yeah it finally happened I've arrived in China, and even to the town where I'll reside for the next 10 months. The flight was as expected long and tedious, the only movie I wanted to watch was the last one and only one that I couldn't stay awake through. I didn't sit in my own seat the whole time. In the seat next to me was a mother with a baby, actually an incrdibly cute and well behaved who barely pinched out a cry during take off. The mother assured me that the child was merely upset because of the early departure, I must admit I sympathised.
Upon arriving in ShangHai I made my way through immigrattion seamlessly, then slowly gathered my bags and relieved myself after 20 hours of blowing kisses at my seat cushon. There was no incident in customs, not even a second glance as I breased past the guards. Entering the arrivals section I quickly found my dissapointed greeter. Dissapointed merely because I had found her sign with my name before she could recognise me from the picture I'd sent. It seems that I looked "fatter" in the picture, well that's what you get being lazy and just doing it on the computer. I figure it must have just been the picture seeing when I had taken that picture I'd been feeding myself and not relying on the frequent feedings I found at home for those three weeks. We quickly weaved our way through the hurley burley of arrival traffic and stood in queu for a taxi which would take us to the hotel she'd booked.
I must say that it is rather a wonderful feeling to be met at the airport by a beautiful girl waiting just for you and even dressed up for the occassion. We arrived at the hotel late due to some rush hour traffic even though rush hour traffic in ShangHai seems to move more then at home. People seem to obey the recommendations of the lines less here. Hand resting on horn they drive, swerving to miss bicycles and scooters, pedestrians and the larger animals. Similarly to the airport we arrived at the hotel without incident. It was the nicest Hotel I've ever stayed in, a bell-boy took my bags up to the room but unfortunately was left wanting given my lack of Chinese change, he too seemed rather dissapointed.
Gina, my hostess, and I had agreed to meet in the lobby in twenty minutes where I'd meet the brit who'd arrived earlier that day. As expected, twenty minutes of soap, tooth-paste, and clean underwear we were reunited in the lobby with the addition of Edwin. A nice fellow from Birmingham who'd studied Chinese for his undergrad and had previously spent a year in Beijing and as such slightly more prepared, at least in the communication district, then I am. We then went to a fairly posh restaurant where we met a friend of Gina's who works in the city and enjoyed a nice meal. I then went back to the Hotel and slept. We would leave for GanZou the following day.
posted by Brett @ 12:40 AM
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