I should be exhausted but I am wild awake as my fingers fly across the keyboard to write this blog post. I finally made it to Beijing! I am 12 hours ahead, but my literal head and body are still 12 hours behind in New York. The flight was terribly long. It wasn’t the longest that I have been one, but it was the most physically draining. I think that is partly because I was filled with excitement and partly because I coudn’t find Tommy and his plethora of Zzyquil pills. I was also constantly being bumped, stepped on, and squished on the plane :/. I was seated in the aisle, next to an elderly man that had the bladder of a squirrel. Whenever I did manage to fall asleep I was tapped on my forehead (yes, he would tap my forehead to wake me) and asked to move.
If it wasn’t the old man, then it was the woman seated between us. She was constantly forgetting things that were packed away in the overhead compartment, so I had to keep accommodating for her, as well. I didn’t mind her too much, however. She won me over by sharing her honey graham crackers with me. She also tried to teach me a few phrases, but the pronunciation was so difficult that I immediately forgot. Although the flight was cramped and uncomfortable, it wasn’t unbearable. I managed to watch about 5 really good movies and the airplane food was surprisingly pretty good! Needless to say, I am happy that my feet are on solid ground and I can finally lay out in a bed without worrying that I will fracture my neck bones. I am really just happy that I get to say that I am in Beijing!. Tomorrow we will visit the Summer Palace, so be prepared for lots of pictures!