Ni Hao (Hello) from Beijing!!

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Trip Start Jun 09, 2010 Previous
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  Beijing, Beijing, China
Thursday, June 10, 2010

It is 10:05 PM here according to the hideous watch I bought in the Dulles Airport gift shop to keep myself from going crazy. I have to know what time it is all the time and usually I use the clock on my phone but since I will not be using my cell phone in China or on the plane about half an hour before boarding I realized that I was going to go mad if I didn't find a way to tell the time.  So I bought the cheapest watch I could find and luckily it seems to be reliable. 

But what a trip it was to get here!  My Dad  drove me to Dulles International Airport in Washington D.C. (which is a pretty ugly airport) and we got there around 9:30am I think and my flight started boarding around 11:30am.  We all boarded on time but then there were delays due to problems emptying the waste tank – ewwwwwww! And there were some late boarders. I had a window seat which I was very excited about but we were right over the massive 777 wing so it was hard to see much.  My seat buddy was an older Chinese man who did not speak much English.  There was some drama in our row involving the late comers, a woman who did not want ot give up her seat even though she was in the wrong one, and 3 or 4 flight attendants.  Everyone was speaking Chinese and later my seat buddy got the scoop and from his summary apparently it was something to do with a passport… hmm.  But we took off an hour late and then the 14 hour fun began. 

I watched 3 movies (How to Train Your Dragon, Wall-e, and Dear John)  We got two lunches and a snack of "Chinese" aka Ramen Noodles inbetween.  I brought snacks of M&Ms and soft peppermint sticks with me which I shared with my interested seat buddy.  I tried to sleep and maybe got about 6ish hours total.

We landed in Beijing around 3:00pm local time which is 12 hours different from home time so I didn’t have to change my new watch.  I met up with the AIFS representative and Program Director and some of the other students and we set off by bus to the hotel.  We hit lots of traffic and the drivers were using the shoulder like a lane. Waiting at intersections also seems optional but all in all it was an uneventful drive. 

We settled in the hotel (which apparently has a pool and bowling) and then met up to explore our neighborhood and get some dinner.  We went to a place that was very like a western mall and got dinner at our of the food places that was very Chinese.  It was family style meaning we ordered a bunch of different things and then they put them on a round spinning thing on the middle and we ate what we wanted.  It was all very good.  We had lamb kabobs, beef and mushrooms (which I ate and they were good), a plate of broccoli and cabbage, a fish including both a head and a tail, and some light soup. (Pictures to come).  We also stopped by some stores where we picked up supplies and our guide showed us some of the night life.  Then we made it back to the hotel and soon bed!!

We only have one internet cable in the room so my roommate and I have to take turns.  And she is already in bed and it is dark and I want to be in bed sleeping too so I will post this in the morning!!

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Ni Hao (Hello) from Beijing!!	Ni Hao (Hello) from Beijing!!	Ni Hao (Hello) from Beijing!!	Ni Hao (Hello) from Beijing!!
Ni Hao (Hello) from Beijing!!

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