Once we gathered our bags, we were met by two lovely students from Dalian Maritime University. I will call them S and E. S was a fourth year student studying marine engineering and E was a fourth year tourism management major. They were really sweet to us and their English was quite good. They corralled a couple of taxis (we needed 2 because the tiny Volkswagens used as taxis couldn’t hold our bags and 4 passengers) and we headed south to DMU. It was getting dark so it was hard to draw too many impressions but Dalian has very diverse architecture and a very interesting landscape. Our drive featured different types of buildings ranging from sparkling new to tiny and dingy. It seems to be a very sprawling city, but unlike American sprawl the “suburbs” of Dalian are filled with multi-story buildings. After about a 25 minute ride, we arrived at our apartment building, which is just south of DMU. It shouldn’t take us more than a couple of minutes to walk to any of our classes.
When we got to the building, S and E directed the taxis to drive up onto the brick walkway in the back. I don’t think this was intended to be a road, but the taxi drivers gladly obliged. Talk about door to door service. We haven’t seen it in the daylight yet but the building has three entrances. We are in door number 2. To be honest, the stairway up to our fourth floor apartment is dimly lit and a bit dingy, but the apartment itself is pretty nice. C and I probably have more personal space here than we did in our apartment in Jersey! S and E showed us how to use all the different appliances and answered a lot of our initial questions. Later, the Foreign Affairs Officer of DMU stopped in to say hello. They were very attentive to our concerns but being exhausted we forgot to ask if we could dial internationally from our phone.
When they left, I went to call my parents who I am sure were very eagerly awaiting our call to make sure that our pickup panned out. Unfortunately the phone card that I purchased (eCallChina), apparently does not work from our phone. It claims you can use a particular toll free number in any city in China. Well that may be but we started to panic because we couldn’t contact our families and let them know we got here safely. There’s an internet café in the downstairs of the building so we did make it down there and pay for a few minutes of time to send emails. But as of this writing we don’t even know if they were received so we hope we have not given our parents heart attacks.
After doing some unpacking, C and I eventually decided to go to bed. You would think that having been up more than 25 hours, it would have not been hard for us to fall asleep. Unfortunately it was quite the contrary. I have to say that of all the nights in my life, this was probably in the top 10 of worst sleeping nights ever. Both of us got hit badly with missing our families. We got to see them more in the last two weeks then probably in the preceding 6 months but that actually made it worse. We were just there with them, enjoying the family life. I miss being with my parents and my brother. They were so good to us before we left and it was so nice to get an extended visit rather than just a weekend blip. And we worry about our families. Generally everyone is in good health but our parents are getting older and we don’t want to lose them. All of these feelings came out last night as we felt powerless and unable to call anyone. We spent a lot of time sobbing and holding each other. Finally we tried to get to sleep but it was a pretty fruitless efforts. I think C got 3 or 4 hours and I probably got 1 hour.
When you’re in a new place and you don’t speak the language, don’t know how to dial a phone, or buy food, or do anything that is so simple back home, you panic. That combined with missing our families made it very hard. But here we are – we eventually made it through the night. And yes we’re exhausted and need sleep (which God willing we can get tonight with our body clocks adjusting). The daylight is bringing new possibilities. Instead of being sick with grief and worry, we’re making a list of things we need and we’re about go out and explore campus. Later, some more student volunteers are coming by to help us shop and get acclimated. Right now honestly it is a struggle, but rather than the torment of last night it’s turning into the growth experience we hope this trip will be. Who knows – perhaps we will never get past our homesickness and end up coming back early, but we are going to give it a go the next few days and see what happens.
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Been in China 5 minutes and already got fleeced (Beijing Airport to Dalian Airport)
After getting off in Beijing, we headed up the escalator and down various long hallways to China Border Control. There was one additional entry form to fill out and then we got in, er attempted to get in line. Apparently all the international flights had landed at once so the lines for “Foreigners” as the neon signs read were snaking around the room. This of course caused a mass stampede of various nationalities aiming to get into China first. Fortunately they opened a few additional “Foreigner” lines (each of which caused an Ellis Island style immigration to the new line) which limited the chaos and allowed C and I to operate with more polite queueing methodology. Getting through customs was easy, I think all they cared about was that you had a valid Visa and checked “No” on each “do you have anything to declare” box. My name was spelled wrong on my Chinese Visa so it was with no small amount of trepidation that I took my turn at the desk but he didn’t give it a second thought. STAMP.
