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China time and date:
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Hu, What and Where
Greetings everybody! I hope by now, many of you parents have settled down a little, knowing everyone has safely arrived in China and the journey is well underway. Many pictures should begin flowing through now, along with the first of the daily reports written by each of the students.
Reminder: New material can be added to the site throughout each day, so when you return to a page, be sure to “refresh” the page, making sure you are seeing the latest page and not an old one stored on your computer.
At this point, jet lag, the time difference, and the lack of sleep are surely taking their toll on everyone. But the excitement of finally experiencing their first full day in China is keeping these kids, and adults, going! Besides, there’s no time for sleeping. Got things to do!
Today is a full day exploring Shanghai (what is its common name? What? You’ve forgotten already?!) and some of the popular sights. As we have mentioned before, this is the first time any JE group has visited Shanghai. What they see and do will be a surprise for all of us!
Regardless of where they go, some things will remain the same, like the crazy traffic, the bartering for gifts, the variety of Chinese food, the language (written and spoken), the sights and sounds. Aaah, this is going to be fun!
We have some photos of the first day in Shanghai (more coming later), along with the first of our student reports! These photos are from the ride into Shanghai from the airport (Thanks Audrey!).
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More Shanghai
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Chauncey Jones (JE2007 veteran) is curious if the large bouquet of flowers (top row, third from left) is actually a disguised cell tower. Very clever, Chauncey.
Reminder: As we begin our day here in the U.S., the JE gang has finished their day in China. They are, in a way, living in the future. it’s weird and after all these years, I find the time difference a challenge.
We have our first student report! Each student will be keeping a journey journal (can you say that six time fast? Okay, show-off, twelve?) and we’ll get a daily report from each student along the way. Our first report is from Cassidy. Take it away, Cassidy . . .
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Cassidy Anderson, Shanghai, China 3/26/08
Well, I can't believe it but we are actually in China. In seems unreal being here as just last year we weren't sure if there would be another round of Journey East. Now we find ourselves sitting in Shanghai! After all the waiting, the counting down, the packing and the incredibly long airplane ride, we made it!
The night in Hartford we were all anxious for what was to happen the next day. Like many others, I was so excited that I couldn't sleep, which made getting a wake-up call at 2:30 A.M. and going through TSA security pretty difficult.
We had Shelby juggling to keep us entertained before we got on the plane for the flight to Chicago. Chicago was a quick one. I slept the whole time. Once we got there I just wanted to get on the plane and get that 14 hour ride over. Unfortunately, we had to wait for two and a half hours. The airport in Chicago was huge, with lots of things to look at and buy but I was too tired to walk around. Most of us killed time by just sitting around, playing cards, talking about random things and eating August Massingill's "Cheezits." A belated thank you, August.
Eventually, we started to board this huge plane. A couple of us had never been on a plane. What a first trip. After an hour or so most of us were so tired that we just crashed, mostly on top of one another. After the fifth hour or so I wasn't sure that I was ever going to get off. The worst part was that we were sitting only a couple of rows behind the first class section and we could see those passengers in very comfortable seats. It was torture.
Finally, after the longest 14 hours of my life, we landed in Shanghai. It was so strange to hear everyone around me speaking Chinese. I must say that it was wonderful to walk outside of the airport to be greeted by warmth, green grass and no snow. I noticed right away that the air was not nearly as clean as it is in Vermont, however.
We got on the bus for what was ultimately a two hour bus ride and had the opportunity to get a taste of Chinese driving. Quite different from Vermont! I was grateful that we were on the biggest vehicle on the highway!
It was interesting to see that many signs were in Chinese and English.
Once we arrived at the hotel, people were extremely tired and some, including myself, wanted to go directly to bed rather than to dinner. None of us really knew what we were having for dinner; what we thought were green beans were actually hot, hot peppers. Most of the food was pretty good. I'm excited to be here and I think that this is going to be an amazing experience.
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Thanks Cassidy. Great start to the reports! And yes, after all the months of anticipation, preparation, classes, etc., they are finally there. Yes, Virginia, there really is a China!
Green grass, warm air? The weather sounds nice there. Their lows will be warmer than our highs! Nice.
Hey, where are you going? We’re not done yet! Here are more photos fresh off the press!
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Everyone looks great! Hey, who’s that in the tree? And are those chaperones doing a performance of their own? Wild and crazy already and the journey has just begun! Look out!
Okay, folks, enjoy the photos and the report and we’ll catch up with you later. We might have more today. One never knows . . . (maybe the Shadow does.)
Later . . .
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