Adventures 1-3: Flight, Arrival and Day 1

Okay, here goes the story of my initiation into China.

Flight from Chicago to Seattle - uneventful
Transfer in Seattle to Beijing - went smoothly
Flight to Beijing - Long!! By this point I hadn't slept in over 24 hours and was feeling it. I thought it would be great to sleep  on the plane. This is not how it went. I may have snoozed for 45 min twice.
Transfer in Beijing - I get off the plane and take a bus to the terminal. Wind through the hallway that leads to customs. I get through customs and I have to get my luggage and recheck it on a domestic flight to my final destination. So, I grab a cart and make my way to the turnstile and wait patiently. The wait is over.... But I have no luggage. So, over to baggage inquires I go. I'm nervous about time because my next flight leaves sooner than I'd like. Well it turns out my luggage likes Seattle like I do, and decided to tour first before joining me. So I'm having it sent to school here and until then wearing my friend Laura's clothes. Thank goodness for best friends/roomates/same size clothes/etc. My stuff should be here tomorrow. Oh, but I'm not done. I finish with the guy in baggage inquires, and rush to the China Southern flight desk to get checked in. I now have less than a half hour until my flight leaves. And I have to go through security again... oi! Well, they have a fast track lane, and I was through pretty quick. Then, I run. Yes, run. I imagined running through an airport would involve some danger of losing the man I loved, or escape from authorities... but alas. I made the flight with 15 min or more to spare. Landed in Hangzhou and made my way to the exit... which cruelly included a walk past baggage claim....

I was picked up by a student and the foreign teacher director at the airport with another foreign teacher. We made the hour drive into Shaoxing and Laura met me at our building. Up six flights of stairs and I was officially arrived.

Today has included meeting my team and a few chinese friends. Lunch. Which was delicious and strange. Then I got a bank card, a bus pass, passport photos, and tried to get my phone up and active. The phone was a no go, but we're working on it.

Tomorrow I meet with a Chinese teacher and then go to school in the afternoon.
Thats all for now from the xing.

Until next time.