3 Planes, 2 Layovers, 1 Module...
Parents, family, and friends: we are all here in Shanghai, China, safe and sound. I want to apologize for not having a video. I discovered that the USB cable that I have is in fact the wrong one. I am working on remedying that. Until then, enjoy the pictures, and find out more beneath the slideshow!
Our first adventures
We all got to the airport at 4 am, well, all of us except Andrew who was 7 minutes late. To make a long story short, we ended up sitting on the runway for 2 hours (with a brake check along the way) before we left for Atlanta because of very bad weather. We got there after our non-stop flight to Shanghai had left, but don't worry, we got a connecting flight through Korea, so the trip was only about 6 hours off schedule. Our 16-hour flight turned into a 14-hour flight to Korea with a short layover then a 2-hour flight into Shanghai. When we got on board, we discovered that each seat came with a pillow, blanket, bottle of water, headphones, socks, toothbrush, toothpaste, eye-mask, and a lanyard. We also had our own little TVs that played all of the latest movies, some television shows, games, the satellite view of where the plane was, and music. We had 2 full meals while in the air, and the whole plane was dark except when it was mealtime. Most people slept, but I couldn't sleep. This was a problem because we were all scattered around the plane, sitting in the middle of sleeping strangers. Needless to say, I was restless. It was a LONG flight, but I made new friends and talked to the Andrew and Ed who were sitting behind me. I got to see Alaska and Russia as I looked at the back window when I went to stretch my legs. It was one of the coolest sights I've ever seen!
When we got in Korea, it was the first time that many of us had been in a different country. Even though we didn't leave the airport, I still took pictures of the country to commemorate this occasion. We were all pretty worn out by this time. On the next flight we got another meal! I've had rice with every meal that I have eaten so far today. :)
After 2 more hours, we were finally in CHINA!!! We easily went through customs and were met at the bottom of the escalator by our tour guide/translator for our duration in Shanghai, Lucy. (She goes by Lucy because we can't pronounce her Chinese name) She told us a ton of information about the city as we rode across town in our bus to our hotel. She also taught us some key phrases that we may need. We got to see downtown Shanghai, and I am sorry the pictures are blurry. I tried to get some of what we were seeing, but they don't do it justice. We are now settled into our hotel rooms (which have some of the coolest features ever such as a doorbell and soap/shampoo dispensers) and everyone but me is sound asleep. We leave the hotel at 8 tomorrow morning to go to a nearby city. I will give you many details tomorrow night as well as another photo album. We're going to have a blast!
All in all, today was an incredible experience. I have learned so many things about not only traveling internationally, but also being a minority and the difficulties that come with that. There was a woman sitting 2 seats down from me on the plane who did not speak any of the languages that were spoken on the flight. For 14 hours, she struggled to communicate what she needed. Seeing her and helping her made me realize how lucky we are as Americans to have English pretty much wherever we go. Be thankful.
Until tomorrow,
Ashley
