What were you grateful for this week?
Learning more about the history of this area. 
 

What was the most difficult or challenging part of this week?
Dealing with [my host family’s son] when he lies about doing homework. 

Tell us about a “wow” moment you had this week. 
I helped the mom move their piano in the living room, and spent extra time with the kids. 

Tell us about your week!
So I have a deal with Oscar that while he’s working on his homework. I reserve my time to strictly studying Chinese; That way, we can do our homework together. This works out great, except that he has a LOT OF HOMEWORK. I mean, A LOT (Props to him for only having a few minor meltdowns a day, all things considered). And though it can get quite exhausting studying 3+ hours of Chinese a day, I feel as if it pays off very slowly. Like, I end up remembering something I studied a week ago as opposed to something I studied that day. So hopefully that means, in a month or two, my Chinese will be ballin’.

This week felt like the prelude to an exciting month ahead. Not to say that this week wasn’t exciting, just that it’s about to get a lot more happenin’ than the current day to day.

Thursday I went on a small venture back to West Lake, this time to the lake itself. I took some pictures of the gorgeous scenery, happily accompanied by unintentionally deft candid models. I walked down the shore further and found a beautiful temple/museum honoring the five Qian kings who were the first to peacefully transfer power of the territory to the Song Dynasty (900’s AD). I’ll put up more pictures of the place in another post, mainly because I thought up some golden comedic captions for the pictures and shrines that need to be shared with humanity. Also, some of the descendants of the Qian family migrated to the Philippines and still have posterity there today. So that’s cool.

Friday and Saturday were pretty normal days. I had some plans fall through so I just spent time with the kids. We had some intense chess games, the memory of one still forbidding me to sleep at night (why didn’t you move the Queen…WHY DIDN’T YOU MOVE THE QUEEEEN!). I walked down by the river in the evening and watched more of the incredible LED light show they have every night. Listened to a couple K-Pop albums while I walked, which is probably not a good thing for my Chinese. Oh well. Sarangheyo or whatever.

Sunday I got to attend the full 3-hour block of Church meetings and I’ve just got to say…this branch is AMAZING. So many interesting, loving, fun people. I actually bumped into two returned missionaries that served in Taiwan on the bus ride over, and we talked about the language and culture here. I was assured that Mandarin is indeed one of the hardest languages out there and that even after two years, they were told by native speakers that they still have a long way to go. How comforting. Brother Moore, the Elders Quorum President, is a really kind and helpful guy. We had a long discussion about life plans and career and he gave me a lot of great advice. Everyone in the quorum is from a different country, all here for work, internships, studying, etc. Some are Taiwanese, Thai, various African countries, Korea…I love how international it is. One of the brothers from the Congo is a music producer and you can bet your ass we’re jamming to reggae soon. I also discovered the second counselor lives in the building right next to ours, so they can drive me to and from Church when time allows! Seriously, what are the actual odds?

Yesterday I went to lunch with Dominika, a Polish au pair here in Hangzhou. We had a lovely chat comparing our families (au pair and biological), swapping stories, and eating some pretty good cheesecake. She’s been studying law in London for a couple years and came here on a whim, similar to me, just because it sounded weird and interesting. We take Chinese lessons over video chat twice a week with the au pair agency, so we’ve been getting to know each other better.

A short thought I had this week:

I was listening to the Gorillaz song Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach feat. Snoop Dogg on the way back from dropping off Oscar at school. Snoop Dogg raps a line toward the beginning that’s always stuck out to me, and I’m sure anyone else that’s familiar with the song. “Push peace, keep it in motion.” he says. I’ve noticed a few particular ways we as humans have the opportunity to “push peace”, and it’s through learning new languages, becoming part of new cultures, and using those skills to communicate effectively. Hangzhou International School, where [my host family’s son] attends, has people from all over the world. Different races, different religions, different political ideals…yet they’re all coexisting in peace together, fellowshipped by their desire for the well-being of their children. I can’t help but think if the entire world were a lot more like this community at the school, or my new international community at Church, the world would be a very peaceful place. I wish I could expound further but I hope you get my point, and forgive me for my failure to articulate. I hope that through our associations that cross cultures, borders, and beliefs, we can meet together to push peace, and through our sustained efforts, keep it in motion. It’s what Snoop Doggy Dog would want.