I got an early start to the day (joke) and woke up at 3pm. It's going to take me a bit to adjust to the Eastern Time Zone. Today's 'must-do' was to renew my drivers license that expired in March. My mom and I (yes she had to drive me) headed out around 4pm, and everything was smooth sailing till I realized that the wrong zip code was on my records which led to redoing the license all over again. Go me.
"Is anything else wrong on your information?" the woman asked.
"Well...the weight is wrong too. 150 was back in my prime." LOL We both had a good laugh over that.
When I returned home from the DMV I checked my e-mail and was 'shot to the heart' when I found out the intership I was banking on had already been filled. Ouch. I should have had a more solid "plan B". Anyone have any ideas on what I should do this summer? Better yet, what I should do with the rest of my life???
Around 6pm I couldn't fight it anymore, I had to catch the 'zzz's. I'm driving my poor mom crazy because she's trying to get me to adjust to the USA sleep schedule.
"Becky, you really just need to stay awake and go to bed at a normal time."
"Mom, my resistance ain't that strong."
Next thing you knew I was out for a good two hours.
On the up-side of things my cold is getting way better. Which is comforting to my brothers who were worried when I told them I got sick in mainland China. Red flag: bird flu. (btw- if it really is bird flu I'll feel horrible for those jokes for the rest of my life) I assured them, people get common colds in Asia too. lol
After my nap, I went walking with my dad and a good friend Sarah, at the high school track. Today's simple joy: People who listen.
Tomorrow I'm having lunch with a highschool classmate and fellow Mountaineer so (dang it) I'll have to set an alarm. lol Also, SARAH COMES HOME tomorrow night. Woot-woot.
ps- Culture shock: seeing an abundance of clothes. lol I didn't know what to do with myself when I saw all of my sisters clothes in our room. I've been living off the same 3 outfits for 5 months.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Coming back to the USA
It's nearly 4am and I'm not a bit tired. Gotta love time differences. I need to take my moms advice and "go to bed on the locals time clock" but I want to blog a bit about returning to the USA and culture shocks.
My flight left HK at 8:15am which meant that I had to catch the 5:30am bus at Fu Tai. Since I didn't get back from Beijing till 10ish the night before I had to pull an all-nighter to pack up the room. I HATE packing! At 5am Dan and Carolyn met at Hostel D's entrance to help take my bags down. Again- I've made some really great friends here at Lingnan. I slept the entire bus ride and had to be woken up by the driver. My brain was everywhere but the airport. For example, as soon as I walked into the airport I regrouped my bags and upon walking up the the NWA ticket counter I realized I left my travel bag that held my passport, camera, and credit card on the chair where I was reorganizing. LOL Praise God no one stole that thing or else I'd still be in China (wait a second...maybe that wouldn't be such a bad idea after all.)
Once I snag my bag on the chair and walk up the NWA conter again I'm hit with the reality that I didn't even bring my online ticket confirmation number. Wow. I played it cool and just handed my passport and prayed that they'd let me through.
Luck was on my side because they let me get on AND didn't say a word about my oh-so-stuffed-to-the-max suitcases. Score.
I thought I was winning the days battles but I'm afraid the flight defeated me. I caught a cold in Beijing (grr) so a stuffy head, swollen eyes, and cough, made the people sitting beside me want to secretly ask the stewardess for a seat change. Call the whaaa bulance but the flight was just was really, really, long.
But seeing my mom at the main gates made it all worth it. Ahhhh family. I love how some things never change...like the fact my mom got lost on the way home from the airport. LOL It's the small things.
For my first dinner back in the USA I got a DQ blizzard. nice.
The best part of it all was that I didn't have to pay.
Maybe the 'summer at home' thing won't be that bad :)
I'm excited for the QT with the fam'
My flight left HK at 8:15am which meant that I had to catch the 5:30am bus at Fu Tai. Since I didn't get back from Beijing till 10ish the night before I had to pull an all-nighter to pack up the room. I HATE packing! At 5am Dan and Carolyn met at Hostel D's entrance to help take my bags down. Again- I've made some really great friends here at Lingnan. I slept the entire bus ride and had to be woken up by the driver. My brain was everywhere but the airport. For example, as soon as I walked into the airport I regrouped my bags and upon walking up the the NWA ticket counter I realized I left my travel bag that held my passport, camera, and credit card on the chair where I was reorganizing. LOL Praise God no one stole that thing or else I'd still be in China (wait a second...maybe that wouldn't be such a bad idea after all.)
