Nǐ hǎo! I made it! [Day 1]

I'm finally settled into my new apartment in West Beijing. It's… interesting. The door to the apartment looks like a vault at a bank, the shower is not separate from the bathroom, and my bed is as hard as a plank, but it'll do… I'm in China!

As a "novice traveler," I'm still so entertained by flying. Here are a few observations I made in my day-long journey to the other side of the world (FYI, my flight pattern was RDU>JFK>Tokyo>Beijing):

-There were birds flying around inside RDU and JFK.
-First class on international flights means basically having your own bed. I was not in first class.
-Some of the toilets in the Tokyo airport had remote controls. I did not use those.
-Some of the toilets in the Tokyo airport were a hole in the ground. I did not use those either.

I was fortunate enough to not be flying alone for most of the trip. Another intern, Courtney, had the same flights from JFK to Tokyo and Beijing. Not that navigating around the airports was difficult, but not having someone to talk to for 24 hours would be pretty dreadful.

We were picked up in the Beijing airport by Celine and our driver and given a choice of which way to drive to our new abode: the fastest and least scenic way, the way through the business district of China Avenue, or past the Olympic monuments. We chose China Avenue, and I was pleased with that choice. Celine described the city as a set of 6 Ring Roads, the sixth one being constructed currently. Our office and apartment are between the 2nd and 3rd Ring Roads.

We drove past Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the "Chinese White House," the entertainment centers, and a couple of shopping districts. It was all beautiful against the pitch black sky.

And now here we are, at our new home resting up for work on Monday. Courtney and I were the last interns to arrive, and the other interns are out right now. Three of us are from UNC, and two are from App State. Hopefully we'll be meeting them soon!