February 10/11, China Blog

Friday, February 10

I wonder how many us were buzzing with anticipation before we actually survived the traffic and accident that caused terrible traffic on 280. Apparently packing supplies for 28 and for myself is more complicated than expected.  But travelers can only expect so much and the calm, easy airport experience I had envisioned was a tad busier and more  bustling but necessary. T-shirts, luggage tags, books and snacks were distributed for check-in bags and over-the counter medical supplies and games that were plane-worthy were readied for our flight which turned out to be less than the 13 hours posted on the United site. Chaperons took turns wandering around the plane checking on boys, distributing ginger candies and encouraging hydration.  The galley was full of water for the taking and just getting up is a delight when the flight is so long.  I’d like to have a chat with the person responsible for choosing the in-flight movies.  There didn’t seem to be enough 18 year-old men on the plane to warrant the updated Foot Loose, a comedy about bird watchers, and a variety of mundane TV shows.  When a documentary popped up I felt hopeful until we delved into the mystery of the ancient decapitated skeleton (no head to be found) uncovered in a remote desert followed by theories about the societal customs, which may have led to this unfortunate end. Talk about catering to a captive audience!  The plane ride was great and there were three services of food.  Water was available in the galley though many boys purchased water at SFO, so rest assured everyone was hydrated.  In fact when we finally landed  the boys seemed to think that though the flight was long, it seemed like we just left.  We waited in many different lines to give our yellow forms to the agent. No sooner would we stand in one line than they would open another for Foreigners.  Though the names on the signs were not for foreigners.  We collected our baggage, all of which arrived.  Boys were given their jobs, job cards describing their jobs and two left with Ms. Thaler and Huang to exchange money.  Mr. Jackson and the four luggage boys collected luggage while the rest worked off some energy on the shiny, shiny floors of the new Beijing airport. Very elegant with a large fountain inside in the middle. We met our two tour guides.  We went straight from the airport to dinner. I think some of the boys were amazed at how many dishes kept coming to the table.  We sat at three round tables with one chaperon at each table.  Following convention, they learned how to take food and pass it around. Chopstick demonstrations were given and great improvement was achieved for some by the end of the meal.  Everyone could find things to eat in the wide variety of vegetable, fish and meat dishes. Alex  was asleep through most of dinner and others were barely keeping their eyes open.  Apparently, they needed to scan each passport at the front desk so check in took a little longer than expected. Two sets of roommates were put in a room with a king-sized bed and that was changed so each boy had  his own bed.  Just as I sat down to write this to you, there was a knock at the door.  Someone from the front desk was holding all of our passports but did not know enough English to explain what she wanted. I took them all and signed for them,  Soon another knock.  A boy forgot where he was and left his room to use the bathroom. His heavily sleeping roommate did not respond to a phone call or knocks on the door,  I took my key and the boy and headed downstairs because now my key wouldn’t work any longer.  Downstairs by the front desk we found Ms. Huang, because her key had stopped working as well.  Everyone has a working room key and I would bet a lot of yen, that everyone but me is asleep. Which will change very, very shortly. Tomorrow we go to the Tienanmen Square and the Forbidden City., followed by a rickshaw ride to the Hutong, an old neighborhood section of Beijing where they boys will make a dumpling lunch for themselves with a local family. Rumor has it  that shopping will also happen.  Much excitement about bargaining.  I’ll keep you posted.