Exploring Hangzhou’s West Lake

Firstly – all credit to Mitch for these photos. He takes my iPhone and snaps away, sometimes for a long time and I impatiently look at my watch. I then look at said photos later and they are stunning, so, credit to him. One of the main tourist attractions in our new hometown of Hangzhou is the West Lake. A gorgeous natural lake which was made a UNESCO site in 2011. Being so beautiful means on the weekend it’s buzzing with tourists (national and international), plus locals coming to enjoy the scenery, market and restaurants.

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10 Things I Need To Get Use To In China

We’ve been here for two weeks and I’m slowly learning the new culture and things I need to adapt to whilst here. Here’s my top ten: Tea I’m British. Nothing beats a lovely tea (with milk!), in the morning and when coming home after a long day. Although you can buy lipton black tea here, milk isn’t so frequent and quite the same. What’s more, when someone offers you tea, it’s not what you think. Yesterday I had a cup of tea, which was basically hot water and flowers. Not bad though. Roads The roads are mental. Traffic is awful. On …

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Rollercoaster Ride Starting Life In China

For those of you who don’t know, Mitch and I got ourselves teaching jobs in Hangzhou, China. It’s in the East, not far from Shanghai. We found jobs through a teaching agency who sorted us with school, accommodation, and a visa. So far, there have been highs and lows, but it’s all a new adventure in life and I remind myself I’m very lucky to be here. We felt nervous and excited. For me, it was three big changes all at once: moving in with Mitch, starting a new job AND moving to a new country/continent. Madness eh? Our flights over …

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