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I took this Chinese journey last summer, but I'm going to write about it now so it's in my log. It'll definitely be a morw squashed version cause I'm not doing it now, but hey, it's a trip.
So the first leg of my trip finds me in South Carolina doing some training for about a week in order to go to China. We sat in a classroom for about 8 hours a day with an hour for lunch and an hour for dinner and learned all...about...China. Wow, some was tedious, some was sweet action. Most was tedious...we learned some basic CHinese phrases (which I rocked!) and all about culture, traditions, money...you name it, we heard it. During this training time we went to a 4th of July picnic where I let off my first ever fireworks! (yes, I'm 22, but hey, it was cool) We just hung out, did nothing, and slept. It was quite boring actually.
Training lasted from a Sunday to a Thursday night. We packed out bags (being very careful to weigh them) and left for a hotel in Charlotte so that we could catch an early flight out. The bus ride was rather uneventful, but we made it crazy. Our motel, however, was a bit sketchy. Of course, there were very strange and drunk people milling around, but I wanted to explore. We went across the street to a gas station to get slushies and candy for the long night ahead. Lets just say this motel wasn't in the best part of town. We watched some tv, talked, laughed a lot, and eventually went to bed.
We woke up bright and early the next morning to catch our flight. La de da de da, we went to the airport. We get to the airport...our bags are too heavy. I stuffed shoes and clothes and odds and ends into RIchard's bag and Amy's bag and threw stuff away and finally we got it! Well, we all had to go through an amazing line of security, literally run to our gate, and get on the plane in the nick of time. We got a great seat in they very back where we could put our hands up to the turbulance. It was a short flight to DC.
We had a *7* hour layover in DC...I mean, this isn't too bad compared to the 9 hour one I had recently, but we had nothing to do. We read magazines, talked, slept, and walked back and forth, back and forth. Finally, we got on the most awesome plane! It was so super long, 2 stories, and tons of seats! The really rude flight attendant wouldn't let me go upstairs because it was first class... guess they can't mix with the commoners. Too good for me lol. I ended up sitting in the middle of 4 seats (shoot me now) and I decided that I didn't want to. So, I got up to scout out another friend to sit by. I found Nathaniel across the isle, and boy am I glad I did. We sang and laughed our heads off for half the flight. Of course, I slept, since it was 12 hours. It was all around a good time. This little boy kept unlocking the bathrooms from the outside so that when people tried to unlock them from the inside, they locked themselves in. He was pretty proud of himself.
YOu know that feeling when you walk out of a stuffy smelly plane into an unknown land and it looks sorta familiar but there's something different? That was me upon arriving in Beijing. It was awesome! I couldn't stop looking around. I couldn't believe I was in CHina. We went to the hotel, and it was gorgeous! I mean, 6 star! It took a while to check in and find out rooms, but we did it. Everything was perfect. Cept the lights. It took us FOREVER to figure out how to keep them turned on...very weird. The beds looked so comfy, but we sat down and *THUMP* they were like wood. No matresses in China! Took me a couple nights to get used to this, but I ended up liking it. We were out of toilet paper so we went on a little scavenger hunt. I tried to demonstrate to the people at the front desk what I needed, but they had no clue. So, I decided to find it on my own. I had seen some maids going in and out of this one room, so I said hey, that must be it. So I waltzed it...lol two Chinese maids eating their lunch. I laughed and ran straight for the toilet paper while they shewed me out. After that, I never ran out again...I think they knew. lol. Weird...
We decided that China awaited us, so we left the hotel and just started walking. I guess you can only go so far, and it's hard to get lost walking. We saw some pretty darn cool stuff out there. The traffic was weird to watch, and we ate at Pizza Hut...AMERICAN! Woot! All the little people were selling all their little stuff on the overpasses that we walked on, but I didn't buy anything cause we hadn't changed out money over yet. We went back to the hotel to shower and sleep.
The next day we ate our first CHinese meal. When I think Chinese, I def. think of American Chinese...no way! This stuff had bones in it all over...it tasted totally different. It was just strange. But somehow, good. I ate chicken feet, shark fin, squid on a stick, kangaroo tail, and so much more...prolly dog too lol. It was all so interesting though. I adopted the phrase carpe diem when it came to eating stuff that I had no clue if it was still alive or dead.
More to come about Beijing and the 24 hour train ride.
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