I think I'm going to try to blog every day while I'm here because it will be a great way to chronicle and share what goes on. However, I anticipate that there will be some pretty ordinary days in the middle when it's all about classes and food, so perhaps almost every day is the better promise/attempt.
Well, today started at 7AM CST. I woke up, got myself dressed and ready, then my entire family took me to the airport to fly from Chicago to Beijing. My flight was scheduled for 12:05PM, so I got to the airport at 9AM to be sure I was on time. After making a wrong turn on the way to the airport and spending an extensive amount of time in the check-in line then removing 8 lbs. from my checked bag, I got to go through security. It was a simple check, but re-packing was difficult and my backpack ended up being heavier than I wanted.
On the other side of security was a huge Starbucks. Two separate lines/cashiers/pastry cases huge. I got a nice iced coffee, unsweetened with skim milk and less ice, and proceeded through the underground passage that had really cool lighting. It reminded me of the science museum.
The other end of the tunnel was my terminal, and my gate was straight ahead of the escalator. But first, I had to buy two sandwiches to take on the plane. Then I sat with Professor Carmichael, who is a fellow of my residential college, and we waited together for our plane. However, lo and behold, there was a 3.5 hour delay on our flight. This flight had a group of 9 people from my program on it. We ended up finding each other and going for walks together to different areas and shops. Sitting at the gate went so much faster when we were all together than if we had been alone. I ended up having to replace one of my sandwiches since I ate one for lunch.
We did leave on time for the new time, which was 3:30PM. We were on an older airplane, a Boeing 777, but it was pretty comfortable. I was sitting next to a man who works for the Chinese FAA, so he had some good tips for things to see while I'm here. I mostly watched Lost, colored in my MC Escher coloring book, and started reading Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. I slept for an hour or two, but I wanted to make sure I would sleep at night and reset to China time, which is 12 hours later than Eastern time.
The airplane food was pretty good, and the flight attendants took very good care of us. I particularly liked watching the GPS map on my video screen because I could observe our progress. We took a route that went north from Chicago, around or over the North Pole, then south over Siberia and into Beijing. It was fascinating because I did not expect us to hit the Arctic Circle, but it makes sense since the sphere of the globe has a smaller circumference at the pole.
When we landed, it was so joyous. As a group, we proceeded to immigration, a very fast train to the next terminal, then baggage claim (which was mighty efficient) and customs. We met up with the Professors who run the program here, changed our money, and left the airport around 8:00PM Beijing time (7AM CST) to go to the dorms. I spent 22 hours between the Chicago airport, the plane ride, and Peking International Airport. It was a long day.
As we waited in PEK for the other students who would ride the bus with us, I went exploring with my friend Maddy. We were looking for a beverage. She got a mango juice from a coffee shop and ordered in Chinese. I got a bottled green tea from a convenience store and managed a "hello" and "thank you" in Mandarin to the cashier. It was kind of cool to be able to get by in a real interaction with the two words of Chinese that I know.
I tried to stay awake to see the cityscape as we drove to the University, but I fell asleep on the bus. I awoke as we were turning onto the street where the International dorms are, and managed to be alert enough to get through the check-in process. I got my room assignment and key, brought my things up, then met with another friend, Victoria, to go to the convenience store on campus to get towels, toiletries, and water to get through the night.
These dorms are more like a hotel than a dormitory. It is lovely, air conditioned, clean, has nice furniture, and came with linens. I was handed toilet paper during check-in which was a pretty clear reminder that I'm not in the US anymore, but I am pretty stoked about this trip so far.
I unpacked first, which was necessary to be able to find all the things I needed, then e-mailed home, wrote this post, and now I'm going to take a shower and go to bed!
Today is awesome because I traveled to China!!!
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