Here is a link to a flickr account that one of my teammates, Sarah, started. We will be adding pictures fairly often and would love it if you checked it out.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sarah-in-china/
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Business of Beijing
We have now been in Beijing for three very busy days. After our 30ish traveling hours, we finally arrived in Beijing. It was a loooong day of traveling—arrive at the airport in Grand Rapids at 4:40 am, sit around the airport for 2 hours, half hour flight from Grand Rapids to Chicago, sit around Chicago for 4 hours, fly from Chicago to Tokyo which was a 12 hour flight (I’m not a big fan of being on a plane that long), sit in the airport in Tokyo for 4 hours, a 4 hour flight to Beijing, close to an hour to go through quarantine tests, customs, and baggage claim, and an hour taxi ride to our hotel. It was a long day and we were all excited to go to bed shortly after arriving at the hotel. It was close to midnight on June 10 before we got to go to bed. (we left June 9).
The next day, we had breakfast at our hotel which was quite an interesting experience—we had watermelon, bread, fried rice with egg, steamed buns with seaweed inside, hot orange-aid, and very weak coffee. It was nothing like we are used to. After breakfast we started our Chinese language training. We started class at 10, which lasted for 2 hours. Our teacher is really nice and does a good job to make sure that we are pronouncing words correctly and making sure that we use the correct intonation. After class we went out for lunch. We went to a street vendor where we ate noodles and dumplings. I would have to say this is probably my favorite place to eat so far. After lunch we went back to our hotel to rest and take a nap (naps are very popular here—and I like it). After our naps we went out for dinner and got a lot of dishes to eat—they eat family-style in restaurants. (aka order different dishes, which sit in the center of the table and everyone picks out what they want). After dinner we went to our hosts’ apartment and enjoyed some fruit and random conversation.
The next day (Friday) was much the same at Thursday. The only difference was instead of taking the typical rest in the afternoon, we went to the silk market. It was very overwhelming—every person yelling at you trying to get you to buy something. It became very hard trying to ignore everyone to just walk through and look around.
Today, Saturday, we went to a middle school gym to play sports (badminton, jump rope, and volleyball with a balloon and only hitting it with your head, shoulders and chest) with some friends of our hosts. It was a lot of fun, but it was really, really hot—over a hundred degrees without any air movement. After sports, we went out for lunch and caught up with Bettina’s sister who has been living here for the past two years. With her, we went to the Beijing Zoo, Starbucks, and Papa Johns for dinner. It was nice to have some food that we recognized and was familiar. And now I sit here writing to tell you about my first few days.
A highlight—we found an English television station. The only downside is that they like to play the same news stories over and over again—we get to see the same news stories at least twice a day (depending on how often we are in the hotel).
That’s all for now. I hope you are all doing well and I’d love to hear from me. Email me at erika.colyn@gmail.com.
The next day, we had breakfast at our hotel which was quite an interesting experience—we had watermelon, bread, fried rice with egg, steamed buns with seaweed inside, hot orange-aid, and very weak coffee. It was nothing like we are used to. After breakfast we started our Chinese language training. We started class at 10, which lasted for 2 hours. Our teacher is really nice and does a good job to make sure that we are pronouncing words correctly and making sure that we use the correct intonation. After class we went out for lunch. We went to a street vendor where we ate noodles and dumplings. I would have to say this is probably my favorite place to eat so far. After lunch we went back to our hotel to rest and take a nap (naps are very popular here—and I like it). After our naps we went out for dinner and got a lot of dishes to eat—they eat family-style in restaurants. (aka order different dishes, which sit in the center of the table and everyone picks out what they want). After dinner we went to our hosts’ apartment and enjoyed some fruit and random conversation.
The next day (Friday) was much the same at Thursday. The only difference was instead of taking the typical rest in the afternoon, we went to the silk market. It was very overwhelming—every person yelling at you trying to get you to buy something. It became very hard trying to ignore everyone to just walk through and look around.
Today, Saturday, we went to a middle school gym to play sports (badminton, jump rope, and volleyball with a balloon and only hitting it with your head, shoulders and chest) with some friends of our hosts. It was a lot of fun, but it was really, really hot—over a hundred degrees without any air movement. After sports, we went out for lunch and caught up with Bettina’s sister who has been living here for the past two years. With her, we went to the Beijing Zoo, Starbucks, and Papa Johns for dinner. It was nice to have some food that we recognized and was familiar. And now I sit here writing to tell you about my first few days.
A highlight—we found an English television station. The only downside is that they like to play the same news stories over and over again—we get to see the same news stories at least twice a day (depending on how often we are in the hotel).
That’s all for now. I hope you are all doing well and I’d love to hear from me. Email me at erika.colyn@gmail.com.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Leaving in 30 hours...
This past week has been a busy one. We went to Grand Rapids for orientation. There were 13 young adults going to 4 different countries--3 to China, 2 to Guinea, 3 to Guatemala, and 5 to the Philippines. We had our days packed full of sessions about our countries, safety for traveling, and much, much more. In the evenings we hung out and got to know each other. The Philippines and Guatemala groups are heading out tomorrow morning and the China and Guinea groups are leaving Tuesday.
Due to H1N1, China is quarantining some people that are coming into China for 7 days. This means that we may be quarantined for our first week. We are hoping this does not happen, but there is no way of telling.
It is hard to believe that we are leaving in only 30 hours. Sarah, Bettina, and I are meeting at the GR airport at 4:40 am Tuesday. Our flight takes off at 6:40 and we fly to Chicago. From Chicago we will be flying to Tokyo, and from Tokyo to Beijing. It is going to take over 30 hours to get there, but I'm excited for the oppertunity we have to go to China this summer!
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Getting Ready
Over the last few weeks, I've been getting ready for my trip to China. I've been shopping, reading up on China, and, most recently, packing. As my departure draws near, I am getting more and more excited. I can't wait to see what's going to happen this summer!
On Tuesday June 2, I'm heading to Grand Rapids for Orientation. Here we will learn more about what we're going to be doing this summer. On Tuesday I will also be meeting Sarah Jo and Bettina. We've been talking via email the last few weeks, and I'm excited to finally meet these ladies. It sounds like we're going to have a busy week, but I'm looking forward to it.
A lot of people have been asking me if I'm nervous or excited about my trip to China. To be completely honest, I've been rather surprised at how I haven't been nervous. I am one who usually gets rather nervous about things, but I have not been very nervous about this summer. Maybe that's because I know this is what I'm supposed to be doing this summer. Who knows.
I would like to thank all of my family and friends who have been very supportive of my decision to go to China this summer. I wouldn't be able to do any of this without them. Thanks a ton!
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