From the Flight Friday and Notes from Saturday and Sunday

你好！我在加拿大。

Hey! I’m writing to you from 30,000 feet in the air over Canada! We are headed towards Alaska where we will then cross the Pacific Ocean. Currently we have been on the plane a little under three hours with eleven left to go. Sleep has already failed me though I feel shockingly conscious. I guess sitting around for hours doesn’t really take it out of you. Everything has gone off without a hitch, we all just need to fight off boredom and restlessness now. I’m going to try and work on my Chinese in preparation for my placement exam and daily use.

I also have a great book from my cousin to work on called The Web That Has No Weaver. It is all about Chinese medicine, which should be enlightening and helpful. I’m so excited to learn about this kind of stuff and I love the Chinese language. It is very elegant in its profound simplicity. Each word seems significant and goes farther than words in our language do, yet because of this sentences seems a simple arrangement of words. It is hard to explain and to understand, but by learning more about Chinese philosophy I will be able to better understand the language because the two are inextricably intertwined. Philosophy is involved in every aspect of Chinese culture and it is inspiring. From some readings I have found much of it to hold true to life.

It still hasn’t really hit me that when I get off this plane I will be in China. I guess cause I really have no idea what I’m going to find so I can’t get a picture into my head.

Post flight notes

-flying over Alaska was terrifying (we dropped 5,000 ft in 3 minutes)

-So exhausted once we got here and very grumpy

-communication is very difficult

-The food is delicious and cheap! (fed 8 people with 5 dollars)

-Indoors is colder than outdoors (first night sleeping was freezing! And the beds are as hard as a board)

-We have t-shirt weather here!

-The university is as large as Pella at least, with at least as many people

-Driving is terrifying!

-People stare a lot

-I can write for a Chinese newspaper and get paid!

I am having the time of my life :D