Beijing Tour Day 1

Wentao, Program Director for Chengdu

Aug. 24-25, 2014

    I have done much flying in my lifetime but this flight was super easy. I managed to sleep through about half of it, so even though it was my longest flight (14 hours to Hong Kong, 2 hour layover, and 3 hour to Beijing) I didn’t feel particularly weary. Arriving in Beijing was amusing, I got to be momma duck for some of the first time travelers, they did lots of following. Not that I really had a clue about what was going one, but I was more confident and made quick decisions. Customs was fairly painless, trying to move lots of students quickly can be difficult. We then hopped a subway line to baggage claim. Everyone managed to get their luggage which was exciting. We then walked out and met up with the WenTao, our program director. She loaded us exhausted, smelly, and overburdened onto a bus. Our hotel is a block away from Tiananmen Square, we can see Chairman Mao’s mausoleum from our hotel. I am roomed with Cassidy of Portland, Oregon, who I met in San Francisco. We settled into the hotel taking much needed showers and enjoying our resting time. Cassidy and I nerded over the amount of history that we can see outside out window.
    We wandered around outside with the Las Vegas USAC man, Sean. The city is different and the same in comparison to Taiwan. It definitely has that smell about it, and people were moving on their mopeds. I feel at home here already. We met up in the lobby and walked to the restaurant. We are group of 40 foreigners, so people were watching with mild awe. Dinner was fantastic I got to use some Chinese and I met someone who also studied in Taipei. We were swapping war stories which was awesome. Now I am exhausted and ready for bed.