Once I snag my bag on the chair and walk up the NWA conter again I'm hit with the reality that I didn't even bring my online ticket confirmation number. Wow. I played it cool and just handed my passport and prayed that they'd let me through.
Luck was on my side because they let me get on AND didn't say a word about my oh-so-stuffed-to-the-max suitcases. Score.
I thought I was winning the days battles but I'm afraid the flight defeated me. I caught a cold in Beijing (grr) so a stuffy head, swollen eyes, and cough, made the people sitting beside me want to secretly ask the stewardess for a seat change. Call the whaaa bulance but the flight was just was really, really, long.
But seeing my mom at the main gates made it all worth it. Ahhhh family. I love how some things never change...like the fact my mom got lost on the way home from the airport. LOL It's the small things.
For my first dinner back in the USA I got a DQ blizzard. nice.
The best part of it all was that I didn't have to pay.Maybe the 'summer at home' thing won't be that bad :)
I'm excited for the QT with the fam'
The Great Wall
THE Great Wall of China. I was there. What a great way to top the study abroad experience. I feel like I've done it all now.
In the pictures do you see the green pants?! Well it was a double-dare from my older sister. She sent me a box with the pants and a note saying that I have to wear the pants and take pictures. lol So why not go above-and-beyond and wear them on The Great Wall?! I hope I'm never to old to complete double-dog-dares.
Alex, Heidi, Elizabeth and I (all Lingnan students) went out to dinner at this REALLY good restaurant that Heidi's parents suggested we go to. They also paid for the feast=double great. The food consisted of lamb kabab, lemon chicken, fresh fruit and vegetables, seafood, and bread. Then they brought all sorts of performs from kungfu demonstrations to hip-hop dance. The night ended with a dance party. Elizabeth summed it up perfectly, "You know in movies sometimess everyone breaks into a musical or dance at the same time?! I can't believe that actually happens in real life too."
Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square
Once we found our hostel (it was a relief after walking around an hour+ with our bags) we showered and met up with my friend Jessica Li's cousin for Beijing's finest, PeKing duck. Wow. It was SO good!
The following day I cruised around the city and toured the Forbidden City (which btw goes on and on and on...)
and Tiananmen Square. AHH words can't describe how it felt to 'walk the walk' where the 1989 protestors stood. Chills just thinking about it! As much as I hate admitting this, I couldn't stop thinking, "I can't wait to show these pictures and tell these stories to my class." DANG IT! I try so hard to dodge being a teacher (change major, refuse to buy teachery clothes,...) but sometimes I just can't help it!
The following day I cruised around the city and toured the Forbidden City (which btw goes on and on and on...)
and Tiananmen Square. AHH words can't describe how it felt to 'walk the walk' where the 1989 protestors stood. Chills just thinking about it! As much as I hate admitting this, I couldn't stop thinking, "I can't wait to show these pictures and tell these stories to my class." DANG IT! I try so hard to dodge being a teacher (change major, refuse to buy teachery clothes,...) but sometimes I just can't help it!
Monday, May 21, 2007
Beijing...oh Beijing.
Going into China's capital I had the preconceived notion that, "Oh Beijing will be soooo much like Hong Kong because *flick hair* like they're like both big cities in China." Umm no.
Sometimes I wonder about myself. DUH BECKY being under British rule for 90+ years changes a LOT of things. For starters, they drive on the right side of the road, have religious freedom, and the food is much spicier (yes!).
But I also noticed other little things that were much different then Hong Kong like seeing trash on the ground or (gasp!) homeless people sleeping in the subway station. What is this?! Can it be, a normal mega-metropolitan city?! (Ok you won't get these notions till you've lived in Utopia (aka Hong Kong) where you find no trash on the ground and it's a rare site to see homeless people anywhere.