After you clear the customs desk and pick up your checked baggage you have to drop off a baggage customs form. What’s strange is that there’s no real sign or line or roped off area directing you to this desk. If you try to go past the desk one of the Chinese women will politely ask you to drop off your form but they could eliminate a lot of confusion with a couple of signs and a rope line. Finally, you have to pass your checked bags through an x-ray machine before you finally escape all the customs procedures. I amused the X-ray attendant by trying to ask where Terminal 1 was (the location of our connecting domestic flight to Dalian). Well “terminal 1” apparently doesn’t mean anything in Chinese so I tried asking where “zhongguo nanfang” (China Southern – our domestic airline) was. This produced a laugh and no further information so C and I headed out to the jungle that is Beijing Capital Terminal 2. We knew that we needed to get to Terminal 1 but there was a major shortage of signs even mentioning Terminal 1.
Keep in mind as you read this next section that C and I were hauling around (without the assistance of a luggage cart) 4 bags total, each weighing about 50 lbs. Had we been traveling a bit lighter I have no doubt in my mind that we would have figured out where to go and would have successfully checked in by ourselves. Unfortunately this was not the case and we were both quite stressed carrying 100 lbs each. I was sweating like a pig and C was struggling to roll her big bag with the duffel on top. We picked an area that seemed to take us towards Terminal 1 and a uniformed man (probably in his 20s) stopped and asked what airline we were flying. I showed him our tickets and he told us to go to Terminal 1, which we knew. He realized we had no clue how to get there and he started leading the way. We were so stressed we followed him and he led us down a long corridor that connected the two terminals. Along the way he picked up a luggage cart which simplified the trip. He also spoke decent English. C indicated to me that he was going to expect a payment for his assistance so I dug out 20 RMB (about $2.50). He definitely deserved a good tip because he took us a long way and at that time we were in no condition to figure all this out ourselves. He even took us right to the China Southern ticket counter in Terminal 1 and helped negotiate our greater than 20kg bags onto the plane. We were afraid we would have to pay more so avoiding this was great news. Finally, he lead us directly to the security checkpoint. By this time I had pulled a 50 RMB note because I felt he deserved extra for all the trouble he went to. When I went to hand it to him he said “too small, try 200 RMB”. Now 200 RMB is almost $25, which is extremely steep even for the amount of help he gave us. I tried to resist a little but I was soaked in sweat, exhausted, and he was holding our passports. Reluctantly I gave him the 200 kuai and he went on his merry way. Yes, we got taken but this was not the time to practice our negotiating skills in the Chinese marketplace. To be honest, we may have even saved money as he talked the China Southern attendant out of charging us for our heavy bags. Nonetheless I felt like a complete idiot for not standing my ground. As C and I walked away (and I must warn my sensitive readers of an upcoming offcolor remark), I muttered “I’ll tell you what’s too small”. A moment of a weakness for a weary traveler – surely our readers will allow me that.
Getting through security was very easy and Terminal 1 was reminiscent of a small US airport a la Buffalo or Rochester. It was very clean and modern just like Terminal 2. We bought a bottle of water and hung out until our flight left for Dalian. It was a half hour late but overall not a problem. The announcements were in English as well as Mandarin so it was easy to navigate. To my surprise there were at least 5-10 other non-Chinese on our flight to Dalian. The flight itself was very quick, about 45 minutes. They served a brief snack that consisted of an imitation American hot dog. And we got to speak our first Chinese words to a Chinese person on the plane. The flight attendant actually said “ni hao” instead of “hello”. I must say, it’s a little annoying when everyone speaks English when your purpose for being in China is to learn Mandarin. The flight attendants wore snappy red Chinese dresses (the type where they button high along the neck) and the seats were dressed up in a bright blue fabric with a pattern that seemed to design to evoke a Chinese motif. I guess China Southern is going for that “river boat on the Yangtze” feel. It was a good flight though and our bags were ready for pick up on the conveyor within about 10 minutes. Overall a thumbs up for China Southern, Terminal 1, and clever English speaking entrepreneurs wearing fake uniforms.
After you clear the customs desk and pick up your checked baggage you have to drop off a baggage customs form. What’s strange is that there’s no real sign or line or roped off area directing you to this desk. If you try to go past the desk one of the Chinese women will politely ask you to drop off your form but they could eliminate a lot of confusion with a couple of signs and a rope line. Finally, you have to pass your checked bags through an x-ray machine before you finally escape all the customs procedures. I amused the X-ray attendant by trying to ask where Terminal 1 was (the location of our connecting domestic flight to Dalian). Well “terminal 1” apparently doesn’t mean anything in Chinese so I tried asking where “zhongguo nanfang” (China Southern – our domestic airline) was. This produced a laugh and no further information so C and I headed out to the jungle that is Beijing Capital Terminal 2. We knew that we needed to get to Terminal 1 but there was a major shortage of signs even mentioning Terminal 1.
