The Migration to China

View of Similiar Bus outside of the Airport

Two-thirty AM, September 20th marked the beginning of the most culturally significant trip of our lives. Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, we took a van to the Omaha Airport. There we boarded a rather small and rickety jet which took us to Atlanta. With only forty minutes to spare, it was a rush through the airport to board our next plane which would take us to Shanghai, China. By 9:55 AM we were packed away, buckled in, and ready to begin experiencing a completely different culture. As we began the transition, we were confronted by bilingual stewardess and passengers. By the time the airplane reached 10,000 feet, most of us had reached a deep sleep mode, tired from lack of downtime, and knowing that this would be our home for the next fifteen hours.

Once awake, the onboard personal video system was quite amusing because of the wide variety of movies, television shows and games. The meals onboard were mediocre at best but provided both western and Asian selections. The flight took us over Alaska across to Russia and then down through China to our final destination, the Shanghai Pudong International Airport. It was 4:00 PM local time on September 21st as we nervously awaited our Shanghai guide. As we stepped out of the airport our eyes began to sting and the sky was covered with smog which hid the sun and skyline of Shanghai. On the way to our hotel, our bus driver sped down the highway like a cyclist maneuvering through rush hour traffic. We were thrilled to have finally arrived in China and ready to immerse ourselves into a new culture and a different way of life.



Shanghai International Airport