Hangzhou Bucket List

So, I’m entering the home stretch of my time in Home Sweet Hangzhou. And, even though I’m really excited about what next year holds, I’m also already getting a wee bit nostalgic for all the little things that make Hangzhou (and China) quirky, unique, and lovable. When will monks in their orange robes cheer me on as I jog past them on my morning run? Am I going to find another dumpling lady who decides whether or not she likes me based solely on the length of my hair? (apparently, the shorter my hair, the uglier I am. Good to know.) And I highly doubt I’ll ever again have students who welcome me back to class after break with a slightly inaccurate, very off-tune, but nevertheless hilariously passionate rendition of Lady GaGa’s “Bad Romance.”


Yep, China’s pretty sweet.

But, time is running out on me. So, in hopes that I won’t squander my time during my last few months in Hangzhou, I have composed a Hangzhou Bucket List of all the things I want to do before I set out on my kayak back to America:

1. Sing in public more often. Unlike in America, where this only puts your sanity in question, in China, it wins you lots of friends and free food.
2. Hike Huangshan in Anhui Province.
3. Hunker down on my Chinese and ramp up my private lessons.
4. Spend all my money in/fall in love with Hong Kong.
5. Hang out with the Uyghurs in Xinjiang.
6. Jog around the West Lake—a formidable challenge, indeed.
7. Finish a plate of stinky tofu. (might not be able to accomplish this one, but it’s good to have goals)
8. Be a better teacher for my students. I am officially and irrevocably attached to all 150 of them, and they deserve the best of me.
9. Ride the Maglev in Shanghai.
10. Get a new Chinese name. I can't really pronounce my current one, which is always problematic when meeting new people.
***Check! My students have now bestowed upon me a new Chinese name: Qian Duoduo. Literal translation: More and more money. I could get behind this one.
11. Play badminton with the neighborhood kids instead of always coming up with excuses so they don’t have to see how bad I am at the sport.
12. Have that Disney-themed karaoke night that we’ve been talking about for months (I can show you the world…)
13. Go hiking in Moganshan.
14. Explore the gardens on the west side of West Lake that I never went to before because they weren’t “urban” enough for me.
15. Go to Nanjing, Jiangsu Province—the city home to the topic of my senior thesis.
***Almost check! Going this weekend!
16. Embrace Zhuantang, the traditional, completely un-Westernized Chinese town next to my campus.
17. Read more—I’ve returned to China from America with Barnes and Noble’s entire inventory, and I am determined to read it all before I come home.
18. Make more memories with my four--or five, or six, depending on the day--awesome new housemates (yes, I live in a frat house).
***Partial check on this one already, thanks to the guys’ enthusiastic embrace of “International Women’s Day” by insisting on cooking incessantly for me and Wendy...tehehe.


My house!

















19. Live in the moment.
20. Eat all the chao la mian that I can get my hands on mmmmm.
21. Reflect more upon what I’m learning, how I’m growing, and what new thoughts, perspectives, and beliefs I’ll be taking back to the US with me....I should journal.
22. Continue my loyal patronage of the 1 kuai baozi and 1 kuai doughnuts.
23. Dance with the big pink bunny rabbit at Club 88 (don’t ask).
24. Be fearless.