"I don't think China is a Real Place"

I found internet access today, so here are the updates from the last two days and then I will go back and write about today:

April 30

“Ladies and Gentlemen, the Captain has turned on the Seatbelt Sign...”
5: 58 p.m. NJ time/ 5:58 a.m Beijing time


Location: approximately above the North Pole (Dave shouted out Santa! when it was announced we would be flying above here.)

I am trying to set myself on China time, so the 12-hour difference means it’s currently 6:00 a.m. My body is protesting as I’m trying to reset my clock. I’ve been on a plane for 6 hours now and according to the television screen in front of me, I have over eight hours left. Dave and I are eagerly awaiting the halfway point.

The television has 329 movies and 165 TV hows to watch, a though that initially thrilled me, but so far I have only made it through half of Four Christmases and a third of Chocolat before passing out.

I promised everyone I’d keep them updated on the food I am eating overseas, and I expect the general theme of this blog will be “Here’s what I did today, but more importantly-here’s what I ate.”

Airplane food isn’t something that excites sane people, but after a hot towel and a menu were handed out, Dave (who is luckily sitting right next to me) and I were pysched to eat.



Appetizer Salad: Fresh lettuce mix with cucumber, tomato, and shrimp
Main Course: Salmon with soy sauce, green onion rice, carrots, and red bell pepper
Dessert: Cookies and cream brownie and a fortune cookie whose fortune read: You like Chinese Food
We had a random snack later on that included a turkey BBQ bun and ice cream.
Later we get fruit, a Swiss cheese omelet with potato gratin, and DIM SUM: an assortment of Chinese dumplings and pot stickers with chow mein noodles, and an almond cookie

Okay-this may not seem exciting to you who are not miles above ground, but for those of us with no snacks left in our carry-ons, anything edible at 31,000 feet is thrilling.

My mom and Aunt Robin dropped me off at the airport today. My mom cried and her parting words were, “Don’t chew gum in Singapore.” Apparently she cried so much on the way home that she missed her exit and got lost. She warned me that I better not do anything that would require her to get on a plane and come to Asia as she fears flying.
Robin and I waited for Dave, and she and his mom waved as we stumbled through security (you would think for people who travel so much we would be more competent) and out of their sight.
We found others from our trip in the airport, grabbed our course packs, and boarded. There is a large team of Chinese teams in matching track suits and two giant trophies onboard, but a language barrier prevents us from finding out who they are, what they play, and why they were in the States.


The fact that in eight more hours I will be on the other side of the world is incomprehensible. I am amazed by air travel the same way I am still amazed my elevators. You get in, the door closes, and in a short (or painstakingly long) amount of time, you are somewhere else.

I am already feeling like a minority. The plane is appropriately filled with Asians, and except for that time I went to an Asian frat party with one of my best friends Pam, I have never been a minority in a group of Asians. I am trying to multiply this feeling by millions to prepare myself for Beijing, but am having no luck.

Hana






Friday May 1, 2009
9:00 p.m. China/9:00 a.m NJ time

I would love to say the last eight hours of the flight went quickly, but that would be a lie. I watched a few movies, did some reading, and had short naps. We landed in Beijing and got yelled at before we officially entered the country, at customs. We were told to “BE QUIET!” Damn loud Americans.
Members of our group wasted no time-they found a vending machine in the airport that dispensed soda and beer.


We took a bus to our dorms and along the way I watched the passing architecture. I kept saying, “I don’t feel like I’m in China” because the skyline wasn’t as I expected. The apartment buildings in the suburbs surrounding Beijing are more remniscent of Ft. Lauderdale than an Asian country. There are bright coral colored towers that look like my grandmother would live there. One guy described it as looking “like a place on the West Coast that I haven’t visited yet”.

I find it ironic that my first sight out of customs was a Starbucks and KFC. Damn globalization and westernization. I hope to someday go somewhere where McDonalds doesn’t exist yet.


We arrived at Minda University where we are staying. We are staying in the guest house which is a mixture of dorm/hotel accomidations. My roommate is Jane who is very sweet and seems like she will be easy to room with. Don’t worry Veronica-you will always be my favorite roommate.
We each have a bed, desk, and half of an armoire which allots more than enough space for the contents of my backpack. We even have a t.v. which I doubt we will ever use.

We had an hour between arrival and dinner so I took a necessary shower. There is only hot water for a few hours a day-between 6-8 in the morning and 8-12 at night. I sucked it up and took a cold shower. The shower is so short that even at 5’2” I have to crouch to use it. I am the shortest one on the trip and can only assume that my taller classmates will have a difficult time. I literally had to hold a limbo position to rinse out my hair. It is comical, though inconvenient.


Before dinner we walked around campus. It is a gorgeous bustling area with trees and green as well as a post office, supermarket, and other convenience stores. The supermarket, which we went to after dinner, is very cool and VERY cheap. Cheers for exchange rates. I got a HUGE bottled water (we’re talking so big I had to use two hands to carry it) for less than a dollar. Oddly, the water is produced by Pabst Blue Ribbon-the beer company. You have to use bottled water to do everything including brushing your teeth in China. It’s annoying and when I first got here I was halfway through brushing when I realized I had used the tap water. I rinsed out with bottled water and have been cautious since.



Dinner was at a restuaraunt on campus. We sat at 3 round tables of 8 and shared dishes via a lazy susan. There were a slew of dishes including chicken with cashew, a sour/sweet beef dish, two eggplant dishes, a tofu dish, a corn and pine nut dish that everyone fell in love with (but I didn’t really understand why). I am WAY too tired to write about dinner, but I will post some pictures and just leave you with “It was delicious.”

It’s 9:15 now and I need to sleep. I’ve been strong fighting off jet lag, but all of us seemed to start to crash around 8.

Tai Chi at 6 in the park tomorrow and then off to the Forbidden City.

Dave and I wanted to go out on the town tonight, but clearly we are too tired, so maybe tomorrow.
JACKIE CHAN was playing tonight too-but we had NO energy.

Hana