IN CHINA!

That’s right, I’m finally posting on my blog from China!! I have a new respect for those who blog consistently. One day in a culture and a place different from home is full of so many stories and excitement- you could type forever… but I’d rather not! In an effort to catch you up, here are some stories from my week in Beijing. No Pics yet- sorry, internet is pretty shotty where I am!

Landing in Beijing:

After leaving my parent at SeaTac International airport (mother with tears streaming down her face), I went through security with my Aunt Gayle. Everything one State’s side was as normal. I boarded my plane and parted with Aunt Gayle until we would meet in Beijing.

My direct flight to Beijing was long, but uneventful. I struggled to sleep since I had little the night before, but I got hardly any. I watched “A Bee Movie” (Not bad… not great though) and a weird Chinese Kungfu movies- just to get me in the mood.

I landed in Beijing late- 5 pm? My first stop after the exiting the plane was the restrooms, where I meet two Americans, Jon and Mark, from St. Louis. We decided we would all bus to downtown then grab a cab so it would be cheaper. Unfortunately, they had to take a different bus, so our meeting was very short.

As I boarded the bus with my backpack, laptop bag, guitar and two giant suitcases- feeling excited at the challenge ahead- it began to pour outside. I watched wide-eyed as we drove into Beijing, passing poster after poster with the words “Beijing 2008” and “One World, One Dream” on either sides of the roads.

Clouded with excitement, I couldn’t quite remember which stop to get off at. I tried to communicate in broken Chinese which stop I needed by showing the bus driver, but as the stop I should have gotten off on approached, the driver merely repeated the name twice then, seeing that I did not stand up or move to the front, continued by the stop very quickly. Thinking the next stop would be soon, I prepared to depart at the next stop.

About 10 minutes later, I was driving by Tienanmen Square and the gate to the Forbidden City. As exciting as it was to see a giant picture of Chairman Mao’s head, I couldn’t help but be nervous about my lengthy detour. I departed the bus with my five pieces of luggage in the pouring rain, looking like the biggest foreigner of Beijing, and began to aimlessly wander.

Thankfully, a very kind Chinese man a little older than me asked if I needed help. I was glad to accept and in his broken English and my broken Chinese, we managed to hail me a cab.
My cousin Monica and her husband Andrew had already landed at about 5 pm in Beijing.

The cab was able to get me to a hospital that was supposed to be near the hotel. Once dropped off, more aimless wandering! This time, I only made it several steps before a young Chinese girl and an old married couple approached me, also asking if I would like help. After navigating about a block and a half of the hutong that I would be living in for the next week, my posse of locals and myself arrived at the hotel!!

I was surprised and relieved to hear incredibly well spoken English from the girls at the front desk and about 10 minutes after checking in I heard two more English speaking folks- MONICA AND ANDREW!!! (my cousin and her husband) After briefly catching up, it was back to the streets to find my first Chinese meal. We found a place close by, still open (it was about 11:00 at this point). After a lot of pointing at picture and some limited Chinese, I had a giant covered pan in front of me filled with beef and vegetables cooking on the hotpad built into our table (don’t forget the pijius- ganbei!).

Later that night, we found the Mahjong table (not us in video- more on Mahjong later...). The last of the group arrived to the hotel and Beijing Trip 2008 was officially underway!

Pre-China Post II: Test Run

Welcome to my blog!

If you haven't already, please e-mail bradleyinchina@gmail.com to receive e-mails informing you of updates to this blog! Thanks, Brad

In an effort to make my posts more exciting and interesting, I wanted to do some more practice with this whole "blog" business. I'm going to try some color, pictures and formatting to really spice it up! Here's a quick update:

It's August 4th, 5 days until departure to China and I still...

...haven't started packing
How do you pack for a year... seriously.

...don't have my visa
In my incredible wisdom, I managed to put the wrong zip code on my resume that I sent to the school in China where I will be teaching. Due to this, my Visa paperwork is on the "scenic" route to my home.

...have a hundred people I want to see
I'm trying my best to see all my friends, family and loved ones before departure but I know I'll miss some of you :( Please forgive me if that happens to be you!

Below is a picture of Suzie: For those of you hoping to hear some delightfully disturbing story about me eating some of man's best friend, I must inform you that I made a promise to Suzie that I would not be consuming any of her Chinese cousins during my visit.


I hope my next blog will becoming from 中国 (China) or more specifically, 北京 (Beijing)!