After a restless night, a 3:30AM wake up call, a 6AM departure, and cross-continental flight, I've arrived at staging in San Francisco. Unfortunately, I am roughly four hours early, but at least I have a free wi-fi connection and my blog to kill the time.
The morning was rough, mostly because my loneliness and nerves kept me up through the night. I felt like my sleep cycle was just starting as I forced myself to my feet at quarter of four. Too bad, I had business to take care of. The flight was uneventful, although United Airlines charged me $50.00 to check my bags, which is ridiculous. Hopefully (fingers crossed) the PC will throw that back at me.
In more interesting news, I sat next to a young couple from China. We only began talking towards the end of the flight, but I learned that they were working/studying engineering in Massachusetts after having moved from (no joke) Chengdu. Its a little, tiny world out there. They gave me some good tips, and told me the city is beautiful and filled with helpful people. Also, they spoke of an area outside the sity proper that was supposedly as beautiful as Yosemite. I want to find this place, although I don't really remember the title of the park/area. It sounded as if there are two words in its title, and strong "j" sounds began both. Jing Jao? Jiang Je? Ching Joa? I'm not sure.
The last time that I was in California was over 15 years ago for the passing of my Great Grandmother, so I feel that I wasn't able to fully appreciate the expanse of American land that passed 30,000 feet beneath the fuselage. Looking out the windows of the plane was pretty crazy; I'm a sucker for clouds and landscapes. I watched coast turn to farmland, then badlands, the mountains, and finally back to coast. Very cool.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Feeling lonely.
I'm sitting here at the Hilton at Logan Airport in Boston, Massachusetts, and I have never felt this alone. Ever.
Today I said goodbye to my girlfriend, my mum, my step-dad Tim, the house in new Hampshire and the two puppies. It was rough at times, tears mixed with dread and nerves, but it was far more comfortable than the loneliness, the isolation, that I'm sitting in now. I have left those that love me and I won't see them for two years.
I was talking to my brother a minute ago, telling him what I was feeling, and I wanted to compare the current situation with my first moments at college. There are similarities, but this loneliness, this alienation is far more intense, or perhaps more pure. At U.M.F. I was immediately surrounded by other freshmen in a locale that would be my home. Today, I am swimming in a sea of strangers, sitting in a room I may never return to after tomorrow's early morning. There is something very, very strange about this.
And yet, despite the strangeness, despite the nerves and the lurking uncertainty, I am ridiculously excited. This is my adventure. I've worked towards this departure for 15 months and now I am faced with the granting of my wishes. I am very stoked.
Today I said goodbye to my girlfriend, my mum, my step-dad Tim, the house in new Hampshire and the two puppies. It was rough at times, tears mixed with dread and nerves, but it was far more comfortable than the loneliness, the isolation, that I'm sitting in now. I have left those that love me and I won't see them for two years.
I was talking to my brother a minute ago, telling him what I was feeling, and I wanted to compare the current situation with my first moments at college. There are similarities, but this loneliness, this alienation is far more intense, or perhaps more pure. At U.M.F. I was immediately surrounded by other freshmen in a locale that would be my home. Today, I am swimming in a sea of strangers, sitting in a room I may never return to after tomorrow's early morning. There is something very, very strange about this.
And yet, despite the strangeness, despite the nerves and the lurking uncertainty, I am ridiculously excited. This is my adventure. I've worked towards this departure for 15 months and now I am faced with the granting of my wishes. I am very stoked.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Let the goodbyes begin
I just returned home from a fantastic trip to Bar Harbor, Maine. Since Friday, I have driven over 21 hours on the interstates and byways of New Hampshire and Maine, and while interstate driving is not my favorite activity, especially during epic rainfall, I gladly made the trek with my girlfriend to go say good bye to a handful of close collegiate friends.
Bar Harbor is absolutely beautiful, if you can get past/around/through the tourist crowds that sustain the community's economy. I have no problem with tourists on the individual level, as I'll soon be one overseas. Its crowds of tourists that get my goat. Luckily its still early in the season and the weather sucked, so there weren't hordes of people out on the streets.
