One small step for man, One Mao like Great Leap Forward for Tim.

The time is now 10:52pm central, for me though it’s 11:52am the next day. I have been traveling for 18 hours so far with another 5 or so to go. I am still in the air while writing this with JUST two hours, out of 14, left. The flight has been long, uncomfortable, and uneventful. I will admit though it was pretty cool flying over Alaska, Siberia, and just a little above North Korea.

I do want to send out some Thanks to several people whose advice has come in handy so far.
Suzy and Tyson get a big thanks for the slip-on shoes and extra water tip.
My Dad was a big help with his multitude of small tips which are to many to mention, plus the Mike & Ikes he bought me.
Tracy earned a little something something for her timely advice on what to NOT pack in checked baggage.
Last, but certainly not least, I owe the little voice in my head urging me to err on the side of caution to my Mom.

Part 2

We all made it through customs without trouble and were met by Prof. Ostoyich and his three assistants. The bus ride is proving to be very interesting. I am crossing my fingers we will all live long enough to find a WiFi to post these as our driver is a maniac. And for heaven’s sake I can not fall asleep thanks to the Chinese system of honking I have yet to figure out.

Part 3

I am all settled in my room in the international dorm on campus. Thankfully it is larger than my dorm room freshman year at the Univ. of Dayton. The bathroom/shower portion flood whenever I shower, as designed, but at least air conditioning works.

For more pictures of my journey and the places I will see please check out my flickr page.

The Many Trials of Air Travel

It’s 11:30 and we are in the air as I speak. Sorry to everyone about the delayed Blog but the Wifi in our terminal was not functioning. I know I promised a particularly concerned young lady a phone call and I’m sorry I was not able to.

So let me start by saying the very small Chinese woman in the seat to my front had reclined her chair ALL the way back. Thankfully my favorite VU student, seated next to me, stepped in and asked her to raise it up. Behind me is another very small women from Korea who SNORES LOUDLY!

Other than that everything is great. My seat buddy is very friendly and the rest of the group was chatty in the airport and spirits, along with anxiety, are high. I, however, am extremely excited!

I plan on writing another blog when I get settled on Friday so stay tuned!