For Monday, June 18
"The left engine is leaking beyond tolerance."
Little did I know that phrase would mark a two hour internment inside the lobby of O'Hare. Oh well, better than the alternative (a fiery spiral of death into some ocean). The confinement was actually cause for quite an adventure--really, can I go anywhere where there isn't some craziness? They wouldn't let us leave to go get food, so being the rule-abiding girl I am, I made a run for it under the partition and got the best turkey club wrap I've ever had (risk makes everything much, much sweeter). When I came back, they had posted a flight attendant on guard at the petition I had run under. I thought fast, ran faster, and passed by her at exactly the moment she turned her back to me. The answer is yes, I do feel like the shit. After that, I made friends with some kid who probably massed more electronics than his body weight and introduced him to the wonders of the 6th season of 24.
On the plane I ended up sitting near a Chinese couple with two adorable little boys, 4 and 8 years old. The woman is a consultant. She and her husband came over to study at Cornell years ago. They were heading to China to stay and visit family for the summer and planned to go to Tibet to hike a little of Mt. Everest. What are the odds of me sitting next to people like this? I shared my love of hiking to waterfalls. I also asked them how easy it would be to get to the Yangtze River and the husband, who happened to be a travel agent for China during his college years, said it would be a day train ride. I'll keep you posted.
The Chinese soccer team was also on transit with us and I made small talk with one girl who sat next to me. She had this handy language translator device and we were able to cough out a couple of phrases to each other. I asked her about music and she gave me some poppy girl music to listen to. She wasn't so much a fan of rock. She liked hao ting, or beautiful music.
Upon arrival, everything went smoothly and we ended up in our rooms at around 10:30 p.m. It's a single! and I get my own private bathroom + shower and a tv. I'm all moved in. I've met some kids on my program and they all seem nice enough. Some are a bit party crazy and wanted me to come drinking with them, but wanted to adjust to jet lag as quickly as possible so I stayed in and contemplated whether I should suck it up and asphixiate by opening a window or let my room stay hot as balls/Amy's apartment. Tomorrow is a free day (classes start Wednesday) and I desperately need to go grocery shopping.
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1 comment:
Hey Caroline!
I'm so glad you started this blog, and I hope you keep up with it. I'll do my best to read your updates.
Beijing sounds exciting so far. Have you toured Qinghua yet? I realize now that there are so many things I want to suggest you try, and I should have told you some of them before you left (by the way, sorry for not saying goodbye!). For starters, try a breakfast of dumplings or something similar from one of the smaller restaurants that usually dot the streets. Inexpensive and delicious! Also, you MUST visit Tiantan, 天坛, aka the "Temple of Heaven". I'm sure you'll go there as a group. Finally, there's a cool, trendy part of Beijing that I think you'd like. It has fun restaurants where you can sit outside on the roof and enjoy the view. I emailed my sister for the name, which I can't remember for the life of me now.
Anyway, have FUN and I look forward to hearing about more adventures as they unfold!
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