Its weird, with roughly a week left before staging, the real goodbyes have begun; other the past weekend I said au revoir to people who love me. Until yesterday, the common parting message would usually be See you tomorrow/in a week/in a month, but now that's changed. See you in 27 months, if all goes to plan carries a uniquely immediate and fatalistic tone. I'm trying not to be fatalistic about this, but I've never been staring down such an alienating and extended absense before.
In lighter news, I cut all my hair off. Well, almost all; I left about an 8th of an inch on the top of my head. Before I left for Bar Harbor I hit up a local barber and ordered a buzz cut. She was nice enough to take the razors to my face, as well, making the shaving process far easier. So now I'm clean cut and ready to look business-casual for staging and PST. Woo-hoo.
Bar Harbor is absolutely beautiful, if you can get past/around/through the tourist crowds that sustain the community's economy. I have no problem with tourists on the individual level, as I'll soon be one overseas. Its crowds of tourists that get my goat. Luckily its still early in the season and the weather sucked, so there weren't hordes of people out on the streets.
Its weird, with roughly a week left before staging, the real goodbyes have begun; other the past weekend I said au revoir to people who love me. Until yesterday, the common parting message would usually be See you tomorrow/in a week/in a month, but now that's changed. See you in 27 months, if all goes to plan carries a uniquely immediate and fatalistic tone. I'm trying not to be fatalistic about this, but I've never been staring down such an alienating and extended absense before.
In lighter news, I cut all my hair off. Well, almost all; I left about an 8th of an inch on the top of my head. Before I left for Bar Harbor I hit up a local barber and ordered a buzz cut. She was nice enough to take the razors to my face, as well, making the shaving process far easier. So now I'm clean cut and ready to look business-casual for staging and PST. Woo-hoo.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Evening blog
As I was just browsing facebook, and, more specifically, replying to a friend request from another China 15 member. I won't mention her name, to protect the innocence of FB users but I'll transcribe her recent status update: "Do you guys actually speak / understand Mandarin? Like, seriously? ohhhhh".
I'm a little nervous about heading to staging and PST, and I think that nervousness stems mostly from the looming, Berlin-esque language barrier staring me in the face. Reading that status update felt like a refreshing wave of community and commonality. My concern is pretty specific (How many people are really scared of not knowing Chinese?), so the relief of knowing someone else shares it, or at least possess the same lack of ability, is comforting.
I'm a little nervous about heading to staging and PST, and I think that nervousness stems mostly from the looming, Berlin-esque language barrier staring me in the face. Reading that status update felt like a refreshing wave of community and commonality. My concern is pretty specific (How many people are really scared of not knowing Chinese?), so the relief of knowing someone else shares it, or at least possess the same lack of ability, is comforting.
Friday, June 12, 2009
My Dog ate my Chacos.
I've been trying to write this post for three days now. Time to just get it out.
Long story short, one of my dogs at one of my Chacos, which is really too bad, because I love my Chacos almost as much as I love my dogs. For those who aren't familiar with Chacos, they are a footwear company that produces tough, reliable, sandals. For those who aren't familiar with dogs, they are adorable, four legged mammals, sometimes equipped with unending appetites for love and loose nylon.
Damage Assessment: non-critical.
Flyer, my family's six month old mini Australian Shepard, gnawed into one of the buckle straps of my Chaco Hipthongs. The sandal was laying on the floor (go figure, its a shoe) and he got into it. He's just a little boy though, and he's still teething, so its really my fault. When I found the damage, I told him sternly "Flyer, you're VERY lucky that I love you." Then I scratched his belly. I can't hold a grudge against a puppy.
Seriously though, I love these sandals. I was an ardent Birkenstock devotee until about a year and a half ago when I was given a pair of Chacos. You could probably count the number of days I haven't worn my Chacos since then on two hands.
Just as an example, as evidence to substantiate my rave about these sandals, consider the following. I worked at Saddleback Ski School in Rangeley Maine nearly every weekend (and some weeks) last season. Sometimes the temperatures on the hour drive from Farmington to Rangeley, Maine, would drop below -10 Fahrenheit and there was routinely a 70 yard walk through the snow to get from the employee parking to the lodge. On any given weekend it was my Chacos that carried me through the ankle deep snow. If only I could have fit those suckers into telemark bindings, I would have skied in them too.
