The Start of It All

The first leg of the journey has begun: Pre-departure orientation in D.C. I flew out of Lynchburg (the world's finest airport, of course) Wednesday morning, stopped in Charlotte long enough to run to the farthest gate possible and barely make my flight before getting up to D.C. I was a little sad on the plane but was mostly distracted by the man across from me who insisted on explaining Sudoko to the woman next to him. Out loud. The entire plane ride.

So I wiped my tears, landed at Reagan and caught a cab to the hotel. I hadn't eaten since breakfast so I stopped at Starbucks for some coffee and then started meeting people with the program in the lobby. We had a couple of hours to kill before anything started, so we just sat around making small talk. Then we got our stipend and the program directors welcomed us before they set us free in the city for dinner. A few of us went to California Pizza Kitchen and it was nice being in a smaller group so we could get to know each other more. We wanted to walk around the monuments after dinner but it was monsooning out so I called Jake and went to bed early.

We had meetings all day today. They were pretty helpful- some previous program participants and the program leaders, lots of Q&A time so I guess I feel a little more informed about what's actually going on. We also had the Assistant Deputy (Bureau of Educational Affairs) from the State Department speak. She was recently appointed and brought greetings from Secretary Clinton. We have a little time now before they take us to dinner.

I'm getting pretty nervous about the fact that I'm actually getting on a plane to go to China tomorrow. Especially since they briefed us about H1N1 and the procedures of making sure no one is sick once we get there. I'm praying no one from our group comes up as having a fever when they check us on the plane; if so we will be quarantined in a Chinese hospital! Besides that concern, I'm very nervous about the language pledge. My Chinese language skill has decreased drastically over the past year when I haven't been studying. I hope that it comes back quickly! It will be very challenging not speaking English all summer, but then I remembered today that God is the one who designed languages, including Chinese, and He can give me the ability to understand and speak even though I feel entirely inadequate.

But I'm also very excited about being in China! It's been five years since I was there, and I have a list of things I want to do while I'm there. I love lists! Here it is (in no particular order):

1. Find the Chinese/Japanese movie Lauren and I were in
2. Eat as much hamigua as possible. I don't know the English word, but it's my favorite fruit in the world and I miss it.
3. Be able to do a journal entry entirely in Chinese before I leave. I think that will be a true test of my improvement, especially character writing
4. Learn to chill and not be so schedule-oriented and uptight. I don't really know anything about what's going on so it will be good for me to learn to be more laid back and not such a control freak.
5. Feel the presence of God each moment of the day as I may be lonely and need to continue to lean on Him for strength
6. Eat only one Magnum bar per week, as opposed to 5 a day like last time I was in China
7. Get my hair washed and head massaged at the amazing beauty salons
8. Visit the Garden of the Humble Administrator. It's supposedly gorgeous.
9. Not get sick at all! I hate being sick when I am away from home and I am scared of hospitals
10. Take full advantage of this experience and not slack off because I am tired, frustrated, homesick, or mentally exhausted

I will think of more as the days go by I'm sure. The next time I write will probably be from China! (Even if we get quarantined I will be able to update the blog, because the quarantine clinic is equipped with phone and internet. Isn't that comforting?)