Day Three, the flight
So, on to the airplane.
Actually, I would like to start a little earlier. You see, we had to travel by China Air or Air China or one of those lovely less than stellar airlines. It takes me back to my first flight to Tokyo and how nervous I was on that flight. It was amazing, how clean and nice that flight was. For some reason I supposed that all flights to Asia were like that flight, which by the way was on Continental. No, this is United Airlines, and it's China partner...whichever one that is.
As soon as we walked down the ramp I noticed a certain smell. However, I assumed that it was just the ramp. Then we got on the plane. It was cramped, kind of dirty feeling, and unpleasant. As we were getting seated Rita and her friend Margaret (the cinema teacher) walked by. She introduced Margaret to me and Margaret promptly offered my husband a job. Because of me! How nice. He accepted (and got the position for the last two years, which has been his favorite job ever!!!!) and then turned to ask me who that was! It was all very surreal. We settled in, I was sitting behind Will and the kids. They sat down with their Leap Pads (delightful tool) and relaxed. About 3 hours in they started dozing off. not much suprise as it was 3 AM!!!
The Stewards kept coming by as if they expected our kids to be a problem (and having seen other kids on flights, that is probably exactly what they thought) but the kids were completely well behaved and quite. others in our travel group didn't even realize they were with us.
The food was AWFUL. Before you make jokes, I have had good airline food. I have had great airline food on Continental (I always request the vegetarian and have had some very jealous passangers!)but this flight was so disgusting I was afraid that the children would be starving (and they kind of were, thank goodness I had the forsight to pack snacks in their carry ons!!!)
Anyway, we finally get to Beijing and have a pretty good laugh when we get off the plane and see the Handisapped sign. (they finally took that down this year, but it has been a laugh every time I go through the airport!). We have some difficulties getting through customs in time to get on the plane to our new home city, Zhengzhou. Okay technically we will be going to Xinzheng, but that is considered a satellite of "greater Zhengzhou" as it is only about an HOUR away. We disembark the plane from Zhengzhou feeling about ready to turn around and go back to America if something doesn't happen and lo we are met at the airport by an army of Freshman and various other students who help us gather our bags and help us push them to the waiting bus. They give us arms full of flowers and load us onto the bus. My husband and I looked at each other and agreed to give it a few more days.
They drive us to this big beautiful campus that looks just like an American university (looks can be decieving, boy I tell you) and we unload off the bus and are escorted to our new home. It is twice the size of the one we just left in America. And lovely. We settle the kids into their rooms, we make sure that we have everything we need. They have provided us with 5 coca-cola's and some rice cake things to eat as a treat and a welcome. And we all settle in and go right to sleep.
Trying yet again to maintain a blog of our travels abroad, especially as the children are getting older.
Monday, August 22, 2005
Sunday, August 21, 2005
Hays 2
Day Two of Hays
It was a wonderful way to wake up. Yes I was all alone for the first time in almost 8 years, but I woke up to the sound of my favorite song slowly getting a little louder. I was able to get into a shower, do my morning routine and get dressed in time to wander out to the lobby of the hotel. In the lobby is this crowd of people who look, well kind of like me. Each of them looked completely different and yet we were all of the same type. We all had the willingness to travel abroad, we all had that relaxed attitude of friendly people in a new location. I came in and the first thing that I noticed was the woman I had noticed at the airport was in the lobby too. So I introduced myself to her, and to all the other people there. I was shocked at how easy it was to talk to these complete strangers.
Have I mentioned that I hate public speaking, I dislike crowds and noise, I am mildly agoraphobic (worse now after two years in China... man it really does a number on you!)and I am not good at making friends. Somehow over the course of that first day I made two fast friends, one of whom I know will be a friend for life. The woman from the airport, the same woman from the plane, took me under her wing and answered all of my questions patiently and honestly. I knew what I was stepping into (a steaming pile...) and was ready for most of what happened that first year. Shocked, but prepared.
Rita is and always will be an amazing person.