Needless to say, those sandals are going to see China.
Long story short, one of my dogs at one of my Chacos, which is really too bad, because I love my Chacos almost as much as I love my dogs. For those who aren't familiar with Chacos, they are a footwear company that produces tough, reliable, sandals. For those who aren't familiar with dogs, they are adorable, four legged mammals, sometimes equipped with unending appetites for love and loose nylon.
Damage Assessment: non-critical.
Flyer, my family's six month old mini Australian Shepard, gnawed into one of the buckle straps of my Chaco Hipthongs. The sandal was laying on the floor (go figure, its a shoe) and he got into it. He's just a little boy though, and he's still teething, so its really my fault. When I found the damage, I told him sternly "Flyer, you're VERY lucky that I love you." Then I scratched his belly. I can't hold a grudge against a puppy.Seriously though, I love these sandals. I was an ardent Birkenstock devotee until about a year and a half ago when I was given a pair of Chacos. You could probably count the number of days I haven't worn my Chacos since then on two hands.
Just as an example, as evidence to substantiate my rave about these sandals, consider the following. I worked at Saddleback Ski School in Rangeley Maine nearly every weekend (and some weeks) last season. Sometimes the temperatures on the hour drive from Farmington to Rangeley, Maine, would drop below -10 Fahrenheit and there was routinely a 70 yard walk through the snow to get from the employee parking to the lodge. On any given weekend it was my Chacos that carried me through the ankle deep snow. If only I could have fit those suckers into telemark bindings, I would have skied in them too.
Needless to say, those sandals are going to see China.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Dreams and photos
This post concerns a dream I had last night. I've heard that reading and listening to other peoples dreams can be one of the more boring subjects, so I've added some pretty pictures of my parents house, my pre-staging staging spot, in New Hampshire. If you don't want to read about my dream, you can look at pretty pictures. And theres even a puppy!I dreamed about the PC last night; I guess I've been thinking about departure so much that its permeated my subconscious. I don't imagine that China/PST/Chengdu will be anything like what I saw in my dream, but it was neat. I'll just
paraphrase some of the notable moments:The dream started with me waking up on a dirt country road with all my gear, in medias res, if you will. So very Dante-esque. I wasn't scared, although I knew that I needed to get huffing because I needed be at PST by 8 AM. SO I started to move it, running along this road with valleys and lakes to my left and pretty hefty granite rock slope/cliff on my right. On the walk I noticed three things: China looks a lot like New Hampshire (I don't believe this is true), I couldn't figure out what time it was back home so I was afraid to call (I'm not planning on carrying a
phone), and my luggage felt rediculously light (80 pounds is 80 pounds in any country).After running down a well worn dirt road, I found that PST was being held in a building that minutes late and looked quite a bit like an American public middle or high school. I arrived about fivefound a room full of Americans. Assuming the were all PCVs I set my gear down an searched for a bathroom. I think the difficulty I had with finding the restrooms symbolizes my apprehensions surrounding the Mandarin lanuage; I couldn't find what I needed, I couldn't ask for what I needed, and I really had to go pee.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Morning thoughts and a mini packing list.
One of my lesser fears regarding the PC at this point is forgetting some vital piece of paper work. I spent about an hour yesterday digging around for my chest X-ray films; they are safely stowed in my carry-on, next to the passport and the immunization records. I'm afraid of hitting mainland China and having an official hassle me for a document I didn't realize I needed. Maybe its an irrational fear. I guess in the big picture, being afraid of not having enough paper work pales in comparison to the fears of not being able to speak Mandarin (or the regional dialects), contracting food poisoning, or being detained while privately traveling. Speaking of which, has anybody else been following the news about the reporters in North Korea?
Things I think I still need before I depart:
Things I think I still need before I depart:
- Sturdy trail running shoes
- Teacher shoes
- Electrical converter and a lightweight power strip
- Copies of various and sundry documents
- Teaching supplies - multi colored sharpies, lesson plan books, any ideas?
- Pictures of loved ones
- Spare earbuds?
- Packing tube for posters
- Mesh bags for laundry, storage. Someone mentioned it on Facebook. Couldn't hurt.
- Spare insoles for shoes
- What else am I missing...
