaps it is because Australia doesn't have a very distinct 'culture' compared to European countries, so it feels like we've easily adopted whatever this culture is as our own. 


But that can't be true, because if you live and breathe in a country for so long it becomes ingrained. 

Anyway, national identity may be an infinite source of confusion, but I am definitely sure of one thing.

 I am a citizen of the world. 


And nationalism scares me.

Why An Emergency Food Drawer Is Rarely For Emergencies.

23 February, 2014 & 24 February, 2014

¥14.00      Breakfast (Casa Miel Bakery)
¥2.00        A quarter of a pineapple on a stick
¥10.00      Laundry and Dryer
¥7.70       Bottle of Chilli Sauce
¥4.50       Lunch (College Dorm Restaurant)
¥18.00     Emergency Chocolate (Meltykiss)
¥175.00   Walmart
-
¥40.50      Breakfast (Cafe - Cappuccino and Sandwich)
(It was raining today so I had instant noodles for lazy lunch)
¥14.00        Dinner (Beef bone soup + Veggies + Rice)

Total: ¥285.70 ($54.40)

Weekly Total: ¥3971.40

Total Spend: ¥3971.40 ($756.45 AUD)

- - - 

Today was the first day we had rain, and apparently it's like Melbourne's weather patterns here. It's going to be raining for a few days which is a bummer. Anyway this is my emergency food drawer. After today's ordeal with setting up internet in my dorm, I can confirm that half of what you see here is gone. You think I'd know by now that having an emergency food drawer is probably not the best idea for me since I have zero self control.

I had also been struggling with the hard mattress for the past few days. I had resorted to stuffing a chair cushion under my hip, but I realised that sounded like a dumb thing to do for one whole year so I ended up carrying a mattress back home. 

This is what a good night's sleep looks like.

Tomorrow we'll be doing our oral and written test to see what level our Chinese is at. I was going to study but it's tomorrow and I really haven't looked at my book enough. I'm not too worried, it's only a placement test and I'm curious to see where my general level of Chinese is at.

No.3: How To Connect To Zheda Uni Wifi

1. Pay 60RMB at dorm reception to get your login.

2. Wait one week.

3. Get your login and password from reception.

4. Turn on device.

5.  Connect to uni Wifi network: ZJUWLAN
Or stress a little since your device isn't connecting, you can't seem to get the login page to automatically open and you can't get onto google because you have no internet. Maybe go into your emergency food drawer and grab a handful of chocolate to help you destress. Restart, and restart again. Feel sick from eating too many strawberry wafers and more chocolate pieces than you can count on one hand. Suddenly Internet Explorer will load the login page http://net.zju.edu.cn/ and you choke a little on those wafer crumbs and frantically try to type in your login with your half frozen fingers before the page disappears. Connect. Test google with 'chicken'. The chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. Cry some tears of pain and joy after a gruelling two hour ordeal. Connect your second internet device. Be blocked by the website and see alarming chinese symbols next to a ! sign. Painfully figure out that it means you can only log on to wifi one device at a time. Curse apple for making iPad 2's without the wifi hotspot function. Learn how to create a shared network on your laptop here.

How to get a Transport Card in Hangzhou.

22 February, 2014

¥30.00      Breakfast
¥120.00    Transport Card
¥2.00        Lunch (Bao)
¥26.00      Dinner
¥20.00      Two Pairs of Long Socks
¥12.00      Dessert (Green Tea Cream Puff)

Total: ¥210.00 ($40.00)

Weekly Total: ¥3685.70

Total Spend: ¥3685.70 ($702.00 AUD)

- - -

The main forms of transport that I have been using in Hangzhou are taxis, buses and metros.

Taxis

Taxi fares start at 11.00 RMB and the price jumps up pretty slowly. They're all over the streets so it's pretty easy to get one, but the only issue is there aren't really taxi stands and there isn't a courtesy system, so half the time someone will walk a bit further up the street from you to hail a taxi first. 

Apparently around 3:30pm taxi drivers change shifts, so it becomes quite difficult to get a taxi around that time. They'll ask you where you are going, and if it's on the way with their destination they'll take you, otherwise they'll just speed off.