Keep in mind as you read this next section that C and I were hauling around (without the assistance of a luggage cart) 4 bags total, each weighing about 50 lbs. Had we been traveling a bit lighter I have no doubt in my mind that we would have figured out where to go and would have successfully checked in by ourselves. Unfortunately this was not the case and we were both quite stressed carrying 100 lbs each. I was sweating like a pig and C was struggling to roll her big bag with the duffel on top. We picked an area that seemed to take us towards Terminal 1 and a uniformed man (probably in his 20s) stopped and asked what airline we were flying. I showed him our tickets and he told us to go to Terminal 1, which we knew. He realized we had no clue how to get there and he started leading the way. We were so stressed we followed him and he led us down a long corridor that connected the two terminals. Along the way he picked up a luggage cart which simplified the trip. He also spoke decent English. C indicated to me that he was going to expect a payment for his assistance so I dug out 20 RMB (about $2.50). He definitely deserved a good tip because he took us a long way and at that time we were in no condition to figure all this out ourselves. He even took us right to the China Southern ticket counter in Terminal 1 and helped negotiate our greater than 20kg bags onto the plane. We were afraid we would have to pay more so avoiding this was great news. Finally, he lead us directly to the security checkpoint. By this time I had pulled a 50 RMB note because I felt he deserved extra for all the trouble he went to. When I went to hand it to him he said “too small, try 200 RMB”. Now 200 RMB is almost $25, which is extremely steep even for the amount of help he gave us. I tried to resist a little but I was soaked in sweat, exhausted, and he was holding our passports. Reluctantly I gave him the 200 kuai and he went on his merry way. Yes, we got taken but this was not the time to practice our negotiating skills in the Chinese marketplace. To be honest, we may have even saved money as he talked the China Southern attendant out of charging us for our heavy bags. Nonetheless I felt like a complete idiot for not standing my ground. As C and I walked away (and I must warn my sensitive readers of an upcoming offcolor remark), I muttered “I’ll tell you what’s too small”. A moment of a weakness for a weary traveler – surely our readers will allow me that.
Getting through security was very easy and Terminal 1 was reminiscent of a small US airport a la Buffalo or Rochester. It was very clean and modern just like Terminal 2. We bought a bottle of water and hung out until our flight left for Dalian. It was a half hour late but overall not a problem. The announcements were in English as well as Mandarin so it was easy to navigate. To my surprise there were at least 5-10 other non-Chinese on our flight to Dalian. The flight itself was very quick, about 45 minutes. They served a brief snack that consisted of an imitation American hot dog. And we got to speak our first Chinese words to a Chinese person on the plane. The flight attendant actually said “ni hao” instead of “hello”. I must say, it’s a little annoying when everyone speaks English when your purpose for being in China is to learn Mandarin. The flight attendants wore snappy red Chinese dresses (the type where they button high along the neck) and the seats were dressed up in a bright blue fabric with a pattern that seemed to design to evoke a Chinese motif. I guess China Southern is going for that “river boat on the Yangtze” feel. It was a good flight though and our bags were ready for pick up on the conveyor within about 10 minutes. Overall a thumbs up for China Southern, Terminal 1, and clever English speaking entrepreneurs wearing fake uniforms.
Pennsylvania to Beijing Airport
Well, it’s 5:23 AM on Saturday, August 19 in Dalian, PRC. This entry probably won’t go up for a bit due to our lack of internet access but I wanted to write before I forget the details. I am also splitting the entries up because otherwise this post would be enormous and no doubt encourage our loyal readers to seek greener blogging pastures.
We got up at 6 AM in Pennsylvania and enjoyed a delicious breakfast prepared by my mother – turkey bacon, cinnamon roll bites, and fruit. A very good way to start a day of international travel. It took about an hour and a half to get to Newark from Bucks County. There was a little stop and go traffic on US22 but not bad. My dad pulled up to Continental departures at the C terminal and we got out and said our goodbyes. It was terribly hard as it always is. The current plan is to be here for a year and I know that moment of hugs and last minute declarations of love and concern is burned in my head for the duration. There’s something about saying goodbye that heightens your memory and allows you to relive those last few seconds with loved ones (and thus experience the heartache all over again). I know it was hard for my family to see us go to China so it was very tough. C went through the same thing a few days earlier when she left her parents in Buffalo.
After the tears got jerked away during our farewells, we went inside and checked in with our bags. We checked four total and our two biggest ones just sneaked in under the 50 lb mark. Actually they topped 50 but the attendants let us check them without an extra fee anyhow. We made it through security in about 10 minutes – it was a cakewalk. Everything logistical went well on the trip. As a tribute to leaving our homeland we sought out a Starbucks (iced grande coffee for me and a soy chai latte for C), and then wolfed down some Dunkin Donuts. Chances are we will lose 20 lbs in China so we indulged a bit. The flight boarded around 11:25am EST and took off around 12:45pm EST. The night before when we checked in online we were able to snag seats in row 16 – which is the first economy class row. We had seats up against the bulkhead meaning we had a terrific amount of leg room compared to most of economy class.
