Day 1 - Wet and Rainy

We have anticipated this day for six months now and we have just completed it; posting the first blog from the country of China. Here it is! Our first day has been utterly exciting, filled with new and amazing experiences. In total 16 people embarked on this trip.

We began in terminal 4 at Sky Harbor airport in Phoenix. Everyone made it through security and we were ready to go. However, our plane was not. It was delayed about an hour, but did not affect our transfer in Los Angeles. The flight from Phoenix to Los Angeles was Sabrina’s first trip, so after being introduced and embarrassed on the airplane, she finally obtained her pair of wings.

In Los Angeles there was another security check, and we boarded our airplane on time at 1:00am. Considering the time of day everyone was still awake and anxious for the 14 hour flight to China. The flight was bearable, but no on in the world should be confined to a cramped, small chair for so long. It’s almost impossible to relay, there is almost nothing to write about but there were a few highlights. Because we crossed the International dateline on our way to China, June 7th is non-existent to us. Taryn sat next to a graphic designer that works for Disney’s Pixar Company and who had worked on the 2nd Starwars movie made (Attach of the Clones). The food was bearable and better than expected. The most interesting part of the flight was once we landed because of the H1N1 virus precautions by our host country. People walked onto the flight and took everyone’s temperature with a handheld laser gadget. Someone on the back of the airplane seemed to be extra warm because they delayed us from getting off of the jumbo jet for 45 minutes. Yes, that’s right; the entire airplane was delayed from unloading. As we sat in on the airplane in the terminal gate, it began to rain.

We finally made it through customs in China and met our tour guide, Bruce, and his affiliate, Sara. They are young and extremely enthusiastic. They have been upbeat although we were faced with the cold, dreary, wetness of the rain all day. We also have a personal bus driver named “Master TG” (pronounced Tong), because he is the master of driving. The itinerary was switched because of the downpour of rain. Our first site visit was to the Beijing Museum of Natural History. This was followed by the silk factory, where we saw how Yuanlong silk was made. It was really interesting, we helped make a silk quilt, shopped, and Mrs. Simonson and Donny ate a silk worm. Ugh! Pedro and Savanna purchased some traditional Chinese clothing, which both look really nice. When we departed the silk factory, we were leaving the extremely small parking lot on the bus and we got into a small car crash. Our bus collided with another bus. Everyone is okay and we barley even felt it. Afterwards, we had an authentic Chinese lunch which was extremely good. A few of us cannot use chopsticks to save our lives.

After lunch, we proceeded to Tian An Men, the largest square in the world. After passing a security check point, we had leisure time and took many photos. The square was surrounded by the China National Museum, a Chinese Congress building, and our next destination, the Forbidden City. It’s called the Forbidden City because all males were forbidden to go inside, only the Emperor was allowed. After passing our 4th security checkpoint within 24 hours heading into the city, we realized the nuisances of being a tourist. However, we did not let the fact that we were being searched everywhere we went or the relentless downpour of rain stop us from enjoying the fact that we are actually in China. Anyways the Forbidden City is really rich in history because it was constructed in the early 1400’s. We viewed the Emperor’s throne, and his concubines’ living quarters. The city is extremely beautiful. After being soaked all day we proceeded to an elegant Chinese theater, where we watched a Chinese cultural play about how the danced, fought, and celebrated in the past.

We finally arrived back at the hotel at 9:30pm (China time) and haven’t seen the sun since left Phoenix. Oh the beautiful skies of Phoenix and San Francisco.