Said my goodbyes to my parents and went through security. Found a chair and skyped with Todd and Cameron. It was 6:30 p.m. for them. They both looked exhausted. They had fallen asleep right before I called. They didn't get any sleep camping so they were headed to bed early.
I started walking to the bathroom and noticed a guy I thought I knew. Did a double take and said "Edgar?" He looked up at me and he was just as shocked to see me. Edgar is one of the newer guys in TEDA. Him and his family are from Mexico and his son is in Cameron's class. I had no idea he travelled to the Quad Cities. Pretty funny. He spends a lot of time in Harbin with Todd.
The lady said we could board and I was the only one that moved. Tthe lady laughed and said "maybe no one else wants to go". Usually when they say its time to board people jump to their feet. It was odd. Boarded and found my seat. Eventually everyone was on and we were on our way. No one sat next to me which was awesome so I could be comfy. It was only an hour flight but still nice. Once we got in the air I could see all the flooding again. It was even worse. So many people had water in their basements. My parents had a little but luckily ours was dry. The images on the news and in the newspaper are crazy. So sad for a lot of people and businesses. Off the plane and into Detroit airport.
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| So much water. |
Went right to the board to see where my flight was going out and went to my gate. I had 3 hours to kill. Got my free 30 minutes of Internet to check email, send some emails, and check Facebook. I was so bummed when it shut off right at 30 minutes. I entertained myself until I had about an hour before I left. I paid for an hour more of Internet so I could let everyone know I was boarding and things like that. That didn't quite pan out either. Ran out of service before we boarded.
I decided to get something to eat because I do not usually eat too much of the food served on the plane. I went to McDonald's and ordered a double cheese burger with cheese only. The girl took the meat off too. Then she said to me "you didn't want meat right? Cheese only?" Of course I want meat. Otherwise I would have ordered a grilled cheese sandwich. Man, some peoples brains scare me. I also bought a salad to take on the flight with me.
On the plane and headed to Beijing. I watched one movie and then I was in and out of consciousness for the next 11 hours. With an hour and 45 minutes left they served the last meal and then I was up the rest of the time. I had a long sleeve shirt and sweatshirt on all ready and a blanket but still freezing. So thank goodness I had my new sweatshirt to also put on.
The food this time was so bad I couldn't choke down either meal. Luckily I had my salad. Not too bad of a flight over all.
Got to Beijing and I had to wait for about 30 seconds at passport control which was sweet. I got to baggage claim and decided to run to the bathroom so once I had my bags I could just get in the van and go. Back to wait for my luggage. I got a text from Mr. Xue telling me he was in a traffic jam on the 6th ring road. I was instantly ticked.
I grabbed my bags and went to go out. Unfortunately they had it all blocked into one lane and everyone had to put their bags on the x-ray machine. It wasn't too bad just annoying. I got out to wait and wait and wait. Finally 40 minutes later my driver arrived. He knew I was mad because I did not even speak to him. I was tired and just wanted to get home and then he was late. I know some people are probably thinking he can't help traffic jams. That is true BUT he dropped Todd and Cameron off at 8:00 in the morning. He had more than enough time to get to the airport by 2:30. It's a 2 hour drive. No excuses in my opinion.
Finally in the van and headed towards TEDA. While sitting at a light there was a van next to us. A car was on his rear fender. The guy got out of the van and was pointing. The guy in the car backed up to get off the van. There were visible marks and scratches on the van. I watched the guy in the car get in his pocket, pull out a 100 RMB ($15 about), and handed it to the guy. The van guy took it, got back in and drove away. That would never happen in the States. Incredible.
I called Todd to have him send Cameron to the parking garage to help with my bags. When we pulled in Cameron was standing there. As we pulled up next to him he immediately walked to the door and waited for me to open it. He gave me huge hugs and kisses and said "Mom, I really missed you". Awww, brought tears to my eyes. I missed him terribly too. We took my bags up to our apartment. Said hello to Todd and he had dinner ready. Awww.
I gave Todd a haircut and then I showered. Cameron was almost on my lap while we watched the Voice. Such a sweet boy. 8:45 Cameron went to bed and I was second. Out like a light.
It was good to be "home". A huge thank you to all my family for a great weekend.
Shelly
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