This will, hopefully, be a travelogue of sorts. My data cable connecting my phone to my laptop is fickle, but I will try to upload photos and videos when I can.
Thursday, June 13, 2013
So the adventure begins! Roy and Mom take me to LAX, and after a heartfelt goodbye, I'm left to brave the wilds of international travel.
As it turns out, I'm not alone. By happy coincidence, Tommy, a friend from Harvey Mudd, is also in the terminal, preparing to fly to Hong Kong. He's kind enough (or bored enough) to wait with me in the China Eastern Airlines line, making the half hour or so of shuffling periodically among dispirited members of coach class humanity pass pleasantly. We chat for a bit in a disappointing restaurant, then part ways.
My first indications that my luck in the next 40 hours might not be outstanding is that I manage to pick a place in the boarding line right behind a guy who, in a moment confirming the value of sharp eyes and situational awareness, finds a wrinkled $20 bill on the ground. Good for him, I think, secretly nursing some jealousy. Thank goodness I'm not the person who allowed the winning lottery winner to cut in line.
Before boarding, as if to hold up an image of things to come (or at least highlight the values of where I'm going), I noticed a flying squadron of 5 Korean Air stewardesses walking toward another gate. They are all 5'10", all precisely dressed, all with similar, beautiful facial features, perfect makeup, and pleasant smiles. There was something otherworldly about that.
I ended up sitting next to three American men on their way to Thailand. Contrary to expectations, they were actually quite sophisticated. Two were employed at LAUSD. One in particular seemed to be wading, periodically, through a dense tract on democracy and teaching, in preparation for his new job as teacher trainer. As pleasant as it was to chat with them, it was perhaps more enjoyable to listen to them plan their trip, discussing whether or not they would go to Chiang Mai and ride elephants.
I didn't sleep on the flight; instead, perhaps trying to copy the subject of the book, I plowed through the second half of Theodore Rex and, without a break, switched over to its predecessor in the series, The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt. Both were engrossing reads, and while I'm only about halfway through The Rise, I can't help notice parallels between TR's struggles with asthma and poor health in childhood and FDR's own character-building fight with the effects of polio.
They were, of course, quite different men, and yet I can't help but marvel at what seems to be a genetic predisposition of unwavering belief in the power of one's volition to shape one's circumstances.
I landed in Shanghai, and to my surprise, was able to find the shuttle to the hotel easily. Check-in went smoothly, and the room, despite it being cheap, seemed reasonably kept. I am treated to a view of crops and greenhouses outside my window -- not the picture of Shanghai that I imagined, but a pleasant one, nonetheless.
I'm able to squeeze out an email to home. By 11pm, I'm off to what I hope will be an adequate seven hours of sleep.
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