Wanderlust + NSLI-Y Videos

Well, it's been almost a year since my NSLI-Y trip, and I'm still feeling the effects of wanderlust. In fact, it's gotten so bad that I find myself checking the Hawaiian Airlines site more than I should be. I miss China...a lot. Because I've been feeling a bit nostalgic lately, I decided to upload the few videos I took while I was in Hangzhou. It's not much (whipping out my phone is just too much work), but hopefully they will do. HD is available for all of the videos by the way!

Learning a Mongolian Dance

Learning Martial Arts

KTV Adventures

Park/Square Dancing

My Class vs. A Roach

Matthew's Birthday Celebration

Walking Around Hangzhou/Riding the Bus

Closing Ceremony (Speech and Song by Host Siblings)

Anyways, this is pretty much it for this post! Alex and I are meeting Haley in Arizona during August for a little NSLI-Y reunion, so that should be fun. I really can't believe this reunion is happening though, haha. I mentioned in my "Goodbye Hangzhou" post that we wanted to meet up in LA during the summer, and here we are, actually making it happen...except in Arizona. Seriously, thank you NSLI-Y for all of the friendships I have made.

Resiliency

Whoever said senior year is easy was obviously lying. This past month, in particular, has been especially tough on me. Last Thursday, after months of waiting, I was finally notified that I was not a recipient of the prestigious Gates Millennium Scholarship. Was I disappointed? Of course. I poured my heart and soul into the required eight essays, forcing myself to pull all-nighters in order to perfect my application. I desired this scholarship more than anything else in the world, and for good reasons - as a scholar, the burden of paying for college would be completely eliminated. But, again, despite how much I wanted this, I was not chosen. Seeing the thin envelope in my dad's car, I quietly told my dad that I was not selected. He quickly comforted me, and reminded me that disappointments are inevitable.

Although I was not selected as a Gates Millennium Scholar, I just want to thank everyone for all of the support and encouragement you have provided me. I was heartbroken, yes, but I have come to understand that this does not define me nor my accomplishments. I am honored and  lucky to have even made it this far - being selected as a finalist out of 52,000 applicants. Congratulations to those selected as part of the 2014 cohort! I am so incredibly happy for all of you, especially after seeing all of your "selfies" and posts :) You are all so deserving of this scholarship. I know many of you have had to overcome many adversities in your lives, so I am very glad that Gates will open up numerous opportunities for the lot of you.

To my fellow non-recipients - whether for Gates, NSLI-Y, or anything else - please know that rejection and failure does not signify the end of the world. Paying for college may come as a bit of a struggle now, but it's merely a minor setback. Achieving your PhD, MBA, etc is entirely possible if you continue to work hard. I know you are all capable of this, because I have seen the resiliency, optimism,and humility that you have all displayed in the face of this disappointment. As for me, I have already started working towards my own goals. I wish you all the very best in life, and to my fellow Gates applicants, I wish you the very best in your college endeavors :)

Before I end my post, I would just like to give a big thanks to NSLI-Y, American Councils, and the US Department of State. This is long overdue, but I just wanted to say that I am very grateful to have received the opportunity to travel to Hangzhou last summer. I have made incredible life-long friends while I was there, and it is because of my experiences with NSLI-Y that I have been able to remain resilient in the face of failure and rejection. To those embarking on their own NSLI-Y journeys this year - especially those going to Hangzhou - I hope you are all ready for the greatest experiences of your lives :) And last but not least, here is my final NSLI-Y post. One year after starting this blog, I am finally ending this amazing journey :)

Sunday (August 11)

Final day in Hangzhou, and I was a complete mess. From the moment I arrived in front of the school, I started crying like a baby. Luckily, I wasn't the only one feeling all somber - Alex, Michelle, Nancy, and Sander were sobbing with me too.

Our host families waving goodbye to us

Boarding the bus, we called Sander and my host sister one last time before we had to turn in our NSLI-Y phones. I think Sander was still crying, because he sounded really sniffly and sad over the phone ;__; The ride back to Shanghai was about 3 hours, and then we boarded a 13-hour flight back to Chicago. When we reached Chicago, I cried again. Because I was the only one staying overnight in Chicago (everyone else had a connecting flight), I had to say goodbye to everyone within minutes of passing customs. Goodbyes have never been easy for me. 

Can you tell I cried?

