5: First Day In Beijing

I’m absolutely jetlagged. I’m writing this at 4:30 in the morning even though I’m slightly hungover and I should be sleeping. But I really just can’t believe I’m actually here in Beijing. I see Chinese characters everywhere, but it still feels like a dream. I’ve seen only 10 white people tonight (and trust me, I’ve seen LOTS and LOTS of people tonight), and I still feel like I’m in America.

My flight was interesting. I flew Air China with a 700 dollar ticket, so I wasn’t really expecting to be treated like Bill Gates. But it was still quite interesting. The pilot came by my seat to help a stewardess with an overhead bin, and I don’t think he realized at all that his crotch was up against my shoulder. My dad joked about how I’ll have a lack of personal space in Asia, but I didn’t expect it to happen so soon (we hadn’t even taken off!). Usually, the stewardesses try to schedule the meal times and sleep times to match that of the destination country. But this flight was different. They tried serving dinner and then putting everyone to sleep until the last few hours. During the middle of the flight, there was an electrical shortage or something, and everyone’s personal light kept on flashing on and off for a few minutes until someone turned it off. Then we were stuck without those reading lights for the rest of the flight. There was actually more leg room on this flight than the one to Japan, which surprised me. All in all, the flight itself was okay.

When we landed, and I absolutely hate saying this because everyone says this, but the first thing you really do notice is the smog. It’s worse than LA. There’s a haze that spreads from the horizon up to the sky. It’s slightly ominous. The last time I saw an atmosphere like that was when fires were ripping through San Diego.

Beijing Capital Airport is BEAUTIFUL. But when I got off the plane, it was completely empty. The customs line is extremely quick. You just queue up, show your passport and your visa, and off you go. However, from the gate to when you exit the baggage claim, it’s empty. When you finally exit the airport, it’s busy busy busy busy busy busy. I found my connection, and she put me in a taxi off to Peking University.

The first few miles of the drive were actually just like America. Then I saw two cars go into the same lane at the same time, and instead of one leaving the lane respectfully, they both sped up, almost hitting the car in front of them just to win the spot. It’s not uncommon to see cars tailgating one or two feet behind the next one.

I was tempted to ask the driver to drive past Tiananmen Square, but it was way out of the way to Peking University, so I resigned myself to the direct drive. It was an experience in itself. There are huge neon signs on every building. I could read some of the characters. We passed the Beijing Ikea, and I pointed to the building and said to my taxi driver, “Ikea!” Unfortunately, he didn’t know what Ikea was, and looked at me weird. We kept driving. Suddenly, I see a building I recognized – Bird’s Nest! It was an amazing sight to behold, especially after missing out on Tiananmen Square.

When I got to my destination, I bumped into a friend I knew, and her friend. We went out to dinner, pork dumplings and lamb kebabs, and then we went out drinking. We went to this area where a bunch of bars surround this man-made lake. The bar we went to played live Spanish music from a Chinese band. We did a couple of shots, and were joined by her friend’s roommates and friends. Then we all sat outside drinking beers. It was a great night.