Buses

Buses are the main transport network throughout the city, but they are a bit difficult to understand if you don't know any Chinese. I'm only familiar with one route at the moment: K21 from Zheda Road which takes you to Wulin Square. From there, you can catch metros down Yan'an Road (or even walk) to the main shopping strips. 

Buses announce each stop in Chinese. The route diagrams are all in Chinese too. Some stops have a little 'm' metro sign above them which means they'll stop near a metro stop.

The cost of a ride is 1RMB in Summer, and 2RMB in Winter (because they turn on heating)

(Will update with photos)

Metros

Metro prices vary depending on the distance you are travelling, but generally for 1-2 stops it's 2RMB, and it increases by 1RMB every 3-5 stops away. There is only one line, so you can't really get lost since you'll only go back and forth. 

Longxianqiao station takes you out into a giant shopping district. There are luxury and international brands next to smaller plazas (e.g.Gonglian) selling more local clothing. It takes about 25 minutes to get here from Zheda Yuquan Campus.

Transport Card

After a while you'll notice the locals using a transport card (like London's Oyster or HK's Octopus). You can buy one of these quite close by to Zheda at the bus station off Xixi Lu (It is literally full of buses, you can't miss it).

Location of the bus depot off Xixi Rd.

When you ask to sign up, they'll give you a sheet to write down your basic details (name, phone, address). You'll also need a copy of your passport handy. Ask for the 'T' Card, which allows you to use the card on all public transport in Hangzhou. The cost is 20RMB for the start up fee, then you can add how much you want (min. 50RMB).

Hangzhou Universal Transport Card

Then they'll hand you one of these! You get it pretty much on the spot. 

No. 2: 5 Little Luxuries That Are Helping Me Survive

1. Chocolate made in Hong Kong

Sorry China, I love you but I don't trust you.

2. An extra mattress 

Hip bruises be gone!

3. Stick-on heat pads

Because it doesn't need electricity

4. Hot water bottle

Because it doesn't need electricity

5. 30 minutes of the heater on every morning.

Why Asian Walmart is a scary place.

¥25.00      Breakfast at Panini (Coffee + Panini)
¥6.00        Lunch (Buns + Soy Milk) 
¥2.00        Bus
¥475.20    Walmart
¥3.00        Taxi
¥12.00      Dinner (Beef Bone and Radish Soup + Rice)
¥56.00      Watson's Chemist'
¥6.00        Dessert (Papparoti Coffee Bun)

Total: ¥585.20 ($111.50)

Weekly Total: ¥3475.70

Total Spend: ¥3475.70 ($662.00 AUD)

- - -

Since we don't have wifi yet in our rooms, we have been going across the road from uni to a nice little cafe to have breakfast and leech wifi for a few hours to start our day. 

Anyway today I spent a giant wad of money at Walmart. 

For those who don't know, Walmart is a huge retail corporation in the US with chains of discount department stores. Every time I go to a new country, I like to go to the supermarket to get an idea of what the local products are like, and usually you get a sense of what's considered important by the amount of space dedicated to the product, and its shelf placement in the supermarkets. 

For example, I distinctly remember that there was a huge aisle dedicated to pickles in Finland.

And in Walmart, there was a huge aisle dedicated to feminine hygiene products.

My mind goes back to those ads in Australia which show men looking confused when they buy feminine hygiene products for their partners - here, even I'm confused. Firstly there are different brands, then within each brand you have day and night, then absorbency levels, then length. And then you've got special ones under each brand such as scented ones and ones with cooling effects... 

 You can also buy live fish in the supermarket section of Walmart.

 And of course, there are heaps of different ways to buy rice. Back home, we get them in different sized bags, but here you can run your hands through the grains and fill your own bags as well.

That's one of the things I'm not used to yet - their approach to hygiene. You could buy a few different things in this way too, such as dried shrimp and dried food products. 

Being in China has also stopped me snacking because I don't know what brands are safe to eat, so I've just been avoidng chocolate and snacks altogether.

