theneener

East Asia 2008: Part I.

By neener | April 27, 2008

I did a better job of journaling my trip so I should be able to recap the trip better than last time.

April 14: Wrote this on my wrist at my apartment. An encouragement verse from Ashley Ingram that pumped me up for the trip. “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.”
Romans 1:16

Left DFW around 9pm. My last American meal was at the airport’s TGIF, cheeseburger and fries. Had to sit by the jets on the plane. “ROAR!” Oddly, it was an MD-80, the same aircrafts that were suspended a few days before we took off. Definitely one of the many signs that God’s hand was with us. Journal entry ends with, “I need a bigger heart and an open mind. And some sleep!”

April 15: Landed at LAX and getting a feel for everyone’s role in the trip. The day was “short” because of the time changes. Ended the day’s journal entry with “Ashley’s verse of encouragement has definitely pumped me up, so I’m quite eager to get cracking. But perhaps we shouldn’t wait ’til (our destination)?”

April 16: Continued our journey across the Pacific. Tried to use my jacket as a pillow, but my sore neck woke me up. My partner for the trip (and team leader), Molly, lent me her travel pillow. BEST INVENTION EVER. I took two Nyquil and passed the heck out. She said at one point of the trip, I woke up and said, “This Nyquil is eating… MY BRAIN” and passed back out.

When we landed at our destination country (but not city), we discovered Carrie’s suitcase didn’t make it to the airport. I wrote, “Thankfully, she was flexible and unwilling to let the problem ‘determine this trip.’”

A small bus/van took us to our first foreign meal. The menu had pictures and English so it was a great transition meal. We tried some new things and some safe things. Below I am eating one of the stranger tasting things. I took a dare to put it all in my mouth at one time. It was tough to cram it all in, but… SUCCESS!
Mmm, dumpling!

We then spent a few hours sightseeing which included Tiananmen Square, its surroundings, and a three-story KFC. Everyone got their first dose of being the minority in this country which took them awhile to get used to. Here are some of my favorite pics:

We asked a local to take our picture. For some reason, a few bystanders thought they should join in too.
At the Square

Three stories tall!
KFC!

A persistant saleslady trying to haggle Jeremy for a North Face jacket. She noticed me taking a picture so she stopped and waved!
Hello!

After sightseeing, we went to an airport across the city. My first time (of many) to get felt up by security! (Don’t worry, she was a female.) She was very suspicious of the object in my pocket even though I showed her it was Chapstick. I spotted my first squatty potty at the airport and decided to hold it. I finished that portion of the journal entry with, “Will this be another successful non-squatty trip? Guess we’ll see.”

Asia

6 Comments

By Shannon McCuaig, April 27, 2008 @ 11:19 am

I always love reading your blog, but reading about your experiences and seeing pictures makes it even better!
By Kelly Lawson, April 27, 2008 @ 11:49 am

Welcome back! Can’t wait to hear more of your adventures.

LOVE the photo of you stuffing your face. Fabulous!
By neener, April 27, 2008 @ 6:39 pm

Thanks for the tip! Guess I should take pictures more often!
By amyking, April 27, 2008 @ 8:45 pm

how fun nina!! i love the tourists that joined in your picture! cant wait for more…