Friday February 9th my flight left Rochester at 9:45 am. I flew to Chicago where I got on board the flight to Beijing. Unfortunately there was a problem matching luggage with passengers, so we were delayed in the plane, on the ground for 2 and a half hours! That's a lot when it's tacked onto a 13 and a half hour flight. I arrived in Beijing two hours late.
Another couple from my organization was on the flight from Chicago with me. The three of us split a taxi to the hotel where we were having our conference. We had dinner and a short introduction time and then went to bed.
The next three days were part ESL teacher conference, part sight-seeing around Beijing. I got to see the Great Wall, which was great!
I also went to the Silk Market, which is famous for being a good place to buy things cheaply in Beijing. I bought three pearl necklaces for 130 kuai (about $16 total).
Beijing also had such great international dining options. It is certainly different from the China I deal with on a daily basis!
We also were trying to get train tickets back to Guizhou. The problem was that we were trying to travel too close to the Spring Festival. Spring Festival is what the Chinese call Chinese New Year. And, much like Thanksgiving in the US, pretty much everyone goes home. So the trains, planes and buses are full. We didn't get train tickets for the 14th like we had hoped. The earliest we could go was February 17th.
So two other ULS teachers and I stayed in Beijing for three more days. Another ULS teacher who lives in Beijing was gracious and allowed us to stay with her. We went to the Summer Palace to do some sightseeing. It was really cool.
The 17th Susie (ULS teacher in Guiyang) and I got on the train to Guiyang. It was a 29 hour train ride. We had "hard sleeper" seats. It was great - we had beds in the same compartment. There was hot water for noodles (like Ramen), a reasonably clean bathroom, pillows, lights - everything you could want for a long trip! And it was easy to sleep because of the rocking motion of the train.
The train arrived in Guiyang February 18th at 8:30 pm. I spent the night with Susie, since the buses had stopped running for the night. The next morning I caught a bus to Anshun, and a taxi to the university. And 10 days after my departure I was home!!
My apartment is a little musty from being closed up for five and a half weeks. I had to restock my kitchen since I got rid of all perishable food before I left. Shopping today was intense - I had a long list! And since I have to take the bus in and out I can only buy as much as I can carry. At the end of the trip my backpack was full and I had large shopping bags in both hands. And I didn't even get as much as I needed. I'll go to the more local market tomorrow morning to get the rest of what I need.
Classes start March 5th. So I have a week and a half to get my life in order for the second semester. Campus is very quiet. My neighbors are at home, but all of the students are gone. The mail room board says that I had mail (as of 2/16). But it is closed right now for the holiday.
I will write more later about the things I saw in Beijing.
Happy [Chinese] New Year!
1 comment:
Hey! I have been watching to find out how your trip back was! Although very long, it sounds as though you got to see/ do some things many of us would never even consider.
Keep up the good work and I absolutely love reading this blog! Thanks!
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