The food in economy class was so-so. Our meal choices were sirloin steak and salmon for lunch, then for our pre-landing snack it was dim sum or an omelette. C and I both went for the steak and the dim sum. The actual meat wasn’t too bad but the accompanying salad was a bit brown around the edges and the dim sum was unremarkable. The biggest refreshment issue was the availability of liquids. The current security situation of course prevented us bringing a bottle of water on the plane and we were constantly harassing the attendants for more.
We didn’t sleep a wink of course – it doesn’t matter how much leg room I have if I can’t lay flat. To pass the time we monitored our flight status on the heads up display, watched Mission Impossible 3, enjoyed each other’s company and pretended to sleep. Oh and C went bonkers without her lip gloss available. That’s one of life’s little conceits for her so she was quite angry at TSA for outlawing it in carry-ons. Otherwise the flight was unremarkable and LONG. Once you’re flying over Siberia you’d think you’re almost to China – wrong – another 2500 miles! We did okay for the first 8 or 9 of 14 hours but the remaining 5 seemed interminable. It was also the 8 hour mark where C developed motion sickness and spent much of the remainder doubled over in her seat. She’s proud that she didn’t lose her lunch though!
The plane landed smoothly in Beijing around 1:45 PM China time. Maybe it’s in my head but the bigger planes (like our 777-200) seem to land effortlessly, while the smaller A320s and 737s feel like they will shake apart. We had filled out the 2 available customs forms on the plane, and grabbed our carry-ons and disembarked – we were in Beijing Capital Airport, but not to Dalian by any stretch as my next entry will describe!
We got up at 6 AM in Pennsylvania and enjoyed a delicious breakfast prepared by my mother – turkey bacon, cinnamon roll bites, and fruit. A very good way to start a day of international travel. It took about an hour and a half to get to Newark from Bucks County. There was a little stop and go traffic on US22 but not bad. My dad pulled up to Continental departures at the C terminal and we got out and said our goodbyes. It was terribly hard as it always is. The current plan is to be here for a year and I know that moment of hugs and last minute declarations of love and concern is burned in my head for the duration. There’s something about saying goodbye that heightens your memory and allows you to relive those last few seconds with loved ones (and thus experience the heartache all over again). I know it was hard for my family to see us go to China so it was very tough. C went through the same thing a few days earlier when she left her parents in Buffalo.
After the tears got jerked away during our farewells, we went inside and checked in with our bags. We checked four total and our two biggest ones just sneaked in under the 50 lb mark. Actually they topped 50 but the attendants let us check them without an extra fee anyhow. We made it through security in about 10 minutes – it was a cakewalk. Everything logistical went well on the trip. As a tribute to leaving our homeland we sought out a Starbucks (iced grande coffee for me and a soy chai latte for C), and then wolfed down some Dunkin Donuts. Chances are we will lose 20 lbs in China so we indulged a bit. The flight boarded around 11:25am EST and took off around 12:45pm EST. The night before when we checked in online we were able to snag seats in row 16 – which is the first economy class row. We had seats up against the bulkhead meaning we had a terrific amount of leg room compared to most of economy class.
The food in economy class was so-so. Our meal choices were sirloin steak and salmon for lunch, then for our pre-landing snack it was dim sum or an omelette. C and I both went for the steak and the dim sum. The actual meat wasn’t too bad but the accompanying salad was a bit brown around the edges and the dim sum was unremarkable. The biggest refreshment issue was the availability of liquids. The current security situation of course prevented us bringing a bottle of water on the plane and we were constantly harassing the attendants for more.
We didn’t sleep a wink of course – it doesn’t matter how much leg room I have if I can’t lay flat. To pass the time we monitored our flight status on the heads up display, watched Mission Impossible 3, enjoyed each other’s company and pretended to sleep. Oh and C went bonkers without her lip gloss available. That’s one of life’s little conceits for her so she was quite angry at TSA for outlawing it in carry-ons. Otherwise the flight was unremarkable and LONG. Once you’re flying over Siberia you’d think you’re almost to China – wrong – another 2500 miles! We did okay for the first 8 or 9 of 14 hours but the remaining 5 seemed interminable. It was also the 8 hour mark where C developed motion sickness and spent much of the remainder doubled over in her seat. She’s proud that she didn’t lose her lunch though!
The plane landed smoothly in Beijing around 1:45 PM China time. Maybe it’s in my head but the bigger planes (like our 777-200) seem to land effortlessly, while the smaller A320s and 737s feel like they will shake apart. We had filled out the 2 available customs forms on the plane, and grabbed our carry-ons and disembarked – we were in Beijing Capital Airport, but not to Dalian by any stretch as my next entry will describe!
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