Anyway, the first thing we did was tour the campus. I saw all of the sites and talked to the other professors. We met the other professors who teach distance classes and we found out all of the interesting things we needed to know. Some of the information, we didn't need to know. Other aspects were nice to learn.
Anyway, It was time to leave Kansas and head off to LA where I would meet my husband and the kids and go on to China.
We arrive at the airport, the entire delegation of teachers who are leaving for China, only to find out that four of us do not have confirmed tickets to Denver. I felt like screaming. I know that my husband will not get on a plane without me, and I had to buy his ticket seperate, non-refundable...etc,etc,etc.
However, one of the teachers who has been bumped suggests a rental car. We have 4 hours to get from Hays Kansas to Denver Colorado. The roads are fairly straight and it should be easy right? So off we go. The four of us pile into the car and drive off to Denver. We spend the whole trip chatting in the car (four hours of women talking to each other could really get annoying, but it didn't) and driving at top speeds to the airport. We get there just before the gate closes, but of course we have to go through security. Have you ever been through security at Denver? It is a joke! They purposefully make things difficult for passengers! I have been to many different airports around the U.S. I have to say that LAX is nasty, Denver is attrocious, and Try not to go through PHX if you can help it. Newark is less hastle, Houston is acceptable, San Antonio is pleasant, Tampa is quite clean and nice. I love SFO. If you get the chance to transfer or fly out of SFO, try it. It's the nicest one I have found. Hays Airport is a complete and utter joke! Don't bother! Rent a car instead, you can make it from Denver in less than four hours. Honest, I speak from experience. We made it in a little over 3. Don't ask, I won't tell you, but the corn was definately waving!
Anyway, they held the plane for us, and we made it in for our connection in LA, thank goodness. I see my husband and the children in the airport and they are all doing very well. A little sunburnt, but good. They had a wonderful time and for a while connected China with going to Disneyland. They don't feel that way anymore, but that's okay... Tokyo has its own Disneyland!
So that is the end of the next days adventures. Okay, technically the trip lasted several days, but day two covers all of the days spent at the orientation, because none of that was really all that important, except to say that I met and liked Rita and this guy named Steven Darian (awesome person!) and to mention that the English Department at Hays is a real department, whereas the virtual college is not so much!
ON to the next day.
It was a wonderful way to wake up. Yes I was all alone for the first time in almost 8 years, but I woke up to the sound of my favorite song slowly getting a little louder. I was able to get into a shower, do my morning routine and get dressed in time to wander out to the lobby of the hotel. In the lobby is this crowd of people who look, well kind of like me. Each of them looked completely different and yet we were all of the same type. We all had the willingness to travel abroad, we all had that relaxed attitude of friendly people in a new location. I came in and the first thing that I noticed was the woman I had noticed at the airport was in the lobby too. So I introduced myself to her, and to all the other people there. I was shocked at how easy it was to talk to these complete strangers.
Have I mentioned that I hate public speaking, I dislike crowds and noise, I am mildly agoraphobic (worse now after two years in China... man it really does a number on you!)and I am not good at making friends. Somehow over the course of that first day I made two fast friends, one of whom I know will be a friend for life. The woman from the airport, the same woman from the plane, took me under her wing and answered all of my questions patiently and honestly. I knew what I was stepping into (a steaming pile...) and was ready for most of what happened that first year. Shocked, but prepared.
Rita is and always will be an amazing person.
Anyway, the first thing we did was tour the campus. I saw all of the sites and talked to the other professors. We met the other professors who teach distance classes and we found out all of the interesting things we needed to know. Some of the information, we didn't need to know. Other aspects were nice to learn.
Anyway, It was time to leave Kansas and head off to LA where I would meet my husband and the kids and go on to China.
We arrive at the airport, the entire delegation of teachers who are leaving for China, only to find out that four of us do not have confirmed tickets to Denver. I felt like screaming. I know that my husband will not get on a plane without me, and I had to buy his ticket seperate, non-refundable...etc,etc,etc.
