A Crazy Morning

Day 3

Okay- so an eventful day so far.

One very exciting change has been that I am also teaching MUSIC classes here at RnR Beijing. Luckily- all those years of summer camp have provided me, but I always had Ms. Emily to get my back- so to say the least I'm a little nervous. But- listening to the MP3 player and hearing Here to There and other great RnR classics has calmed my nerves a little. Oh- did I mention I teach my first Tumble Tunes class on Saturday??? Eeeek! It's OK- I get to do an Art Explorers I tomorrow- which will feel more at home.

As I was mentally rehearsing in the gym, I swore that I heard dripping water. I kept on turning around and glaring outside just to double check that today was in fact another sunny unfamiliar90 degree day. I kept dismissing thinking that it's just an unfamiliar building and I don't know the sounds. And then it started happening more and more frequently. So I finally went and investigated....and there were 3 MASSIVE leaks from the ceiling. After I alerted the proper management- I just laughed. Only I could make it rain in a desert city.

Another funny Romp N' Roll note. We were talking with Herbie, one of our assistants and translators, and I was reminiscing about the good ol' days at Virginia Center. I mentioned something about Ms. Rachel and Mr. Roger- and guess what? THEY KNOW WHO MR. ROGER IS! AND THEY LOVE HIM! Hahaha! Apparently Roger is in one of the corporate video's acting like a goofball and really made an impression on the staff here. To quote "oh we all love Mr. Roger!" So long story short- Ms. Rachel and Mr. Roger are kinda like a big deal over here. They may have to make a celebrity teaching appearance here at Romp N Roll Beijing! :)

It's only 11 AM here- so who knows what else may transpire. Just a brief update. Love love love!

Off to Work We Go

Day 2

Well Here I am. Sitting at work. And I'm awake. Mostly.

We're eating lunch and we get a WHOLE HOUR! Do you hear that Liberty Middle Schoolers? I know you're a little jealous ;)

And let me make you a little more jealous....here is my view from my desk:

Day 1

Day 1

I am officially counting today as day 1 here in Beijing. Yesterday was a blur.

The plane got there early and we had to circle around the airport waiting for clearance and it made everybody motion sickness. Ugh. Then we got off the plane and it was over 100 degrees! This is rare in Beijing. And their air conditioning is not equipped to deal with it...at all. I was super exhausted- I hadn't slept much. I exchanged my money and then off I went. Luyin my boss picked me up at the airport and another nice manager from Romp N Roll drove us the 45 minute drive in to the city.

First Impressions: There were lots of trees- everywhere. Which really surprised me- I've heard so many things about the pollution and lack of trees. Also- not as crowded as I thought. I think New York City is WAY more crowded- and not too bad of traffic either. Driving here is craziness- they don't go as fast but they change lanes and their minds easily, quickly, and they LOVE their horn. I mean they really LOVE their horn.

They quickly delivered me to an apartment- which we leased for 24 hours. (weird, right?) I jumped in the shower and flopped in to bed. And was out like a light. At some point they delivered Jill (my RNR partner in crime AND roommate) and she settled in while I snoozed. Later in the evening I woke up and JIll and I caught up. She got her internet hooked up and I made contact with the family. We then ran off to look at an apartment- which has been a issue for poor Jill. I don't know how many apartments she has looked at in the past few weeks. We saw one, which was only a 1 bedroom- not my style. As much as I like Jill- I don't think she and I need to be snuggling. :)
We ate dumplings (YUM) and walked home.

I feel super safe here on the streets. Although I have gotten a few stares- thats about as far as it goes. In India you would be approached and people would treat you like an oddity. Here- they just stare. Although a few over zealous english speakers have come to speak with us!

Today we got an apartment! Hurray! And moved in- DOUBLE Hurray! I took some quick shots. The first picture is my room- and my sweat leather leaf chair. The second is the view out our 10th story window...which is actually the 9th story...because they don't build floor #4, or floor #13,#14, #23,or #24 for that matter. All bad luck numbers.
Final (blurry) picture is our living room. Apartments come fully furnished here.

I took a 5 hour nap today....and I think I need to go back to sleep....pooped! I will try and keep the updates rolling :)

Peace out. :)

High Times

Well- as I write this e-mail I am flying high in the air above well....let me check...it looks like we are a few hundred miles north of Alaska. Unfortunately- this won't post until some time later. But boredom has set in- and good gravy- I need to do something.

So- I'm 6 hours in to this ride. Only 8 hours to go. And that pains me. I have done long plane rides before- but- this one is pretty awful. For a few reasons.

Reason #1 Co-Pilot. Alright- not the actual co-pilot, but my dear neighbor next to me. Yes- he has a nick name. Mostly because I can't find out his real name. He doesn't speak English- which should not shock me or put me out. He is a not a 'bad man' by any means. He's just.....how should I put it. His seat over floweth- in to my seat. And he also is an amazing sleeper. And this makes me hate him. Why? Because I am not. Man- put me in a car, standing up in a closet, on a tile floor- and I would sleep. But unfortunately- the air plane seems to be the exception. I managed a whole half hour about 3 hours ago. But now I'm ansy. And he's trapped me in my seat. And I need to pee. I'm starting to think a swift elbow to his splein might be a good idea.

Reason #2 Video. Or lack there of. Yup- I got the one seat in the whole darn plane that doesn't have a working video screen. Nor does it have a working button to turn the light on or off. Or a working button to call a stewardess to complain about the working button. When I got on the plane the Stewardess told me that I must have bad voo-doo. Lemme tell you something: You do not tell somebody about to embark on a trans-Pacific 14 hour flight that they have bad voo-doo.