Arrival:
My flight landed in Beijing about 3pm and after getting my very last travel passport stamp for this semesters study abroad experience (sad face), checked out my bags, and headed for the doors, I suddenly heard out of no where, "Becky!" God?! "Becky!" I look around and then see Alex and Heidi waiting for me. LOL Their flight arrived at 10ish and the 'took one for the team' and waited on me so I wouldn't get lost. Thank goodness they did because Heidi, a Mandarin speaker, was able to get us around the city with ease. We caught bus #2 and had a map of our hostel that was "Just a six minute walk from The Tien. Square". Riiiight The 6 minutes turned into an hour hunt.
First night:
Ok there are some things you just shouldn't do traveling on your own. One of them is staying in a dorm room in a hostel by yourself. Usually it's a safe and fun bet to save money. As Michelle Carrier says, "The shadier the hostel the better the stories."
Anyways, so I think I'm staying in a 8 person dorm room with bunk beds. I was shocked to walk into a room with three beds and two of them taken up by men (28+ year olds). It gets better. "So how did you two meet?" "The internet." "Well what brought you to Asia?" "The beautiful girls."
ugh. WHY??? I thought I saw the last of you creepy Western men.
Dear Asia,
I promise we do have solid men somewhere.
But mom don't worry because if I really didn't feel safe I would have spent the extra $4 bucks to get a double room by myself.
Other random things: I wish I spoke the language. It's much harder to get around and (obviously) communicate with locals. Also, people weren't kidding about the spitting problem. yuck. Construction is everywhere and they're pumped for the Olympics.
Sometimes I wonder about myself. DUH BECKY being under British rule for 90+ years changes a LOT of things. For starters, they drive on the right side of the road, have religious freedom, and the food is much spicier (yes!).
But I also noticed other little things that were much different then Hong Kong like seeing trash on the ground or (gasp!) homeless people sleeping in the subway station. What is this?! Can it be, a normal mega-metropolitan city?! (Ok you won't get these notions till you've lived in Utopia (aka Hong Kong) where you find no trash on the ground and it's a rare site to see homeless people anywhere.
Arrival:
My flight landed in Beijing about 3pm and after getting my very last travel passport stamp for this semesters study abroad experience (sad face), checked out my bags, and headed for the doors, I suddenly heard out of no where, "Becky!" God?! "Becky!" I look around and then see Alex and Heidi waiting for me. LOL Their flight arrived at 10ish and the 'took one for the team' and waited on me so I wouldn't get lost. Thank goodness they did because Heidi, a Mandarin speaker, was able to get us around the city with ease. We caught bus #2 and had a map of our hostel that was "Just a six minute walk from The Tien. Square". Riiiight The 6 minutes turned into an hour hunt.
First night:
Ok there are some things you just shouldn't do traveling on your own. One of them is staying in a dorm room in a hostel by yourself. Usually it's a safe and fun bet to save money. As Michelle Carrier says, "The shadier the hostel the better the stories."
Anyways, so I think I'm staying in a 8 person dorm room with bunk beds. I was shocked to walk into a room with three beds and two of them taken up by men (28+ year olds). It gets better. "So how did you two meet?" "The internet." "Well what brought you to Asia?" "The beautiful girls."
ugh. WHY??? I thought I saw the last of you creepy Western men.
Dear Asia,
I promise we do have solid men somewhere.
But mom don't worry because if I really didn't feel safe I would have spent the extra $4 bucks to get a double room by myself.
Other random things: I wish I spoke the language. It's much harder to get around and (obviously) communicate with locals. Also, people weren't kidding about the spitting problem. yuck. Construction is everywhere and they're pumped for the Olympics.
Minute update
Ugh I hate when I slack on blogging. Where do I begin on updating you on the last 2 weeks?!
Here is the 4-1-1 in a second: I finished my exams. I headed to Beijing. I packed up my room and headed on a jet plane. I'm back in the USA.
Here is the 4-1-1 in a second: I finished my exams. I headed to Beijing. I packed up my room and headed on a jet plane. I'm back in the USA.
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