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Extraneous punctuation.
I've been finding more and more and... more blogs from soon-to-be PCVs in China 15. This makes me totally stoked.
Packing is starting to dominate my mind.
Don't bring too much, I think one moment, followed quickly by another thought, as if shouted from across the table of my mind,
But don't leave anything behind! You'll never know what you'll need!!! WHAT IF CHINA DOESN'T HAVE ANY COFFEE MUGS??? HOW WILL YOU DRINK YOUR KAI FE?!?!?!
Seriously, the internal dialogue regarding packing is killing me. Whatever, it'll figure itself out. It better, or else I'll head to China without any luggage.
I'm getting nervous about the paperwork. I need to make sure that I know what to bring to staging and China. I know I need my Chest X-rays, but what else? Birth certificate? Teacher certification? Diploma? Transcript? If anyone has a working list, please share. I've emailed my PO, and I'll make a post regarding his answers if its worthwhile.
T-minus 24 days or so.
Packing is starting to dominate my mind.
Don't bring too much, I think one moment, followed quickly by another thought, as if shouted from across the table of my mind,
But don't leave anything behind! You'll never know what you'll need!!! WHAT IF CHINA DOESN'T HAVE ANY COFFEE MUGS??? HOW WILL YOU DRINK YOUR KAI FE?!?!?!
Seriously, the internal dialogue regarding packing is killing me. Whatever, it'll figure itself out. It better, or else I'll head to China without any luggage.
I'm getting nervous about the paperwork. I need to make sure that I know what to bring to staging and China. I know I need my Chest X-rays, but what else? Birth certificate? Teacher certification? Diploma? Transcript? If anyone has a working list, please share. I've emailed my PO, and I'll make a post regarding his answers if its worthwhile.
T-minus 24 days or so.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Pre Departure Paradise
As I think I've mentioned before, I'm spending the last few weeks before departure at my parents new house in New Hampshire. For all those who haven't been to NH before, it is just like the rest of New England during springtime: an emerald world of new growth; a cacophony of songbirds, crickets, an critters; an ocean of olfactory hues. Seriously, as a skier, I love the dead of winter, but I look forward to spring every year because it is BEAUTIFUL. Drop dead gorgeous. Spectacular. I'll get the camera going so you can see what I mean.
Went down to Boston, Mass this weekend for Dave Matthews Band live at Fenway park! It was awesome. Dave is fantastic, definitely my favorite musician right now, and Fenway is a great venue. The evening started out with a big barbecue in one of the city's suburbs, then we caught cabs to the park, had a drink at the bar, and danced the night away. The seats we great; public box seats way above 3rd base line, very comfortable and a great view of the entire stadium. There were four of us there, my girlfried, her housemate, one of our friends, and myself. Great crew, great music, great time.
Back to NH. This house I'm in is a project. The parents are renovating an old barn, and while it is beautiful, its a lot of wrok. All the big carpentry and building is done (foundation, drywall, stairs, etc) so now its on to finish work (trim, paint, deck). Today I'm wrking with my step dad Tim to put up trim around the exterior windows. Not a huge job, but you need to people. Its a beautiful day so its time for this post to end. Enjoy the sun!
T-minus 29 days. Oooooooh jeez.
Went down to Boston, Mass this weekend for Dave Matthews Band live at Fenway park! It was awesome. Dave is fantastic, definitely my favorite musician right now, and Fenway is a great venue. The evening started out with a big barbecue in one of the city's suburbs, then we caught cabs to the park, had a drink at the bar, and danced the night away. The seats we great; public box seats way above 3rd base line, very comfortable and a great view of the entire stadium. There were four of us there, my girlfried, her housemate, one of our friends, and myself. Great crew, great music, great time.
Back to NH. This house I'm in is a project. The parents are renovating an old barn, and while it is beautiful, its a lot of wrok. All the big carpentry and building is done (foundation, drywall, stairs, etc) so now its on to finish work (trim, paint, deck). Today I'm wrking with my step dad Tim to put up trim around the exterior windows. Not a huge job, but you need to people. Its a beautiful day so its time for this post to end. Enjoy the sun!
T-minus 29 days. Oooooooh jeez.
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