When Worlds Collide: Part 1

Mama Woomer Comes to Hangzhou

I am a very compartmentalized type of person. I think it is one of my faults. I have spent a lot of time away from home, my friends, my family with going away to college, a missions trip, studying abroad, doing the Disney College Program, and now moving halfway around the world to China. The way I survive and the way I never get homesick is I lock a part of myseld away, whether it's my friends or family or my tiny little hometown. For the most part (other than Christmas), I have managed to avoid homesickness but my method may not be the very best. I've lived very separate lives--HOME, SCHOOL, DISNEY, CHINA. They've never really met one another... Until March 19th when my mama arrived in Hangzhou for a two week visit in China.

I wasn't sure what to expect--I'd gotten mixed reviews on previous family visits from my friends: some people enjoyed showing their parents around, others had a hard time with it, some family members loved China, and others full on hated it. How would my mom be? I know she's a pro at crowds but what about the squatty potties? The food? Chopsticks? People staring at her?

I admit, I was TERRIFIED to think that my mother would be in China, sneaking into this private world that I've had all to my own for almost seven months at that point. I was TERRIFIED to be responsible for her, to have to entertain her, and take care of her. I was TERRIFIED to have to navigate my way not only around Hangzhou but also up into Beijing.

I don't know why I had those fears... none of them came true. Turns out, the mama LOVED China (she even got used to the chopsticks and squatty potties). I wasn't too bad at navigating, haggling for prices on souvenirs, and I was able to entertain for the full two weeks. She got to get to know Adam, meet my friends, see me teach my classes, walk around my town, see THE West Lake, and I even managed to get her to KTV.

Be prepared for the epic saga of Mama Woomer's visit to China...

March 19th

I woke up EARLY Wednesday morning to make sure I got to the Hangzhou airport in time to pick Mama Woomer up. Adam, the hero that he is, woke up early with me (like 6am on our day off type of early) and we made out way to the bus stop on campus only to find that the buses did not start running until after 7am. Cue my panic. We ended up walking to the main street and after a series of three buses we were at the airport too early (sorry Adam!). I had prepared my mom pretty early on what to expect at the airport. From what I remembered flying in, there was just a sea of humanity as soon as you collected your bags... In the domestic arrivals hall it would seem. I told her to try and find us in the international arrivals hall in the sea of people... All five of us. >_<

Adam felt bad that we didn't come up with a sign to welcome her so we quickly worked with what we had: a red pen and a piece of tissue paper. He set to work on quite the impressive sign that people actually stopped to read.

It read:

"Welcome to China, Mrs. Woomer! This is your daughter!"

<----

The best part was that some random guy came up and started reading it and Adam had to break the bad news to him. "Dude, it's not you."

After waiting a painfully long time (I could not shake the idea that she was somehow lost somewhere in Hong Kong but then I thought that she would make her way to Disneyland and then my fear turned to jealousy) and after foreigner after foreigner walked by, there she was--the single most NOT Chinese person to walk through that door.

Hugs were exchanged all around. Smiles. Happy feelings. Laughter. THIS is what family is all about. Even though we had not seen each other in almost seven months, and even though we didn't talk as often as we used to, we were able to pick right back from where we left off... but with a newly added companion ^_^

With her cup of coffee in hand and some of her luggage passed around (let's be honest: those brownies, mac 'n cheese, and hair dye was all for me), she was ready to face the world outside that is China. We hopped on the shuttle bus and went right to the back (where the foreigners belong) and that bus soon got PACKED. We bounced up and down along the highway and Mama Woomer tried desperately to not waste any of her coffee (aka: spill it on the girl sitting in front of her).

And of course, there is a KFC behind her -_-

After the bus and a taxi ride, we had arrived in Cangqian where we unpacked, wandered around, looked at the campus, explored town, and met up with Miaomiao and the four of us ventured back into Cangqian town for a poor man's version of hot pot. Hot pot is a really fun meal where you order meat, veggies, noodles, and anything else that your heart desires, and you cook it in boiling water. It's a lot of fun but a bit more challenging for someone who is not used to chopsticks (as we came to find out) but it led to a fun night where we laughed a lot and we learned that Mama Woomer had nowhere to go but up when it came to her chopstick skills.

Adam showing off...