However, one of the teachers who has been bumped suggests a rental car. We have 4 hours to get from Hays Kansas to Denver Colorado. The roads are fairly straight and it should be easy right? So off we go. The four of us pile into the car and drive off to Denver. We spend the whole trip chatting in the car (four hours of women talking to each other could really get annoying, but it didn't) and driving at top speeds to the airport. We get there just before the gate closes, but of course we have to go through security. Have you ever been through security at Denver? It is a joke! They purposefully make things difficult for passengers! I have been to many different airports around the U.S. I have to say that LAX is nasty, Denver is attrocious, and Try not to go through PHX if you can help it. Newark is less hastle, Houston is acceptable, San Antonio is pleasant, Tampa is quite clean and nice. I love SFO. If you get the chance to transfer or fly out of SFO, try it. It's the nicest one I have found. Hays Airport is a complete and utter joke! Don't bother! Rent a car instead, you can make it from Denver in less than four hours. Honest, I speak from experience. We made it in a little over 3. Don't ask, I won't tell you, but the corn was definately waving!
Anyway, they held the plane for us, and we made it in for our connection in LA, thank goodness. I see my husband and the children in the airport and they are all doing very well. A little sunburnt, but good. They had a wonderful time and for a while connected China with going to Disneyland. They don't feel that way anymore, but that's okay... Tokyo has its own Disneyland!
So that is the end of the next days adventures. Okay, technically the trip lasted several days, but day two covers all of the days spent at the orientation, because none of that was really all that important, except to say that I met and liked Rita and this guy named Steven Darian (awesome person!) and to mention that the English Department at Hays is a real department, whereas the virtual college is not so much!
ON to the next day.
Saturday, August 20, 2005
Hays 1
The First Step
When I first arrived in China I was exhausted. Have you ever really though about what those plane trips are like. Me, I hate flying. Despise it. Have to take medication to keep from heaving the whole way. My medication is expensive and by prescription only! So I had to rush around and pack up my family in an amazingly short amount of time. I had to wait until the semester was over and put all of my stuff in storage because we were going to China, the 5 of us, on ten suitcases. That meant clothes had to be sorted, toys had to be chosen, books had to be packed (hey, I'm not stupid!) and I had less than 3 weeks to do it in. But I did it. No, not alone. I had lots of help. The funny part is I always have help available to me, I just don't always use it. So we had two big burly men to move around our stuff and haul it all out to the storage place and come back to get more. I mopped and scrubbed and cleaned until I couldn't do any more and then I had someone else do it. (some things never change)
Then I left. I flew off to Kansas for an orientation so that I would be prepared for my trip to China. Leaving behind my husband to take a road trip to Disneyland with our three kids and one of the burly men, his friend Eric.
If you want to know about their adventures at Disneyland, yes they had them, you will have to ask them. I wasn't there and can only say I am sorry that I set him up for failure by telling the kids they needed to see the princesses and the Cinderella castle. How was I suppose to know it would be under renovation? I only knew that it was where I went both times and I had pictures of me and my mom in front.
Anyway, on to Kansas.
I arrive at the Denver airport from Phoenix and I am a little nervous because it is the first time I have been away from my husband and children for any length of time alone. I had gone other places, but always accompanied by friends or family members. It was weird to be alone.
I tried to stay cool. I strolled up to the counter after disembarking the plane, only to find that I had been counted as on the flight to Kansas and would have to wait for the next connection.
I have to admit I was annoyed. How could they count me as on the plane when I was standing right there. Worse, the flight left 20 minutes early. I was on time for my flight and still missed the connection! So I waited in this long waiting room hallway in the Denver airport and played a game of Set with myself. I have to practice so that one day I will beat Amy at it. There I saw an interesting person. She attracted my notice because she looked only slightly older than me (she was) and definitely a together kind of person (she is). She was reading a book while I was playing cards. I noticed the circular tattoo on her arm and her really long hair first. But I didn't strike up a conversation. I was still too nervous about this whole orientation thing, not to mention my first big trip alone.