Reason #3 Turbulance. I have flown alot- but the first 3 hours of this flight were bumpy at best. Just non-stop shakey shakey up and down. They had to call all of the flight attendents to sit down at one point and my main girly BOOKED it for the seat. She almost knocked over co-pilot and then scolded him for not being in his seat. Also- I think I've watch far too much LOST and I'm sort of half expecting the plane to break apart at any moment. Luckily- from watching the series I know what to do. I'm in the tail part of the plane and I know to avoid any smoke monsters and find a dude named Jacob. If I can't get on Jacob's list there is a good chance I ain't make it to the series finale.

Reason #4 Bad Voo-doo. Yup. My flight attendant cursed me. And it's kinda been true. In addition to the obese non communicative neighbor, the broken down entertainment, the lack of being able to pee- they forgot to feed me. Yup. It's true. They were out of the 'pasta' option when they served lunch and he told me he would come back with it. And never did. I did get Co-Pilot to hit his 'help!' button- but they still never came! It wasn't until they came to collect the trays that I got a hold of one of them. He was very apologetic- but he didn't even hook it up with an extra roll. Poor form.

But you know me- I'm no Debbie Downer so here are some AWESOME Things about the last twelve hours. First and foremost I had the best send-off. I had my BFF, Joseph and my entire family in tow. My sister surprised me with AN AWESOME book about my travels. It made me boo-hoo. Then- while flying out of the US we flew OVER Niagra Falls. The captain announced, 'Please look out your right window for a great view of Baltimore.' I was confused because I felt as if we had been in the air for longer then that- and I did. And then I was doubly confused....it was definetly not Baltimore. Then I saw it. And it clicked. He hadn't said Baltimore at all. There it was: a giant horse shoe waterfall. It was breathtaking from above. More amazing is how much of it I could see from 20,000 ft. It wowed me- and it was GINORMOUS from the plane. It makes me want to go see it in person. Note to self- next summer road trip to Niagra! Who is in?
I think in about another 4 hours we get dinner...or lunch #2.

I'm very excited to arrive in China- and if you are reading this then it means I have landed in China. And I will be back on hopefully with photographs. Also- I haven't mentioned this- but I do have a SKYPE and if you would like to SKYPE with me then drop me a line and I will send you my user name.

Also- I am realizing that I need to have a 'signature sign off.' We're going to start testing out some oldies but goodies.

Over and out.

Part II

Well- I'm glad I took the time to record my thoughts and feelings earlier. Because we have a prime example of how wrong I am.

I don't have bad mojo at all.

#1 Co-pilot has a name. And turns out is a really sweet man who works for the Mongolian government. And he speaks English. (I need to remember not everybody like me feels a compulsion to talk!) We had a chat over meal #2.(Noodles and chopsticks!) And he was so nice- and articulate. Get this- he speaks English, Mongolian & Russian. How sweet is that? He talked to me about how Mongolians, being from a nomadic culture, pride themselves on being able to take care of oneself. Something, he noted, that the Chinese can not do. He also told me that the populatation of 2 million Mongols is dwarfed by the 50 million head of cattle in the country. So cool. Now as I study his face he looks Mongolian - like a sherpa out of the mountains.

#2 Good MoJo. We flew over the north pole- or close to it. And I got to see the arctic ocean. It looked like a piece of shattered glass- huge chunks of ice floating delicately with cracks of water barely peaking through. Then we flew over Serbia and over all these mountains that looked to me as if they could have been from an Alien land. Beautiful. And amazing. I'm so amped to get into Beijing now. AND- as I went to te bathroom for the 18th million time I stopped and chatted with one of the flight attendants. I mentioned to him how I was having trouble sleeping and that my monitor was out. He promptly handed me a voucher for a 'gift of my choice' to repay me for the inconvience and apologized profusely. Sure- I didn't get to watch Date Night- but I feel repayed.

Alright. Signing off. Again.

Good night and good luck.

Part III Arrived SAFELY!!!!!!

Headed on a Plane

Packed up. And feeling nauseous and excited. See you on the other side!!!

Deuces!

Adios Apartment

Well- I'm officially moved out of my apartment in the fan. (Thanks Cristina and Joe!!!!!!!!)

And it's been two chaotic days- I can't begin to start describing to you,
But- seriously- I HEART craigslist. I sold a lot of my stuff easily and made quick money. And for the first time ever in my life I'm carrying this magical paper called 'cash.' Did you know that with 'cash' you can pay without using plastic or a computer?! It's been amazing.

One thing that I am grateful for these past couple of days has been saying good bye to my friends. Say what? Yes- I've enjoyed saying good bye to my friends. Because it has allowed me to say things I would have neglected and never said. I got to tell them that I love them and with out them I would be lost. I think sometimes we take for granted the people we see everyday. So- sermon for the day? Tell the ones you love that you do appreciate them.

After we had entirely packed up my apartment, Joseph and I walked to Strawberry Street Market for one last stroll and snack. Much to our surprise all the power was out on the entire block. But we used 'cash' and got ice tea and ice cream and fruit snacks and stood and relished our last few moments on one of our favorite blocks. Richmond is an amazing city- full of southern charm, scenester edge, and architectural glory. I will miss it.

Tomorrow I will drop off my keys and say goodbye to RVA officially. I'm going to be boo-hooing all 90 miles to D.C. But onward and upward- right?

WHY COACH WHY?

Why do you tempt me coach when I have no money? WHY?!?!?!