Trip to Europe - Part 1

The following posts will be done via my wonderful phone, so expect more pictures and fewer words...

Before we left, we were all smiles. Note Joshua's smiles...

On our way to the plane in Portland... "They're called 'Aviator Shades'... before Ben forgot to grab them from the airport in Toronto...

At Tornoto... noting that Ben is still alive after forgetting the shades... Ben wisely took the picture before forgetting the shades...

Toronto Airport... the land of many, many long hallways...

Our first chàteau in Loches... more pictures on our tours later on...

Finals Are Coming...

Trip to China Part 3 - The Drive

Have you ever heard that country song about “Jesus Take the Wheel”? Let me tell you, if there was a good lyrical translation into Mandarin, that song would be a hit here in China regardless of personal creed. You want, no – probably more like need, an amazing driver to survive the highways in China.

Let me list off a few traffic laws that, official or not, are definitely practiced by all drivers here in the beautiful city of Chongqing.

1. Seatbelts are only a foreign trinket developed in Germany and the U.S.; they are not necessary (interestingly enough, there are few Japanese cars here)

2. Honking the horn is not a warning of danger; it is an announcement of “I’m coming through!”

3. Lane markers are in place only to give business to Chinese paint manufacturers. If you can fit 5 cars, 3 bikes, 4 pedestrians, 2 scooters, and 1 dog abreast in 2 lanes, go for it!

4. Speed limits are non-existent

5. Policemen are there in the event of an accident. Otherwise, they attempt to direct traffic and wave as people cut each other off and zip by; you don’t need to yield to their cars even with lights flashing

6. Crosswalks are only a formality; the cars will not stop for you

It occurred to me that the reckless, aggressive driving practiced here in Chongqing is not a reflection of personal emotions. Throughout the duration of the transit, our illustrious driver did not so much as raise an eyebrow. Cool as a cucumber, he would cut into a lane (missing a car by literally, centimeters), accelerate faster than a MiniCooper (or so it felt like in the massive bus), and generally make the most daring moves ever attempted by somebody in anything bigger than a sports car.

It was a fantastic ride.

As soon as I overcame the shock, I learned that I needed to just sit back and trust that the driver knew what he was doing. There was nothing I could do either to change the traffic or the bus’s direction. I needed to get to the factory, and this was the method provided to me. Another meaning to “Jesus Take the Wheel”…

After an hour and a half of this madness, we pulled into the factory and proceeded up to the office. All this excitement, and I hadn’t even started my first day yet…

Trip to China Part 2 - The First Morning

I awoke at 6:00 – remembering where I was and recognizing that the van was to leave in 2 hours, I collected my strength and rose, like a monster from his cave, from my bed. I walked over to the window, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes and, upon opening the blinds, I came to a startling discovery.

The 35^th floor is a long way up from the ground.

Room 3513 was, in fact on the 35^th floor. To be honest, I’d never been that high above the ground in a static structure, as opposed to a dynamic aircraft. At least, I certainly hoped that static described the building as opposed to the other.

I walked around, gathering the different items that I would need for the day. I opened my computer to check and see if I’d received any word from that now-far-away land called home. My computer had adjusted to the time zone (smart thing that it is) and whilst google mail was coming up, I glanced down at the clock.

7:26

“Funny”, I thought. “My phone, which I personally set to China time says only 6:26”. Looking for some form of confirmation, I looked at my room’s clock.

7:27

Panic began to set in as I recognized that I had to be dressed, packed, and on board the bus in 33 minutes. After showering in less time than I ever have, I gobbled down a pop-tart I’d brought and packed my backpack with computer, cord, phone, and toolbox. I then rushed out to the elevators to head to the breakfast room on floor 39.

Of course, they’d misspelled “breakfast room” on the elevator and instead floor 39 was listed as “executive lounge”, which was funny, I thought, given all the English businessmen they get here, you’d think they could learn to spell things correctly.

What I was very surprised to find was that the breakfast room looked a whole lot like an executive lounge. Glass exterior walls, wood interior walls, marble floors, and palm trees growing out of the floor definitely made the breakfast room look like an executive lounge.

However, I had very little time to admire the place as the clock was ticking. I grabbed a plate and filled it with a very Western breakfast (fruit, bacon, bread) and sat down at a table with two co-workers. At least, if I was going to be late, I’d be late with them. After a waitress came up and asked how I’d like my eggs cooked, I delved into my first Chinese food…

Soon, we were zipping down 39 floors in an elevator I rushed out the door, taking a moment to admire the 3-story tall lobby, complete with marble floors and pillars, and onto a bus. After greeting the remainder of the team, I plopped myself down on a seat and prepared for the trip to the factory.

