I'm Alive!

Greetings from China!

Just a quick post to confirm that I am indeed alive and well. We arrived in Beijing yesterday afternoon then took the four hour bus-ride to our city. Slower than the train, but WAY more convenient when you have many pieces of luggage. And I had many pieces of luggage.

The plane rides went smoothly, which was a relief. Our short hop from D.C. to Chicago was bumped to an earlier flight time when we arrived at the D.C. airport because Chicago was experiencing delays. Apparently they were experiencing bad thunderstorms and all flights were being held up until Chicago gave the go-ahead. It all worked out, though, and we still had enough time to grab a snack and connect to our Beijing flight at O'Hare.

While we were in line for our Beijing flight, we met a young lady (college age) who was heading off to China to study at an intense Chinese language program in Beijing. She said she had studied Chinese in high school and college, but this was her first time traveling to China on her own. It was a bit surreal, as I have done the exact same thing a few times now. It is a bit daunting, yet exciting, to travel overseas on your own. In fact, it felt very strange to be traveling to China with three companions. I had to keep reminding myself to slow down and wait for the others instead of going into full-on independent "walk with a purpose and get to your destination as quickly as possible" mode.

I was lucky to get an aisle seat on the flight. If window seats are unavailable, aisle seats are my second choice. Now in my experience, there seem to be about three different types of passengers when you sit next to each other.  1) There are the people who pretend you don't exist and won't look at you or say anything to you at all the entire trip. I don't mind these people, as I'm not overly comfortable with making conversation either. 2) There are those who might say hello when you sit down and make some small talk during the trip, but are mostly silent. This is my category. 3) Then there are the people who are very talkative and are very interested in making conversation.

Once I found my seat, I noticed an older American couple would be my row-buddies. As soon as I sat down and got settled, the older woman next to me turned and said very matter-of-factly, "Hello, we are the Flatt's. F-L-A-T-T. We are going to China on our honeymoon. What takes you to China?" (or something along those lines). Very much a type-3 kind of passenger. They were lovely people and we talked back and forth for a while. I think they were probably in their 70s, and I have no idea if they were newlyweds or on a second honeymoon. Her husband barely spoke the entire trip, but she more than made up for him. She was very nice and encouraging though, especially when I told her I was going to teach for a year. I got her quick life story in response. In her strong southern drawl she told me she had been a Home Economics teacher then had went on to get her PhD eventually. Her husband was a professor of nutrition in Georgia. As someone who rarely gets a talkative row-buddy, this was definitely a memorable experience.

Everything went perfectly after we landed. Customs didn't take long and we found our bags fairly quickly. At 3:55pm, we got to the bus-ticket counter and just made it for the 4:00 bus to our city. Since I barely slept on the plane, I was asleep for the majority of the 4-hour bus ride. We arrived at around 8pm, and were immediately picked up by our school liaison in a van to take us to our apartments right on the edge of campus. And then I ended up getting the first floor apartment unit. All in all, the most convenient and hassle-free way to lug my many pieces of luggage from point A to point B. I only now realize that from arriving at the D.C. airport to moving into my apartment I never had to drag my luggage up or down stairs.

That might be the most miraculous part of the whole journey.

Bon Voyage!

In just a few hours we will be on our way to the airport for the long flight to China. The past couple of weeks have definitely been a whirlwind of travel and activity. The days leading up to team orientation were spent traveling with family and spending time with a friend. Throughout these weeks, I've had so many opportunities to visit new places I'd never seen before!


On our drive out to Maryland, we happened upon the Flight 93 National Memorial in Pennsylvania, where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed in a field on Sept. 11, 2001. It was sobering to read the details of what occurred and to remember the events of that infamous day.

Looking down the memorial wall that marks the flight path of the plane just before it crashed.

Later that day, we had the chance to go to Hersheypark. The roller coasters were a lot of fun, the food was overpriced, and the last coaster my siblings and I rode (which was also the craziest) broke down just before the end, leaving us stranded for about ten minutes. All in all, it was a memorable day.

The majority of the next day was spent at Gettysburg, PA. Not knowing what to expect, I was impressed by the size of the historic area. Hundreds of monuments dotted the large field and surrounding forests. The tour guide's explanation of important figures, battle locations, and historical background really brought the area to life.

View from the Confederate side.

Pickett's Charge: View from the Union side facing the Robert E. Lee Monument.

The 16th Michigan Infantry Monument on Little Round Top.

After my family dropped me off in Maryland, I got to spend a few days at my friend's house. We hiked a bit at the very picturesque Great Falls Park on the Potomac River.

Great Falls, Potomac River

And we spent part of a day in Washington, D.C. I had never been to D.C. before so I was very excited. We visited the Smithsonian's National Air & Space Museum.

Smithsonian's National Air & Space Museum

Amelia Earhart

Then walked around the city for a while. Due to poor weather, we didn't get a chance to visit some of the monuments, but I did get to see some government buildings. I think the Congress building was the most impressive. It was very surreal to see it in person, and much bigger than I expected. The White House on the other hand was oddly a bit underwhelming and a lot smaller than I thought.

U.S. Capitol Building

Library of Congress

National Archives

Pennsylvania Ave.

The White House

And then began our team's orientation and training for teaching in China. Many questions were answered and many of my fears were quieted. I greatly enjoyed getting to know my teammates with whom I will be spending the next year of my life. This endeavor seems daunting at times, but I am so grateful to have a support group who has already been a wonderful encouragement.

As a team, we spent our "fun day" at Mount Vernon, home of George Washington. It was another amazing experience! The grounds are beautiful and it was another great addition to my history-filled mini-vacation.

Mount Vernon-West View

Mount Vernon-Main House

Mount Vernon-East View (from the Potomac River)

Fort Washington

 And....I got to pet a horse. :)

Troy, the Morgan Horse

Farewell from the States!