Not only that, the air pollution level has been hitting 180+ (In Sydney it's 30, so it's 6 times more polluted than Sydney making it very unsafe.) 

I'm trying to stay healthy but there's only so much you can do when you're breathing and eating it all. 

No.1: The Top 5 Assumptions That I Should Not Have Made About Hangzhou

1. Products would be cheap.

30RMB for Coffee!?

2. Cars follow road rules. 

Red light means go..cautiously

3. Shopping malls open till late.

Hangzhou is no Shanghai.

4. Foot paths are level.

Every paver is a trip hazard.

5. They know I'm a foreigner.

I'm just a shitty Asian who can't speak Chinese.

Why a small dorm room is good for me.

¥6.90    Emergency Groceries
¥25.00  Breakfast at Panini (Coffee + Panini)
¥2.00    Lunch (Curry Potato Beef Bun) 
¥22.20  Groceries - (Tea + A4 Folder)
¥4.00    Transport (Bus + Train)
¥26.00  Dinner (Beef Noodle Soup)
¥5.00    Taxi

Total: ¥91.00 ($17.35)

Weekly Total: ¥2890.50 

Total Spend: ¥2890.50 ($550.60 AUD)

- - -

Anyone who knows me well knows that I consume space. It just happens. I take over any empty horizontal plane with stuff. 

In Sydney, I have two rooms of stuff.

So arriving in my new little 7m² dorm is like going into rehab.

-

This is the view when you walk in. I'm glad that it's quite bright, and some wonderful soul before me has stuck opaque contact onto all the windows so people can't see in. (The other dorms aren't so lucky)

What hit me first was how empty it looked. We aren't allowed to stick things onto the walls, so I've been brainstorming things I can do to this room to make it more homey.

-

(Photo below) I was sitting at the top of the bed for this photo. My wide angle camera stretches the room out a bit so it might look bigger than it actually is.

I am glad that we get our own bathroom though. Sharing a bathroom with two other girls last time on exchange was an eye-opener.. cleaning a bathroom used by three girls is a nightmare.

Quite basic, but it's got everything I need.

So that's my dorm. It's starting to feel better now that I've unpacked and bought some new sheets and covers for my bed. My next project is to find some coloured contact to stick on the windows so I can bring some colour into my room and stop it feeling so sterile. I really want to put things up on the walls, but I can't leave a mark... so I'm taking all suggestions at the moment!

Why it still hasn't hit me yet.

¥2300.00  1 Month's Rent
¥4.00        Lunch
¥200.00    Sim Card (With ¥100 bal.; 500MB, free calls & 100 free texts in China p/month)
¥264.00    Groceries (Cleaning products, bed sheets, etc,)
¥6.00        Dinner
¥25.5 0     Convenience Store (Mug + Milo)

Total: ¥2799.50 

Total Spend: 2799.50 ($533.25 AUD)

- - -

It still hasn't hit me yet.

I don't know what I imagined the feeling to be like, but I was expecting it to hit me when I arrived. That sense of acknowledgement that I will be away from home for one whole year. Living in China. Speaking another language. Missing family, home, familiarity.

But it still hasn't. And I'm starting to think that it never will.

Which I don't quite understand, as I don't feel at home here at all - well not yet anyway. There is a huge language barrier, but luckily I am here with 3 other students from Sydney who are much more fluent than me in Mandarin. I'm getting all my explanations in Mandarin or very broken English, and we don't have any support from university here in terms of settling in until orientation starts next week. 

But I am grateful to have 3 things:
1. Experience
2. Patience
3. Optimism

From experience, I know settling in will be difficult (although it was much easier when I went on exchange to Finland).

Getting all the important tasks done, such as starting a bank account, getting a sim card and figuring out the services offered in my university has been a great test of patience too. Also being in a new country in a group with 3 others has also taught me to value patience, especially as we all run on different times and we all have different interpretations of punctuality. 

Finally I am grateful for the most important thing anyone should have when on exchange - optimism. Life's tough, but I know it'll get better. It's freezing, but I know Spring will come.

And I can't wait!