March 20th

The day was a slow one for Mama Woomer. Jetlag seemed to hit her hard in the afternoon and it was a day of teaching for me. But in the evening, classes were done and the mama was wide awake once more--time to explore Cangqian! We headed down to our friend, DH's, apartment for the evening, stopping along the way to grab a little dinner. Adam and I are particular fans of the street food of China from the BBQ, baozi, and jidan bing. Jidan bing is like a glorious Chinese burrito with egg, meat, lettuce, and magic sauce wrapped up with a crunchy shell (or gooey depending on where you get it). We are friends with the man who makes the wraps on our street and he was excited to have another foreigner as a customer. He just smiled and laughed when I told him she was my mom (in my pathetic Chinese). Adam was great explaining what she could put in the wrap and he helped her order her very first bit of street food in China (not going to lie... it warmed my heart ♥).

That evening she got to meet the first of my crazy group of friends--Hannah R and DH. And she got to revel in the glory that is DH's amazing apartment and forever compare it to my pathetic excuse of a home...

Every Thursday night, it is tradition for Adam and I to go and get BBQ street food and we felt a deep need to introduce this to Mama Woomer. The food was my biggest concern with her coming to visit China. She usually eats pretty healthy and (no offense) but she's not too daring when it comes to trying wild and crazy foods (though she did prove me wrong during her time here). We ventured into the newly opened street food mecca right by campus and explained to her that you take a tray and just pick out whatever you want from the freezers--lettuce, mushrooms, onions, bread, niangao (pounded rice), fish (no thank you), different kinds of meat (don't ask us what kind--we have no clue... we hope it's chicken), chicken feet, potatoes, dumplings, sausages. With the BBQ piled high and a beer in our hands, we settled onto our bright orange plastic chairs and thoroughly enjoyed Mama Woomer's very first street food experience.

BACON!!!

March 21st

Sadly, on mine and Adam's six month anniversary, he had to work all day. But the weather was warming up, the sun was shining in the blue sky (什么?!), and the mama was here... there was nothing better to do than visit 西湖: THE West Lake.

Now if you ever visit Hangzhou, you must go to West Lake and you must find it to be the most beautiful lake in all of China. If you don't? They'll take your visa away... Not really... but you will get exasperated looks of disbelief from any local you meet. I admit, it is a beautiful lake with tons of trees and flowers, the hills surrounding the lake are beautiful, there are tons of little boats out on the water, Leifeng Pagoda hidden in the mists (pollution), and TONS of people. It is probably one of the biggest tourist attractions in Zhejiang province and definitely the #1 attraction in Hangzhou. I've been to the lake a few times now--once in December 2012 with Rachel, last summer with Miaomiao, and at night a few times with Adam--but I've never been there on a beautiful, sunny day so I did enjoy myself.

Ignoring the fact that our bus broke down about 15 minutes away from the lake and the fact that Mama Woomer walked unknowingly into the stench that is stinky tofu, it was a great relaxing day and a nice easy introduction into China. There were the old people dancing, karaoke singers singing their awful country music, erhu and flute players, vendors calling out to us, and enough sights to have the mama stop to take pictures constantly.

Stinky tofu!!

It was nice being able to just walk around and talk, girl to girl, like we used to do. Even better: no one could understand what we were saying so we could say whatever we wanted (and eventually, she began to take advantage of that)! From friends and family back home, dad and Jed, my new friends, my Spring Festival trip, Adam, and life in China, we talked for hours (with a possible stop at Dairy Queen... don't you dare judge) and awe ctually walked almost halfway around the lake before we decided to turn around.

On our way to the metro stop, we did stop off at the bathroom and Mama Woomer came face to face with her very first squatty potty!! I like to think that she came out triumphant...

One subway ride and a bus ride later, we met up with Adam and some of the others from my little group of friends here in Hangzhou for a nice dinner that Adam put together for everyone to meet with my mama (♥). We went to one of the nice, Hangzhou places: Grandma's Kitchen and it was a wonderful night with a great group of people and super delicious food (Adam even tricked Mama Woomer into trying jellyfish!).

Happy 6 Month Anniversary ♥

Adam, Hannah R, Nathan, Nate, Steve, Hannah S, Mama Woomer... It looks like a murder mystery!!

It was such a nice introduction for Mama Woomer in China. She had tried some of the classic food--sometimes in a nice, fancy restaurant and other times sitting on plastic stools. She got to see West Lake, travel by buses, metro, and taxi (the taxis scare her). She met some of Adam's students, smelled stinky tofu, used a squatty potty, and met some of the people who have become very important to me during my time spent in China... And it had only been a few days!

Up next: Shanghai!

Until Next Time,

Amanda