Point A to Point B

Well, I have arrived.  It's funny because there's really a lot of weight to those words.  I've been getting ready for this trip/arrival/semester for six months now.  There's been a lot of paperwork, research, packing, repacking, visiting with people, and getting mentally prepared.  Now that I'm here in China, even after all that prep, it's surprising to be here.  Stealing the metaphor from my Netherlands days, it's very much like getting ready to jump into cold water and still being shocked.  The fun part is I'm sure I have many more surprises coming my way.  

The trip over here to China went very well.  I am really the most thankful that I could spend so much time with everyone before I left.  It was nice to have enough time to pack as well as get a chance to see everyone.  Christmas is a ways away, but of course will inch closer and closer.  

As for my flights, I couldn't have asked for better.  Everything was timely and low on the stress level.  It was actually pretty nice to have a seven-hour layover in Minneapolis because I got to make a quick visit to our mecca: the Mall of America.  It was fairly easy to take the train 

over to the mall and only cost $3 total.  I thought it was kind of weird when I bought my tickets with a twenty dollar bill and received all dollar coins for change.  I couldn't decide if it was a hassle or kind of fun.  

Actually, I anticipate a whole lot of dilemmas like that coming up.  It 

seems like it's not always a clean line between hassles and blessings.  Traveling in general is 

a good example.  There's a lot of stress, but it can

also be amusing and enjoyable.  Same with a lot of 

cross-cultural experiences (e.g. new foods, language difficulties, riding tiny buses with too many people and a few too many chickens.)  

Getting to go to the mall turned out to be a very big blessing.  I enjoyed shopping and creatively finding ways to pamper myself.  Here's how my advice to making the most of layover time spent in a mall.

1.  Find the massage chairs, quickly.

2.  Go around Bath and Body Works and scrub your hands, lotion up, and use anything else that will make you feel fresher (in other words, not traveling)

3.  Go to Starbucks, get a drink, and wait for the oversized couch.

4.  Try on lots of fun clothes that you would never buy because you carry-on is already a little heavy.

5.  Hang around book stores and read all the magazines. (I borrowed this one from my well-traveled Popsy!)    

6.  People watch.

7.  Go to the Apple Store and check your email.

8.  Go to the cheese store...sample the various cheeses.

9.  Shop in the expensive-looking store that you normally wouldn't go in.

10.  Get back to the airport with plenty of time.

These are the things that I came up with.  I did get back to the airport with plenty of time and was ready for my big 12 hour flight to Tokyo.  This flight actually went pretty fast.  My row of seats was empty except for a guy three seats away.  It was really nice to stretch my legs across extra leg room and and sleep with a little bit more space.  I watched Leatherheads and did sudoku and slept.  I probably should be sleeping now, but I woke up at 5:30 and could not fall back asleep.  (I call it Popsy syndrome.)  When I arrived in Tokyo I only had 15 minutes to look around, but was very impressed with what I saw.  There were some really beautiful waiting areas.  

To wrap things up, I made it to Shanghai, found my hotel's shuttle, and arrived at the hotel finally at 10:30.  I think I was too tired at the Shanghai airport to think too much about being in China or even attempt much Chinese.  I did have a little moment though when I was riding the shuttle.  Airports don't always feel like a certain country, but being out on the road was very different.  As we cruised around the curvy, well-lit roads and listened to Chinese rap, I felt more open to the realization that I was in China.  I still couldn't see much more than the airport and since it was night, everything was a little obscured.  Still, I could see where I was and a little farther to where I was going.  It made me nervous because I had no idea what's coming next.  More so though, it made me smile because it's what I've been waiting for.  Whether it's chocked full of hassles or amusements, I think I'm ready for the coming semester.