Kim Finally Writes

Hello! I know. I haven’t been blogging, but I have a good excuse (and its not the dog ate my homework). China has blocked Google blogger. Now I know some of you are probably wondering why I didn’t just pull some really techy move and break through the Great Firewall of China. And the answer is...I have absolutely no clue how to be that cool. So, I was left with the choice of finding a new blogsite, but that seemed like a lot of work and frankly I wouldn’t know where to start (again not a technologically savvy person).

SO, I thought really outside the box and...enlisted the help of my 17 year old sister Melissa to post stuff on my blog for me. I am basically sending back stuff to post (like this) and pictures for my sister/little minion to post. She is far better at this computer stuff than I am, and frankly my blog will probably look better if she maintains it. So Melissa...thanks, and your check is in the mail (or it would be if I had money or knew how to mail stuff from China).

Well, I now have about two weeks worth of stuff to catch you up on so I going to have to work fast! I will probably bring you (all two of my readers) up to date in a series of posts rather than in one big post. It just seems easier...and one big post would take too long. I am far to lazy to do that.

I am going to start with a few ground rules for this blog.

1. This blog is not going to stick to grammar rules. Professor Pate is probably going to kill me for this but..hey I am in China, my grade for freshman composition is pretty much set, and again I’m too lazy to check for all that stuff.

2. I’m not going to tell the fairy tale version of study abroad. I will be honest about what irks me about the culture, how I am feeling about being abroad,how I think we in America need to change our views, and most importantly...what food I really miss. If someone can figure out how to mail me some really good Mexican food I would be eternally grateful. ;)

3. I am not going to post everyday. I had this great idea that I would post everyday and keep everyone up to date with the newest and coolest thing that happened to me in Beijing, but then I realized I am not that exciting and posting everyday is impossible. So expect a few posts a week. Hopefully they will be worth your time. If not, there are four other study aboard bloggers. Perhaps they are having more fun.

4. I am going to try to start out with a quotation of some sort either from a Chinese philosopher or even something I found interesting in one of the required readings for the classes. Hopefully, it will show the difference between the American culture and the Chinese culture. Perhaps we will have more in common that you thought. At the very least, it will prove to my parents that I am actually paying attention in class while I am in Beijing. And this is something I am going to try out so I might drop it halfway through the semester...or even next week.

So now that we have that done let’s start at the beginning! Well...of this trip at least. I left the good ole U S of A on January 14th at 12:30am. It didn’t really hit me that I would be studying in China for four months until I stood at the security line and said goodbye to my parents. Then, I wanted a refund on my ticket. I gave them huge hugs, shed some tears (it’s a rarity for me to cry in public...if I have cried in front of you remember that occasion...it might not happen again) I probably waved goodbye about fifty times as the line crept closer and closer to the bag x-ray machine and I couldn’t see my parents anymore.

The plane ride was not that thrilling. But traveling on Asiana Airlines made me realize a few things.

1. I can never be an Asiana stewardess. They can each speak at least two languages and they smile all the time. (And its a thirteen hour flight)

2. I love Asiana. They actually had (dare I say it) decent airplane food. They delivered hot tea at least 4 times during the flight. I began to realize how much I would be drinking tea while I was in China.

Perhaps the highlight of my journey to Beijing came on the flight from South Korea to Beijing. Looking out the window at the vast ocean, I was struck by how small I am. I am one individual on a planet of billions of people. I am not trying to downplay the impact one person can have on the world, but it was an amazing feeling. I am just one. As the plane came closer to Peking International Airport, I looked out at scenery I did not recognize. To be honest, it was unimpressive and a little disappointing. I was finally in China (or at least flying over it) and I was being greet by dead fields, factories blowing grey smoke into the air, and numerous roads that cut across the land in a seemingly aimless manner. Here was China. My new home for the next four months.