Our driver was a gentleman in his mid-thirties (I assumed… age seems to make no difference on this populace between the 21^st and 50^th years of their lives). His hair was neatly combed; he was clean-shaven, wearing a suit jacket and white gloves. I expected a perfectly posh drive to the factory.

Have you ever heard the phrase about looks being deceiving?...


Note - Pictures are not wanting to be uploaded to Blogger... will continue working on the solution...

Trip to China Part 1 - The Journey

The morning began as you might expect – I slept in till 6 and would have remained in my warm hovel of happiness except for family devotions. So I clambered out of bed, tripped down the stairs, and fumbled around until I found the life-drink [coffee]. And so began the day.

I was prepped, packed, and panicked when 8:15 hit. I hugged my family members goodbye (admiring my newly 15-year-old sister in a birthday dress) before traversing the long trek from the front door to the van.

It was quite exhausting.

Soon, I was underway! I arrived at the airport, got oriented, obtained my pass, checked my bags, and texted my compatriots to inform them that I was there 2 hours early.

They replied saying they were already here and asked I’d like to join them for breakfast.

Sufficiently mortified at my failed attempt to impress by my earliness, I went and had a second breakfast with a co-worker. Soon, we were boarding a small plane (carrying about 24 passengers, so I knew it was mandatory to have at least 1 flight attendant… which they did), and after the address from the cabin crew, captain, and first officer, I tried very hard to not picture certain characters from my favorite BBC radio drama. Accomplishments of the first flight included the completion of a book and the continuation of another.

After a quick layover in San Francisco, we boarded “the mon-stah”. An enormous Boeing that could hold more passengers, fly further, and sufficiently engulf me to the point of helping me recognize my insignificance in this vast world.

And the number of White people aboard… me and one other chap. For a grand total of 2…

3 movies, half a book, 2 attempts at Sudoku, numerous failures at Pacman, owning a game of digital pool, and a few hours of sleep later, we arrived at Beijing. There had been a lot of confusion about what we needed to do when we arrived
– some instructions had said that it would be a simple transfer flight. Still other legends told the tale that we would get off, they would “sweep” the plane, and we would get back on again. Darker tales told of the necessity to completely re-check our baggage. And one particular myth had something to do with a pogo stick, egg-whisk, and some fellow named DeKref.

We didn’t really know what to expect.

Finally, we landed in Beijing and after collecting ourselves, we collected our carry-ons, collected each other, then collectively, we exited the aircraft. Right inside the gate, there was a Chinese gentleman holding a sign saying “Chongqing”, the name of our final destination. So we pulled over to wait for further instructions. After babbling off in Chinese to the small group for the longest time, he walked right up to me, ignoring my futile attempts to hide behind my co-workers and gave me detailed directions in English on how I was to proceed. I know they were detailed because it took him so long to say.

But I didn’t have a clue as to what he’d actually said.

Then it dawned on me – my travel companions were not Chinese, but as they were Asian, this flight director had inappropriately assumed that I was the only non-Chinese speaking member of the party.

My, how he was wrong.

After escorting us through security, our guide brought us to “the holding room”, a place with only one exit – onto a bus that would take us to our final flight. There was no way for me to enjoy the Beijing airport, so I decided to let my grief show.

I took a nap on the hard benches.

I woke up just as the guide was opening the doors to bring us to the bus to bring us to the plane to bring us to Chongqing. I brought myself to my senses, brought my carry-on to the door and brought myself to overcome my grief at not seeing the Beijing airport, and climbed aboard.

The flight was uneventful, and in no time we were down to collect our baggage at the Chongqing airport. Then, after boarding a van that had been reserved specially for us, we drove for an hour to reach our hotel. Still struggling to stay awake, I obtained my room key, discovered that breakfast was to be on the 39^th floor, affirmed that the van left at 8:00 the next morning, and stumbled into an elevator.

After feverishly dragging my suitcases into my room, I pulled up the computer, emailed my family to ensure them that I had arrived safely, and collapsed onto the bed.

Tomorrow would be…*

*I would have thought “interesting”, but I was too tired to finish the sentence

**Apologies for the lack of pictures; some will be forthcoming