Today I woke up ready to roll. Gabe is coming today, and that thought (along with the fact that I had an excuse to get off campus) managed to get me through the arduous lessons today. I had an eerie replay of the day before, and then I left the dorm around 3:15. My day immediately got better after that.
I took the subway to the DongZhiMen station, studying for the morrow’s test. I talked to Richard on the way, and he let me know how his internship was going. He says that he likes it a lot, and that is he the translator/tour guide/whatever-they-need-to-do person for this NGO in Yunnan province. It sounds like interesting work, and ahead of its time for rural China.
Then I proceeded to the International Terminal of the Beijing Airport, where I waited on Gabe’s plane to get it. I was a little dumb before I left, forgetting to look at his flight information before I left the dorm, and I couldn’t remember the city from which he took off. However, I knew when the flight got in, and that put me there right on time.
I waited and waited and waited. I waited at the airport for about two hours, watching the endless stream of people emerging from the baggage claim. If for no other reason than the volume of people going through the airport, the Beijing Airport is impressive. I got a call from someone around 5:50, and it was Gabe. For some reason, his flight came into the other terminal of the airport – not the international one. And the 2ndterminal was a 15-minute bus ride away. By 6:30, I’d met Gabe, and we headed back towards the city.
A word of advice: the airport subway line is not like your average subway line. Traveling in one direction incurs a 25-Yuan fee, which is pretty steep by Chinese standards. With that said, the airport line is the absolute fastest way to get to the airport from the city, and the train drops you off right by the international terminal) along with the other two.
It took us around 40 minutes to make it back to the dorm, where Gabe and I made a quick turn-around to get some supper at the West Gate. We went to a little Cheng Du restaurant, and ordered green beans with peppers, tree fungus, and rice. Fireworks continue to go off all around us. Please keep in mind that New Year’s was a week ago. According to Joy, the more noise that one makes with your fireworks, the better one’s business will be in the next year. The Chinese must really trust this superstition because the average Chinese businessman will spend approximately 20,000-30,000 Yuan in fireworks for the New Year. That’s between $3,000 and $4,000!
Then, we walked back to the dorm through the frozen landscape, where I studied some more for my test. I felt that I was truly prepared for the test on the morrow.
The airport is a very interesting monster in this city. The most recent development – Terminal 3 – was made specifically for the 2008 Olympics. Dear readers, please, please be sure that you double and triple check your travel information when traveling to the Beijing airport. It truly is a pain in the butt that the terminals are not connected, except by a rickety transfer bus. And for the record, there aren’t any KFCs in the newest terminal of the Beijing Airport. If your plane lands at Terminal 3, don’t plan on getting any delicious Chinese spicy chicken sandwiches there.
I’ll write soon!
Love,
Jamey
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