Beautiful Beijing

August 31, 2008: 7 a.m.
An 11 hour plane trip later, I am in sunny, blue skies, Beijing. Although this plane trip was a much shorter flight than my trip to Australia, 16 hours, I was overwhelmed by how tiny the seating was. The whole time I was squished between my mother and some other fellow, both whom had terrible breath (Hi Mom!). Other than that, the man to my right was manically fighting for the arm rest. Talk about how chivalry is dead, and no, I did not kill it. (Hi Willy!)
I also have a secret for everyone who uses United to travel internationally. Be smart and check-in online and be sure to have a printer. To keep the long story short, I was halfway through checking-in online the day before my flight, but was too lazy to go to the printer, SO I had to wait in the line of 100 people rather than the line of 3 smart people who printed their ticket online earlier. So the secret is out...check- in online!

I'm glad to have survived my first half a day back in Beijing, and let me tell you, it was wonderful! The weather was better than back at home! This morning, it is 7 a.m. at the moment, the sky is blue with minimal clouds and it is so beautiful! The last time I was in Beijing was in 2005 and it has drastically changed since then. I am not in the center of Beijing, but 3 rings outside of it, I think. I got to see what I thought was my dorm room, but of course I picked out the best looking one from the outside, and just claimed it to be my future living quarters. Hopefully, I will not be unpleasantly surprised when I am offered the dingiest space possible. I'll probably go visit today, even though it's Sunday, but fellow Alliance students seem to be extremely helpful. I'm in dire need of mani/pedi grooming and YAY there is a store right across my dorm building. Not to sound all high maintenance, but I cannot cut my own nails if my life depended on it. I would end up with tiger claws or something of the sort, since my nails grow long extremely quickly, and really thick.

I got a cellphone yesterday, as well. A tiny, cheap, plastic one, but hey, emphasis on the cheap. It's just too bad I couldn't use my American phone, since there is no place for a SIM card. However, I still get texts! So friends and family, text my home cell number so I can still fulfill my 250 text plan!

The conveniences of Beijing are extraordinary! Not as convenient as when I was in Taipei, but because Beijing is so much larger, this is expected. For it's gargantuan size, Beijing is extremely accessible. Little news stands on ever corner, food places everywhere, shopping you can't believe, and the list goes on... Now I really need to lock my money up and throw away the key!

Uh oh! As I write, the clouds are rolling in. Maybe my weather predictor is a bit off, but I still say Beijing has transformed into something I cannot even begin to describe. There are trees and flowers EVERYWHERE!

Before I fall over with hunger, I'm going to breakfast. I will be back with an update of pictures and such. Lots of love from the east!

Two Days Later

August 28, 2008
Well, nothing much has changed since the last time I posted, just two towels and a few pairs of shoes more packed than two days ago. I still have a lot more items that need to be stuffed into what I thought was a big luggage, you know the bright yellow one I was writing about. Unfortunately, my two biggest fans, my big Hello Kitty and my little Hello Kitty, are having some difficulty fitting into these compartments. Sanrio was not very bright in designing Hello Kitty as a travel companion. Although these two plush dolls have traveled everywhere with me since the age of 3, I still find them very inconvenient to pack. At least their heads didn't grow as I grew older, otherwise the over-head compartment or the "under the seat" in "front" of you compartment would no long be an option, and I would have to result in purchasing them both one seat to sit in. They've gotten lucky before, on the trip to Japan on the...HELLO KITTY AIRPLANE! Will requested I post photos...so here's my first one.I don't think two days has really helped me prepare anything mentally. I'm still not 100% aware that I'm going to China for four months. The only question on my mind is: DO I HAVE ENOUGH MONEY? The obvious answer in my head is yes, but c'mon, China is where everything is made and for dirt cheap, my money will disintegrate into the Chinese black market GDP in no time! Lets talk legal stores for the public time being... You thought WalMart was great in America, imagine the WalMart in China! Okay, so maybe they don't have Cheez-its, but they'll certainly have those Lychee gummy balls with the fun risk factor of choking on them or swallowing them whole. Yummy! Naturally, a lot of those gummy candy lead to intestinal problems, but I'm sure they will hold me over while I find food that doesn't upset my stomach.

Glad I got a few comments last time. I would definitely like to see more questions about experiences that I have, should, and will encounter. It's obvious I had nothing new to write in this post...just more rambling and it will get more boring the less people want to know! Keep your thoughts coming and I will keep my posts updated!

Love, from the last time in the States. Zai Jian!

Pre-Beijing

August 26, 2008
Disclaimer:
As requested by a fellow Smithie...and my parents...I shall document my experiences in China for the public AMERICAN eye. Not only do I have to state that in my doing so, I am risking my life under the eye of the Chinese government, I must keep this blog on a hush-hush basis in case I say anything offensive about the Middle Kingdom. If you don't get what I mean...read the news about the "Chinese bloggers" on Google. With that being said...I will not be providing any information about protests, government matters, etc...but rather the boring, overly-normal occurrences of my day- to- day life. Exciting! Perhaps if there are things you wish to know about my lifestyle abroad in the ever-so-rapidly- changing Beijing, please feel free to ask. I don't bite. (Don't get me started on vampires :D).

Enjoy!

The real post:

So I have about two and a half more days until I jet-set to Beijing.
I am not completely packed, but after all the trips back and forth from Smith, I am quite used to packing quickly and semi-lightly. At least I am not the kid with three over-sized, 80 pound suitcases, as stated by someone in my program already in Beijing. Today, I actually just purchased another hockey bag for my luggage, bright yellow too so I can finally distinguish my own luggage at the carousel. From personal experience, hockey bags are the BEST usage for traveling. Not only does it weigh less than 5 pounds on its own (rather than 20)...you have the option of purchasing ones with wheels! Although I choose the first option just to make myself look macho as I carry my 50 pound luggage (with clothes and things in it of course) away from the airport. Anyways, that's besides the point. Hockey bags= great for traveling.

I also bought a lock for my laptop, FINALLY! After living at Smith for two years, I ask myself "what's the point, no one will steal a little laptop from my room", but after living at UCSC for the summer where my roommate's things were all on lock down, I thought to myself, "if she has such little trust in me, I should probably invest in a lock of some sort against the people of the country whose greatest crime is theft and robbery". So...with thanks to Will, I purchased the heavy- "dutiest" lock-cord combination available at Fry's. Really, my best buys are ALWAYS at Fry's. This little baby of a lock has a 105 decibel alarm system if the cord is cut, or the lock itself is moved even slightly. For those of you who don't know how loud that is, standing next to a motorcycle is 100 decibels. So pretty much my laptop will not get stolen, or the idiot who ends up taking the laptop with the alarm still intact will eventually become deaf. Seriously though, why buy something if you aren't willing to go all out? (I'll give this credit to Will's shopping mentality)

I'm not sure if I am mentally prepared for China...I know I'm definitely not gastronomically prepared...that's a fact. I am not looking forward to the days of overdosing on Pepto Bismal... Never have I thrown up in the entirety of my life. Everyone says that this China trip will be an adventure. I guess the fun doesn't end when I throw up...not really an experience I look forward to. Other than that, I got an e-mail from my mother earlier today saying why I "should not drink from a soda can". The possibility of putting your lips to infected ran urine is highly likely. Um, ew. I guess thanks mom for a) causing me distress for the mere fact that I MUST drink bottled/canned drinks in China, and b) giving me a heads up about Leptospirosis. Look it up.

Well, I must continue packing...see me in a few days, perhaps?