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Settling into Hangzhou

 Four months of living in Hangzhou, I was enjoying life, and had blended in well....I liked it a lot and was beginning to find the concept of going back to the UK difficult. A call with my younger sister, Elizabeth, where she started asking when I would be returning home, proved difficult after being reluctant to tell her that I had no intention of returning any time soon to the UK-a very different attitude that I had left with. 

Upon arriving in China I had lost a few pounds-which I was glad to be rid of.....most likely because I was occupied with settling into Hangzhou and I was also figuring out where, and how to buy food. But after discovering Carrefour, a large supermarket that sells amazing various kinds of baozi as well as other foods I couldn't identify, I would go here routinely every week. It appeared similar to Morrisons but with vegetables and herbs I couldn't identify, such as Dragon Fruit and Durian. Biscuits and cakes were sold, but completely different, being more moist due to the increased use of oil rather than sugar. 

It had a separate section where it was possible to buy 'pick and mix' biscuits, which could be either salty or slightly sweet. Another section was devoted to different types of dumplings, baozi and flatbreads, while another area was devoted to seafood, not frozen, but living, with different compartments filled with water to buy crabs, eels, shellfish or just fish. For the first venturing, it was certainly a rollercoaster for all the senses. But it was the place where it was possible to find everything, such as pillows, bed covers, pots, and pans, basically everything needed for a 'newby' in town. 

On occasion, the pork baozi was so large and juicy that I would sometimes eat four per day. As a result, I gained weight, and in fact became the heaviest I had been, together with other sensations of the tastebuds, my body fat was increasing daily.....even individual dining experiences in China could warrant individual blog entries. My skin, however, was starting to suffer, due to the amount of oil in the food, I had developed my 'teenage' skin again with blemishes and embarrassing while in China because appearance was everything, especially where the women had the clear 'glass' skin, I was feeling the pressure to develop healthier habits. 

In the UK, I was happiest when I had joined the gym and devoted to staying fit and healthy, which was my next goal. Despite the language barrier I plucked up the courage to walk into the gym opposite my apartment. The receptionist couldn't speak English, but we managed to communicate through WeChat translate, and patiently went through each section of the registration form with me. Going back to my previous point about China being a money 'upfront' country, the gym asks for the amount for the entire subscription period, so they always tried to promote a two year subscription, so that they would get the highest amount before providing the service. This was tricky as I didn't have a 'two year' plan for Hangzhou or to that apartment so couldn't commit to that length of time. The shorter the time period, the more expensive, with paying month-by-month being around 800RMB or 80 pounds per month. Stories such as the gym closing before the subscription coming to an end are commonplace in China with gyms simply 'disappearing'. I decided to sign and pay for six months, which was around 1200RMB. I thought the amount was reasonable as I only needed a gym for the winter, with the plan to move my exercise routine outside during the summer months. I left feeling happy that I had dealt with my most difficult language barrier task so far in China and was ready to start my exercise routine, and hopefully lose some of that 'happy weight'. 

Being in China for four months increased my confidence significantly. So much so that I had even started to think about what I would do in the event that I became bored of China. I started brainstorming other countries which had a demand for English teachers, citing Italy, Prague, Japan, and even Russia-a lot of Chinese people thought I was Russian, because of the blue eyes and what they called 'blonde' hair. It is important to note that Chinese would describe anyone as having 'blonde' hair that didn't appear as black as their own, rather than having a word that defines brown hair, 'brunette' and would also describe brown eyes as being 'black eyes'. 

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