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Published: August 29th 2011
My Chinese Angel
Fan, international student at U of M. Can you believe it? He was so gracious, looking after me on the plane, making sure I understood everything and helping me through immigration and luggage and connections. Thank you Fan. Mwah. See you again in Winnipeg! I made it to Xiamen, China today at about 10:00 a.m. local time. I am beat. I was met at the airport by Andy, one of the employees with Tianjiao, with a sign with my name on it, and a huge bouquet of the most beautiful and fragrant flowers! I am tonight, in a hotel called the Home Inn while my apartment is being prepared. I am so tired! I have slept in small fragments, here and there. I slept a bit on the long plane ride to Beijing and a bit on the short one to Xiamen. I stayed up since I got here, it is somewhere around 7ish in the evening, on Monday the 29th, and I see by the clock on my little notebook here it says it's 2:29 am back home . So likely, many of you'll be reading this Monday morning in around 8 hours and I will be sleeping and sleeping into Tuesday, the 30th. Weird, huh? The bed in this room is the hardest you can imagine. GOD! It's almost like camping! Not that I mind camping, but it's definately the camping-in-a-tent type and not the I-have-all-the-comforts of home-5th-wheel type. LOL Can you say
Beijing Airport Series 1
Shot 1 of Beijing's massive airport. I was so lucky to have my "angel" helping me around. Wuss?
I met an angel on the plane, a Chinese university student who looked after me so well both on the plane and in the big Beijing airport. We exchanged information. Wouldn't you know it, he studies at U of M! I have to thank my angels for that. There have been a couple of times when I've been so damn confused because I don't speak Chinese, but thanks to my helper, Fan, I was ok. And there was another Chinese man, who'd been living in America for 10 years and who spoke very good English, and he helped us in the Beijing airport. So far, people have been so kind.
The smell here is like that of Mexico. Heavy and pungent, putrid in moments. Everybody spits. UGH. I almost killed myself on the sidewalks today, wearing flip flops in the rain and slipping all over the smooth sidewalks. My new friend and teaching compadre, Diane and I linked arms in the rain, holding my huge new orange umbrella, and we had to stop while I bought a new pair of sandals. Actually, I bought 2 new pairs of shoes. It took forever because the 2 lovely young
Chinese women shopkeeprs were trying to communicate with the 2 dumb pale foreigners that it was buy one pair get another FREE! OMG! BOGO in China, who knew? I have an overwhelmingly new appreciation and empathy for all new immigrants. It can be so frustrating trying to communicate and get only blank stares and gestures.
I went to the Chinese Walmart today. OMG. It's something else. Everybody stares at me wherever I go. Maybe it's because I'm the only blonde head in the sea of dark hair, or the only blue-eyed person. Some of the men stare so hard they make me uncomfortable. People literally stare as I walk by and look me right in the eyes and follow my gaze as I smile at back at them.
I am sitting here in my hotel room, in my underwear and sports bra (Yeah, yeah, T-M-I, lol, too hot for anything else, and very humid) and tomorrow is going to be typhoon, (notice how casually I wrote that word? LOL) so very, very wet. I had to go buy toothpaste because mine got confiscated in Beijing by the security detail. Go figure. LOL It made it all
Beijing Airport Series 3
I know this picture sucks, but I had to use my night setting because it was so dim in the pre-dawn of the inside of the terminal. One had to go check in before collecting luggage and there were about a dozen lines with headings like foreigners, and Chinese nationals. the way to Beijing only to be taken away then. I do not have a freakin' hot clue what sort of toothpaste I have bought, I can't read the pkg. LOL, but I will try it tomorrow. Hopefully I am not smearing hemmoroid cream or something equally revolting on my gums tomorrow! LOL Ewwwww!
I am so tired, but am trying to stay up a bit later, so that bedtimes will start to feel normal to me. I met the school staff and 3 other teachers. I like them and the Canadians are all older than me, but there are still a few more coming, and a female that I'll be sharing an apartment with, which is good. I would be a bit nervous on my own here, esp. the way people, ie: some of the men, look at me. I won't be wandering around at night, let me tell you. In fact, I am hungry tonite, but it's getting dark, so I'll just go the hell to bed and forget about eating till tomorrow sometime. I could stand to lose few of the summer pounds which have crept up! LOL
The staff took us to lunch today
Beijing Airport Series 4
After being admitted to the country, collecting luggage, re-checking it, and going through yet another security check, and having my toothpaste confiscated, I got to sit for a few minutes in the expansive and airy terminal. and I ate chicken feet. It took everything I had, but I did try them and I liked them--they were rather like wings, honestly. Very tasty, I surprised even myself. There were some really yummy dumplings and some stir fried cauliflower and cabbage that was to die for! OMG--so good. We had tofu and some other unidentified cuisine (that makes me a bit nervous, but what the hell, when in Rome, eh? ) Mostly it was all good.
I am thinking today that I am glad it's just 10 wks. It might be harder than I thought. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Tomorrow I will be in my apartment and settling in. I hope to unpack, and get some other stuff sorted. I'd better get to bed. I am so, so tired.
One of my first thoughts when the plane landed was that I couldn't believe I was in Asia. WOW!
I have just spent a considerable amount of time uploading and editing photos. For some reason, there are some glitches and the internet is very slow here. I will preface these photos by saying that the quality of some of them is not as good as I
would have liked but that due to the poor lighting in the airport, I used my night setting which was the only way to capture the sights; however, the price I paid for that was a bit of blur with the slow shutter speed. With that in mind, here is the first series. More to come when the internet is working better.
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Pauline
non-member comment
Arrived Safely
Hello Carolyn. Glad you arrived safe and sound. Yes it may be a long ten weeks but what memories you will have when you are all done. Thank you for my birthday present. I love the gloves - I'm thinking they need a purse to match. LOL Enjoy your stay.