Again, I apologize for not posting. things have been crazy. So, while I am two and a half weeks behind, I will try to start from the beggining. There is so much that i will leave out alot, but hopefully i can fill those holes as I go. I will now update fairly regulary, especially now, so please check this somewhat regulary.
so, about three weeks ago, oswego. I was having trouble getting my Visa, my airline tickets, you name it. It looked very unlikely that I would make it to China at all... Everything came together at the last moment, but it was a very nerve wracking experience. I ordered my Visa from the internet, and had to overnight Fed Ex it to and back from Houston, Tx. By the way, the service I used was Visa Express, which did a really good job. Use them if you need a Visa like right now and can't get to an embassy. Anyway, while all of this was going on, I had to move out of Mackin Hall. I had to make the risky desicion of junking/giving away most of my stuff, as I couldn't take it to China. so I did, one thing that is good about me is that while I do love my material possesions, i have no problem dropping them if i have to. The only thing i truly regret is the books. So anyway, I had no where to live, technically. Tse mei offerered to let me stay in Hart Hall with her, which was incredibly kind. I was worried becuase the school can be dicks about people staying there who are not paying, but everything worked out great. By the way, Tse mei is one of the greatest, kindest, wise, aware girls that I know and any one who gives her any crap is an asshole and needs to be beat. I am very lucky in that i have such great friends and family members who have helped me over the years. without them, i wouldn''t be alive, much less in
China. I am truly lucky in that regard....
So after reiciving the Visa, Steve and I got the plane tickets( he did the work, i suck at things like that). That also felt like it was going to fall through, but it worked out. So, Travis and Joe picked up tse mie and I ( she was going to the train station for a trip) and took us to syracuse. We dropped off awesome little tse mei and headed to the airport. I was nervous about pretty much everyting: security, dying, was my luggage going to make it through. Travis dropped me off. Travis is another person who is beyond awesome and i love him to death( not in a sexual way, that is a complete rumor!). I have not flown since before 911, and i was pretty nervous. I just always assume that organisations full of official type people will not let me do things. WEll, thing went pretty well. checkin, luggage, security all went off without a hitch. Not to much later, I was on a plane to Newark, Nj. it was a very quick flight and I enjoyed looking down on the distant, tiny new york state. I enjoyed my time in Oswego, but I would like to give a big fuck off to Ny state and its expensive prices. Dear New York, I can buy cigs here for about 50 cents american, ten times less than what it costs in you!
anyhoo, I want to mentiion that due to me being me, i truly don't think that i should have made it here. In Niel Gaimen's the book of magic, John Constantine tells tim about the magic side highway or something like that for traveling. While i try not to be a fatalist, I beleive that I was riding that sideway or whatever. the idea is that if your meant to go, things will work out even though they shouldn't. i blelieve, or at least part of me believes, that i was meant to come to china.
Anyhoo, small layover in Newark, and then onto the big plane. Very nice, full of Chinese mainly. It was a thirteen hour flight! I did not sleep at all. I had a window seat and a nice Chinese couple next to me. For the length of the flight, I did not sleep! I watched the screen which indicated the path of the flight; I was approximatley aware of when we left the US. It was a strange feeling becuase i knew i ouwld not be back for at least a year. maybe longer. maybe never. i don't know. But it was wierd. So then we flew over Canada. Oh yeah, the surprising thing to me was that we did not fly east or west, but north, pretty much in a straight line. so we flew up to the northpole, and even though our direction did not change, we then flew South. we flew twelve hours into the Future and then flew halfway in one direction and then half way to opposite. Unless you believe the earth is flat. anyhoo, The barren parts of Canada were interesting, lots of large lakes. But the Northren parts of greenland and the North Pole are indescribable! Huge, monolithic rocks with no green or covered in snow. It looks like something out of Lovecraft. Looking down on this, I was truly without words, its the strangest feeling, its like another world. although the stewardesses kept telling us to keep our windows shut becuase people were sleeping. It was the fucking daytime and we are over places people probably have never walked on at all. But petty creature comforts are certainly more important! people can screw anything up. but it was still amazing.
by the way, i read Lolita on the flight. amazing book. extemely disturbing, but also very funny. Nabokov was a master of language, amazing little details. i have read it before, and enjoyed it even more this time. well, it did sicken me in places, but i am glad that i finished it! Read it!
We flew over the North Pole and I did not see Santa or any of that. just alot of Ice. lots. Then we few over Siberia and down into China. China has amazing mountians from the Air, they look like wrinkly old men. When we flew into Bejieng, which is bordered by Mountains, we flew into a amazing cloud of Smog. Bejing is huge and is hard to describe. I will save my impression of Urban China for another post. So we get off at bejing and i have to check out and then check in again. The aiport is huge and this is where language starts to become a bit of a barrier. many people spoke english in the airport, but some did not . this is where i began to feel like a dumb english speaking person, which still happens here sometimes. I need to learn Mandarin! anyway, Five hours in bejing. seen some olympians. Got on a plane to Dalian.
This is where the trip started to get to me. I had not slept since Travis had picked us up. I had been up at least 24 four hours. I kept nodding off on the flight. the wierdest part of that was that even though everyone was speaking Mandarin, when i started to nod off, I could hear them speak english. My mind was trying to convert their speech. this still happens sometimes when i am not paying attentiion. So, i kept nodding off. ithink everyone around me probably thought i was some american drug addict. you know, all americans are drug addicts or crinimals or cops according to the movies, or they are in romantic comedies, which is probably the real reason most of the world hates us( the chinese do not hate us, btw, but more on that later). anyway, in dalian. everyting still running smooth. Ed, and american who works for the company and April, chinese< pick me up. there is a little confusion, but they take me to my chinese apartement.
I think that is more then enough for now! more on my first days soon....
