First Day To China

Kate Rentschler

Heather Annis

Our day of traveling began by everyone meeting at the Lindberg Terminal at 12:30p.m., of course Aaron was last to show up. Some parents seemed emotional while others were ready to send their kid off. We burned time by walking about the airport, playing cards, and getting to know each other. The flight to Chicago went by in the blink of eye compared to the flight to Beijing. The plane we took to Beijing was massive. We were served two full meals with a sandwich snack in between. During the 14 hour flight we, were able to watch movies, t.v. shows, listen to music, and play video games. Sleep was limited for those of us in the back of the plane because a screaming and crying 2 year old. Some of us were lucky enough to sit next to friendly experts on chop sticks. When we first arrived in the airport, most of us were amazed by the overall design of the airport-high ceilings, lots of lights, glass walls, and state of the art architecture. We also noticed the abundance of people smoking inside buildings and out. Checking through customs was pretty simple, and we continued our journey to baggage claim. We were all lucky enough to have our luggage sent to the correct country, although this process raised a few scares. We met our awesome tour guides-Aaron and Jason (they have Chinese names as well, but have no idea how to pronounce or type them). We loaded our charter bus and made our way to the Super House International Hotel in Beijing. We arrived around midnight (China time, 10 a.m. Minnesotan time) so the bus ride was dark and we were unable to see the city. The drive seemed similar to downtown Minneapolis, so it was hard to believe we were half way across the world, except for the Chinese symbols that plastered their buildings and road signs. Our hotel rooms are similar to what you would find in the United States. The only noticeable difference is the high temperature rooms are kept at because the government controls heating. The outlets and language spoken on television is also an obvious difference. Everyone was jet lagged and ready to spread out on a bed for some good sleep. Overall, traveling was a good bonding experience for everyone on the trip, but needless to say, we never want to sit on a plane for 14 hours ever again!