Students are picked up from school on Friday afternoons. Helen and I were picked up by her father who is an engineer and driven by their driver to her grandparent's home north of Hangzhou. It was my first time in a Chinese home and some of the customs were very new to me like wearing slippers when going into different rooms. We just relaxed until dinner which was served on the round spinning lazy susan with many dishes including pork, beef, vegetables, rice, and fish. The meal was very filling and different from the foods I have been eating at the school and at restaurants. We were joined at dinner by Helen's parents, aunt and her two daughters, and grandparents.
After dinner we went to the cinema to see The Great and Powerful Oz. It was so enjoyable to get a full two hours of English!!!! There were Chinese subtitles but listening to English made me so happy.
We retured to Helen's grandparents' house to sleep. They set me up in my own room which was very big! I had a full night of sleep and woke early (like I seem to do almost everyday).
The next morning Helen's grandmother made me homemade dumplings which I love!!! They are served with vinegar. After a full bowl we headed out to an older part of town on a canal. There were many shops and Helen's family spoiled me by buying me a bag of Chinese sweets like peanut clusters and sweet breads.