Until Next Time,

Christine

Last Weekend in Hangzhou

Friday (August 9)
I'm going to be honest --- I barely studied for my Chinese final. After coming home from the fundraising event the night before, there was just not enough time. Hence, Michelle, Haley, Alex and I were scrambling to study during class, break, and lunch. Oh, and we took more pictures in class after we gave our teachers their gifts~ We also exchanged QQ numbers and email addresses. Sob, I can't even log onto my QQ now, because I don't remember my log-in information.

Final lunch day at our favorite smoothie and shave ice shop! We were all super sad, since this was our prime hangout spot.

Alex and Matthew enjoying their $2 noodles from next door

Since it was our final day, we got a picture with the owner for memories~

I didn't get to see my score, but Sander saw it (I don't know how) and told me I got around a 74 or so. Everyone else in my class received a score around that number, so I guess I didn't do too bad? 74 translates over to C, though, so I wanted to cry. But Sander said I did a really good job o___o So I guess I did good? Sander is one of the top students in his class, so I'm going to take his word for it. I guess I just have to remind myself that 100's are almost never handed out in China. Chinese teachers believe that their students can always do better, so 100's are a big no-no.

After finals were over, it was time to celebrate! While the majority of the group went shopping, Angelo, Ryan, Xochitl and I got massages at a "blind" massage place. Technically, only one of the workers was blind...the rest could see. But it doesn't matter. I didn't get a massage, but Ryan, Xochitl and Angelo seemed to enjoy it. I think they've been to that massage place like 5 times while we were in Hangzhou.

Ryan posing for the camera LOL. Doesn't he look so relaxed?

When the massages were over, the four of us took a bus to 文二路. Kaelan's birthday was today, so her host sister invited all of us (including host siblings) to a fancy dinner. I had steak and a strawberry milkshake.

My table

A green cherry from Kaelan's birthday cake (PC: Angelo)

Wow, this is a bad picture LOL

Since we didn't want the celebration to end, we made an impromptu stop at a nearby KTV. We sang about 4 songs, and then the KTV machine broke...so we had to leave.

It was around 9:30 p.m. by the time we left, but Will and I weren't done celebrating yet. It was our last official night to spend with friends, so we took a taxi to Sander's place to hangout with Sander, Nancy, Matthew, Michelle, Haley, and Alex. 

Picture on Sander's rooftop

Alex, Matthew and I got bored so we went downstairs and walked around Sander's neighborhood. At around 11:55 pm, we were all pooped out. I caught a taxi and was on my way home. When I got to my house, it was already past midnight, so the gates to my community were locked. This came as a surprise, because I didn't know they locked it at night?! How was I supposed to get if it was locked?! I waited around for 10 minutes or so, before a couple of guys  working in the hair salon in front of the community told me how to get in through a back alley. I probably should have been more cautious, but hey, I was desperate. Anyways, I walked through the back alley, found my apartment complex, walked up four flights of stairs, went into my room, and crashed.

Saturday (August 10)

Woke up bright and early because today was graduation day! 

Left to right: D, Sage, my host sister, me, my host parents

Each of us (including our host siblings) received a certificate, certifying our graduation from the NSLI-Y program. Then the principal of our host school gave us gifts (Chinese dictionaries), we gave a speech in Chinese about our time in Hangzhou, and then more certificates were handed out. Get this, I won 1st place in the NSLI-Y "speech competition" for my Chinese level, LOL Apparently our NSLI-Y presentation was a secret speech competition (at least that's what our teachers told our host siblings...why does everything have to be a competition in China?!). The teachers critiqued us, and I guess I got the highest score for the middle Chinese level~ Wow, haha. Definitely was not expecting that. The principal of the school also said I did a really good job and that I sounded quite fluent ;___; So humbled by that compliment!!

The principal and me

#1 woooo

After the recognition portion of the graduation was over, the host siblings put on a surprise presentation for us. Each one of them gave a little speech, and then they sang for us (including Tu laoshi and D!). At this point, Alex, Michelle and I broke down in tears, because a slideshow was playing at the same time and we all got really sad and nostalgic. 

More pictures were taken and then graduation was over.

Final class picture with both of our teachers

The 19 Americans and our host siblings

Can you tell by my swollen nose that I cried?

Lunch was held at the hotel right across from our school. While we were there, we did the most American-thing we could do: sign each other's Chinese dictionaries. Our host siblings saw what we were doing and did the same. 

Nancy and me

Sander and me

After lunch, my host family and I went shopping for food and stationary items. And guess what? I asked them to take me back to the stationary store I visited with Michelle and Alex, hehe. My host sister bought me a pack of Hangzhou postcards to take home, even though I told her I could buy it myself ;__; She's so sweet. When we got home, my host family had to go to my host mom's office...so I took the bus to Sander's house by myself. 