After a 6 hour wait or so we all climb aboard this little piddly puddle jumper type airplane that sits 20 at the most and bucks if someone sneezes (it has to be the 100 mile hour wind coming out of my nose...honest).
Anyway, I didn't get sick. I couldn't play Set on the plane, there are too many cards. But I was able to read a little from the magazine in the back of the seat. I noticed the other lady was sitting across from me, but still I didn't feel up to talking.
We landed in Hays Kansas, this backwater puddle in Kansas, at about 9pm. I was tired. I had left at 8AM for this incredibly long trip. The layover in Denver was ridiculous. I climb aboard this shuttle to the hotel and check in at the desk, go to my room at the very back of the hotel and settle in. I set my bags on the table and bed and get out a few things for wearing tomorrow and pop a CD in the CD Alarm clock radio. I figured that waking up to Sarah M. would be pleasant on my first night totally alone.
The end of day one.
When I first arrived in China I was exhausted. Have you ever really though about what those plane trips are like. Me, I hate flying. Despise it. Have to take medication to keep from heaving the whole way. My medication is expensive and by prescription only! So I had to rush around and pack up my family in an amazingly short amount of time. I had to wait until the semester was over and put all of my stuff in storage because we were going to China, the 5 of us, on ten suitcases. That meant clothes had to be sorted, toys had to be chosen, books had to be packed (hey, I'm not stupid!) and I had less than 3 weeks to do it in. But I did it. No, not alone. I had lots of help. The funny part is I always have help available to me, I just don't always use it. So we had two big burly men to move around our stuff and haul it all out to the storage place and come back to get more. I mopped and scrubbed and cleaned until I couldn't do any more and then I had someone else do it. (some things never change)
Then I left. I flew off to Kansas for an orientation so that I would be prepared for my trip to China. Leaving behind my husband to take a road trip to Disneyland with our three kids and one of the burly men, his friend Eric.
If you want to know about their adventures at Disneyland, yes they had them, you will have to ask them. I wasn't there and can only say I am sorry that I set him up for failure by telling the kids they needed to see the princesses and the Cinderella castle. How was I suppose to know it would be under renovation? I only knew that it was where I went both times and I had pictures of me and my mom in front.
Anyway, on to Kansas.
I arrive at the Denver airport from Phoenix and I am a little nervous because it is the first time I have been away from my husband and children for any length of time alone. I had gone other places, but always accompanied by friends or family members. It was weird to be alone.
I tried to stay cool. I strolled up to the counter after disembarking the plane, only to find that I had been counted as on the flight to Kansas and would have to wait for the next connection.
I have to admit I was annoyed. How could they count me as on the plane when I was standing right there. Worse, the flight left 20 minutes early. I was on time for my flight and still missed the connection! So I waited in this long waiting room hallway in the Denver airport and played a game of Set with myself. I have to practice so that one day I will beat Amy at it. There I saw an interesting person. She attracted my notice because she looked only slightly older than me (she was) and definitely a together kind of person (she is). She was reading a book while I was playing cards. I noticed the circular tattoo on her arm and her really long hair first. But I didn't strike up a conversation. I was still too nervous about this whole orientation thing, not to mention my first big trip alone.
After a 6 hour wait or so we all climb aboard this little piddly puddle jumper type airplane that sits 20 at the most and bucks if someone sneezes (it has to be the 100 mile hour wind coming out of my nose...honest).
Anyway, I didn't get sick. I couldn't play Set on the plane, there are too many cards. But I was able to read a little from the magazine in the back of the seat. I noticed the other lady was sitting across from me, but still I didn't feel up to talking.
We landed in Hays Kansas, this backwater puddle in Kansas, at about 9pm. I was tired. I had left at 8AM for this incredibly long trip. The layover in Denver was ridiculous. I climb aboard this shuttle to the hotel and check in at the desk, go to my room at the very back of the hotel and settle in. I set my bags on the table and bed and get out a few things for wearing tomorrow and pop a CD in the CD Alarm clock radio. I figured that waking up to Sarah M. would be pleasant on my first night totally alone.
The end of day one.