Getting Started ?? (Thats supposed to be Hello in Chinese)

The past two days have been a whilrwind of nerveracking excitement.  Just 30 or so hours ago I was getting ready to hop on a plane to go to China.  Now I am here in Zhenjiang about 3.5 hours outside of Shanghai.

The 16 hour plane ride was not nearly as bad as many I have had in the past that are long distances.  Tabatha and I had bulkhead seating meaning there was no seat in front of us.  It was really nice because of my long legs!

When we arrived in the airport, we originally got really worried because it took forever for our luggage to come out.  Most everyone else got theirs ahead of us (granted, we were some of the first to check in at RDU so maybe our stuff got put in the back!).  Once we got our baggage there seemed to be over 1000 people trying to get out of one door at the airport.  It was a bit of a jam but Tab and I made it :)  We then met our driver whose name, from as best as we were able to understand, is Hoon. 

Then began my first experience with Chinese roads and driving.  It is really wild.  I can't believe the traffic there.  I used to think I-40 was bad but let me tell you - the Chinese roads are insane!  The speed limits and driving lanes appear to only be moderate suggestions.  Occasionally we would pass someone on our side of the road going the opposide direction - or someone randomly walking in the middle of the road with cars flying by at 120 km/h +.  The Chinese people have a very peculiar way of driving.  Tabatha and I have joked that they have 3 pedals on their cars: Acceleration, Brake, and the Horn. 

After the 3-4 hour drive from Shanghai to Zhenjiang where we are staying until the end of the summer, Tabatha and I met our hosts here, Mr. Weyrehm Wang and Steve Huang.  They greeted us and we ate our first Chinese meal in a dinning hall with them.  They had a buffet for us which they kept open for us after closing time :)  We then checked into our rooms at the guest house.  I was really impressed.  Coming over I expected a small room hoping it would be the size of my dorm room.  I was plesantly surprised when I found I had a full apartment to myself consisting of a main bedroom about twice the size of my dorm room, a moderate sized living room, plus a kitchen, and bathroom!  Tabatha and I then got a short tour around and went to sleep! :) 

We got up this morning really early.  It wasn't intentional, it just kind of happened.  Tab, I think, was a little sick and woke up about 4am.  I haven't really been sick yet and am hoping I don't.  I woke up about 5:30am when the sun started to rise.  My bed was so firm it felt like I was lying on a piece of plywood. Its a good thing I like firm matresses! :-P  I was a bit stir crazy so I decided to get settled and unpack all of my bags.  Then Tab and I went to breakfast.  It was interesting.  There were some things there I knew what they were, and items that I didn't have a clue.  I decided it was probably best not to ask and just eat.  Who knows...maybe I'll get brave by the end of the summer?  They had a small egg station and toast.  Tabatha made me try the dumplings which weren't bad, but I didn't love them as much as she did. 

After breakfast, Tab and I jumped on a bus to somewhere (I'm not really sure where - it was kind of on the other side of the mountain).  It was like the 11th anniversary of the athletic program here at Gold East and because of it there were these mini-olympics going on or something.  That is what we went to see. Steve introduced us to all of the mill presidents and such when we arrived and we sat at the front table with them :)  It was exciting for a while.  People from all of the different departments marched in what not.  It is really difficult to describe because I'm not really sure what was going on.  It reminded me a whole lot of the opening program of the olympics.  One guy was even carying a torch - granted, I don't think he lit anything with it. 

After the first main race, we left.  Our sleep schedules and the Jet Lag started catching up with us.  We ended up walking back around the mountain.  It was about 2 miles probably?  Steve kind of shocked Tabatha and I when he started humming the NC State fight song on the way back.  For a moment, I was singing it too, and then I realized I was in China and not at NCSU.  It turns out Steve, one of our hosts, was an NC State grad! 

Once we got back to our rooms - Tabatha and I ended up taking a nap (slept right through lunch!)  oh well :)

Now I am just checking my email and typing up this blog entry!  Dinner should be good since we didn't get lunch - After that I don't know what our plans for the evening may be.  There is a little gym here with some treadmills, ping pong tables, badmintton courts, a there is a Golf Driving range outside.  There are also lots of trails to go hiking on!  I'm sure we'll find something to do :)

I don't know when my next post will be since my internet appears to be flaky and my computer is giving me lots of problems.  It took me over an hour today to boot it up :-/ 

Until then,

?? (Good bye)
Posted by rwpridge ( May 17 2008, 03:02:32 AM GMT+08:00 ) Permalink Comments [5]