My last time taking the bus --- I had to snap a picture for memories

Walking to Sander's place

We went on the rooftop again and hung out for several hours before I had to go home for dinner. 

From the top of Sander's apartment

Because this was my last night in Hangzhou, I decided to walk home instead of take the bus. I wanted to soak my surroundings in before I had to leave...and, of course, take pictures :P

My host family and I had our last dinner, and then I went park dancing one final time.

Final dinner as a family

After park dancing, my host mom and sister took me shopping at a small night market several blocks away. It was quite the walk, but well worth it. I bought some small hair clips, a huge cup of lemonade, and a huge photo book of EXO. I saw this same photobook on Ebay for $40....I bought mine at a small magazine shop one block away from my host family's house for only $7. Needless to say, I was a very happy EXO fan. 

Walking back, I told my host mom and sister to head into the apartment first, because I wanted to buy something at the shop outside of the community. I think I spent about an hour in there, figuring out what I wanted to buy, before I came back. 

When I got to my room, my sister had left a huge gift bag for me on my bed. There were so many cute things in it, and she wrote me a very nice letter too. Again, I got really nostalgic. But not before having to pack everything up and clean everything out of the room. Lets just say that both of my luggage were bulging. I don't know how I managed to fit everything in there. After that, I showered and slept, because I was extremely exhausted. My last night in Hangzhou~

Final Week in Hangzhou Pt. 2

Wednesday (August 7) 
We visited a Chinese tea museum after classes today. There wasn't much to look at, but I thought it was still okay.

Making tea, hahahaha

PC: Angelo Perez

After our group trip to the tea museum, Sander, Haley, Michelle, Matthew and I took a taxi to a building nearby my bus station. It was supposedly a place where Chinese kids come to take English classes to prepare for the TOEFL and SATs. Apparently, Sander had taken us to an "English Corner" that he organized and wanted us to participate in. Speaking English to Chinese teens? Well, that's kinda counterproductive towards our goal of Chinese fluency, but this was the least we could do for Sander after all that he has done for us.

We didn't do much conversing...it was actually very awkward. One of the Chinese guys spent most of his time hitting on Michelle, uhhh. But it seems as if most of them there wanted to go to Stanford, Harvard, etc. I have high hopes for them!

While I was at the "English Corner," I kind of lost track of time and came home late for dinner --- around 7 p.m. I felt so bad, because my host family was waiting for me to come home before having dinner ;____; I apologized over and over again, but they assured me that it was okay. The bus ride home was really relaxing. I've never been on the bus this late before, so I just sat and stared outside at the neon lights with my earphones on.

Thursday (August 8)

Classes were very chill today. Since our final exams were taking place the next day, we spent most of class reviewing and taking pictures for memories.

张老师的课

李老师的课

At lunch, Alex and I walked over to our favorite smoothie and shave ice place!! We bought our drinks there, went next door to buy a bowl of noodles for only $2, and made our way back to the smoothie place to eat. I can not get enough of this store.

After lunch, the whole group had a re-entry workshop administered by D and Sage. I don't remember too much about the re-entry workshop, but Sage did show us videos of her year in Beijing with NSLI-Y! We also got to see videos of her dance crew back in Beijing. Sage is soooo good at dancing. Seriously, so amazing. To top it all off, Sage bought us cream puffs and mini ice cream cones.

The ice cream cone was so tiny (it was really cute!)

When the workshop was over, Haley, Nancy (Haley's host sister), Michelle, Riona (Michelle's host sister), Matthew, Sander (Matthew's host brother), Estella (my host sister), and I took a bus to the rich part of Hangzhou to sell paper flowers for charity event. I later found out that this rich part of town included Wulin Street. And the mall we were selling paper flowers at was the same one we visited back on July 4th --- with the museum, Starbucks, and Paris Baguette. 

Walking to the mall

I still can not believe Nancy and Riona made all of those paper flowers. There was a lot! I want to say that we did a pretty good job of selling them, but it was tough. Not a lot of people wanted to buy them. Matthew was the most successful out of all of us. His tactic was to go into an elevator full of Chinese women and persuade them to buy a rose or two. He did this about 10 times, and actually sold quite a bit. LOL, and we all made fun of him for it at first......who knew...

Nancy and Riona's classmates helping out with the fundraiser

Who said Chinese people are short?!