14: Twenty Hours to Take-Off

So this is it, my last day in the States.

A large part of me still doesn’t think that this is real. PKU has seemed like something very far-off since last February when I began to work towards attending; I’ve been working towards this goal for about a year. And I leave tomorrow. Weird.

Haircut

I’ve done some last minute preparations: haircut, ipod playlist, getting some Yuan, etc.  I’ve been going to bed around 4AM so maybe the jet lag won’t be too bad. We’ll see.

Tonight, my family is taking me out for kabobs because I know I won’t be able to get them in China. I’ll miss them so much!

As many of you have pointed out to me, there have been some developments with Google and China. Here’s the summary: Google noticed that some Chinese human rights protesters’ Gmail accounts were being hacked into. In response, Google cited that this was a violation of freedom of speech (remember this?) and have decided to lift all filters on the search engine.

This could be a huge step forward for the Chinese government, as per American ideals, but it could be troubling for me while I’m over there. If I can’t access my Gmail account, it will be difficult to have any communication with most of my friends (Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking sites are also blocked). We should watch closely to see what happens!

I will not be able to update when I get to China because I will have to pay for internet to be set up. I will be sure to update during orientation!

PS: it’s 1º in Beijing right now. I’m going to die.

13: All by Myself

Aaron left about an hour ago to go back to Atlanta. I’m all packed for Beijing; I don’t really have anything left to do.

My flight on Thursday was changed. My itinerary is as follows:

WASH/DULLES to BEIJING departing Thursday, January 14

UNITED  897

Depart: WASH/DULLES 12:23 PM Arrive: BEIJING 10:15 PM Seat(s):

STOPOVER Equip: PLANE CHANGE AT NRT MP miles: 8082

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The stopover is in Tokyo.

Time to kill some time…

12: Chinese Cooking for Dummies

Tonight, I opened my Chinese Cooking for Dummies cookbook and decided that it was time to attempt Chinese cuisine. Big mistake.

The goal: Cook Shanghai fried noodles and potstickers for six people in the course of two hours.

The chefs:

Aaron and Burger

The result: 3 hours in a kitchen, 12 shredded potstickers, 31 really good potstickers, lots of Shanghai fried noodles, a half pound of extra plain Shanghai noodles, and a huge mess.  I’m exhausted!

This was a good experiment though. In reading through a majority of the cookbook, it made me aware of just how much sesame and nuts the Chinese use; I’m in trouble (for those of you who don’t know, I have an anaphylactic reaction to both foods). I will hopefully have my own kitchen so that I can learn to cook for myself. I won’t be able to go out to restaurants until I know the language better. Living in China will be quite the change.

11: Lazing About

Since Israel has been cancelled, Aaron and I haven’t had much to do. Luckily, my brother got a PS3 for the holidays so we’ve been goofing off on Dragon Age and Fable: The Lost Chapters. For someone who’s not a gamer, the past few down/game days have been really nice.

Also, since I used to live in this area (Northern Virginia), I’ve caught up with a few friends! I spent about three hours with Ting in the mall and then had a three hour dinner with the Willmotts. Catching up is nice and I’ll be lucky enough to have some friends in the area while I’m home for the summer .

That’s all for now. Oh, and for those of you who haven’t seen Avatar, it isn’t overrated. Think Pocahontas with blue people à la George Lucas. IMAX 3D if you can .

7: To New York City

I’m headed out to New York City tomorrow after spending 24 hours with my parents. Aaron and I will be seeing “In The Heights” on Broadway for our anniversary.

This was their Tony’s performance for “Best Musical.” I can’t wait!

4: On Needing to Go

There is no toilet paper in China.

Alright, that’s not completely true, but it’s true for public toilets. I’ll have to start carrying around toilet paper or those little Kleenex packets in case of emergency. Much like Europe, you have to pay to use the toilet, but not very much.

Also, there are two kinds of toilets available in China: “Western,” the kind that we’re used to in the States, and “Asian,” or the “squat toilet.” There is an instruction manual on how to use the “squat toilet” here, but it works just as it sounds. When finished, you have to remember to throw away the toilet paper (again, self-provided), and not drop it in.

Also, I have to remember:

Chinese Character for “Woman”

and

Chinese Character for “Man”

3

Figured ya’ll want to know how much traveling I’m doing before I even leave for China. Right now, I’m at Saint Simons Island surrounded by creepy big birds lots of local fun (and of course my friend, who I’m visiting).

Traveling the East Coast to See Family

This is my travel route for the next few weeks:

Post New York City, I will travel to Israel (departing December 27th), return January 7th, drive down to Washington DC, and then leave for China January 14th. The purpose of all this traveling is to see my family before I leave for five months.

As for right now, I feel like I can’t buy any clothes because everything will be cheaper in China. This is less than ideal because the Christmas sales are awesome right now! I am also nervous about packing. I mean, everyone is telling me to pack light and literally buy a new wardrobe there. Uh, expensive? But then again, I wouldn’t have to deal with paying an extra $75 for extra luggage.

Right now, my packing list is as follows:

A credit card China guide Emergency card with a U.S. contact, address, and phone number. Extra passport photos (at least three to four) Nalgene one-liter see-through hard plastic water bottle Passport Student ID Ziplock bags

Athletic wear Computer First Aid kit Medical Food that I can’t find in China (Kelloggs bars!) Ipod Knife Shoes Swimsuit Underwear Winter and spring clothes that layer and cut out wind

Camera Conditioner Deodorant Glasses Hair supplies LOTS of Kleenex packs Moisturizer Plug Adapter Sanitary Items Shampoo Toothpaste

So much to do!

2: Excitement and Fear

Why I’m Excited	Why I’m Afraid
Going to an internationally respected university	The workload and only having classes once a week
Going to a new place	Going to a new place
Learning at a coed institution	Learning alongside men for the first time since high school
Meeting new people	Making friends
Learning a new language	Learning a new language
Potentially getting an awesome internship	Getting rejected from all internship sites
Finally experiencing China	Disliking China and realizing I’ve been wasting my education

Episode One