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Published: April 24th 2010
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Entry #1: One month before the trip
A crossroads in my life
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Time left until our plane leaves from Washington DC
There it is, a countdown to the beginning of the journey. From the time of my writing this, it is less than a month away. I couldn't be more excited! If you don't know what I'm talking about, I'll explain in the next section. But first, a little more introduction is in order.
My name is Henry Fleming (the third, to be formal), and I am 22 year old caucasian American living in Maryland. I've lived in Maryland my life life, with no real complaints (except the crazy weather, but those 20 some inches of snow this winter were awesome). I'm a senior studying Computer Science at the University of Maryland, College Park, and while I hated college my underclassmen years I absolutely love what I'm learning now. This is the first blog I have ever written, partly because I don't have anything particularly interesting to tell the world, but more so because I've never felt anyone would care all that much about what I have to say.
Our Motley Crew
Kevin on the left, Alex in the middle, me on the right. Our little triage. I sure wish Alex could come with us, he would love this trip. But such an occasion as you will read about below certainly deserves some type of documentation.
I've known my friend Kevin since way back in Elementary school, in a little place called Columbia. By the way, for reference in the picture he's the tall one on the left and I'm the short one on the right. Truth be told it has always been that way. He studies psychology at Towson University, and dreams of being a doctor of some sort. Kudos to him, I think I'll pass on all the organic chemistry and what not.
The reason I began this blog was to showcase the fantastic trip the both of us have planned for our last real Summer vacation. I work as an outdoor trip leader for the university, so putting this all together came pretty naturally for me. Our destination is China, and while Kevin will stay for about 2 weeks I'll be there a whole 3 months.
Why China?
I've been absolutely fascinated by Chinese culture ever since I was a kid. I have no idea what started it, and it has been a complete mystery to my family
My family
I couldn't ask for a better family in the world. This trip wouldn't be possible without them, and I cannot express in words how grateful I am for their love and support. Oh, and you haven't lived until you've had my father's cooking. too. But the more I learned about the history and traditions, the more I wanted to visit that vast country some day. Shortly after graduation from high school, I began studying traditional kung fu. It's a predominantly southern style called Jow Ga, taught by sifu Derek Johnson in Columbia. If you have ever been interested in learning a martial art, I cannot express how much I've enjoyed my experience with Jow Ga. It's a wonderful school that treats you like family. Kung fu is no joke either, some of the most intense workouts I have ever had have been with sifu. To my class mates, miss you guys! Hope to be back at practice next fall after the trip.
I've been learning Mandarin Chinese (although on a short hiatus currently for school) since last November, with the help of some pen pals I met online. Learning a language so different from English has been no cake walk, but I think the future benefits will be worth it. For business, for fun, for whatever reason. After all, China does have the biggest population in the world. I imagine I will have plenty of people to talk to. Learning Chinese has
Fear the sifu!
Sifu being fearsome with a staff. Sorry I've missed so much practice sifu, school has been brutal this semester! actually how I met the contact who will be showing me around China this Summer.
The journey will begin with a 9 day tour to the most popular tourist destinations in China. It will start in Beijing, hit Xi'an, and end in Shanghai, with trips to everything from the Great Wall to the Terracotta Warriors. After that, Kevin and I will stay in the pleasant little city of Suzhou. It has been called the Venice of the East, with several parts of the city traversable by boat. Like much of China it has seen great modern growth in the past decades, but still retains many of the beautiful aspects of Chinese culture that I hope to see. Of particular interest are the famous gardens scattered throughout the city, of which I'll send plenty of pictures home to my garden-crazy mother. All the arrangements have been made by my good friend and pen pal, who you will get to meet through pictures in the coming months.
So Long for Now
That's all for the first entry, perhaps a bit too much. All the preparations are underway, from picking out the perfect tour to purchasing
Me with my father and sister
Only a fed could pull off those shades, right dad? plane tickets. Flying halfway across the world is no short flight either, I'll have to find a way to keep myself occupied. Anyway, I'll be sure to keep the future updates a little shorter, as I know I tend to be a very wordy writer. If you have any suggestions for what I should see on the trip, I'd appreciate any advice. Otherwise, please leave me some comments and feedback guys. I need a little motivation to keep this thing going 😊. Thank you for reading!
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Yan
non-member comment
First
hehe, Harry, maybe I'm the first to be here,looking forward to your experiences in the upcoming days. WELCOME TO CHINA:)