Entries: Sam Unger

Exploring the Neighborhood

We’ve been in China for about 12 hours now and we’re all adjusting pretty well, I think.  I managed to grab a few hours of sleep before heading out to explore the neighborhood.  Most of us got to visit a large temple that is located directly across the street from our hotel.  It seemed like an oasis of old Chinese culture in a bustling, modern city.  Still, evidence of commercialization and modernization was easy to find. 

WHAT IT'S LIKE TO WAIT

We’ve been at O’Hare International Airport since 8:30AM and we’re all eager to start our flight but we’re not scheduled to begin boarding for about three hours.  I asked Ted Land and John Paul what it feels like to wait just a little while longer for the next leg of our much anticipated journey. 

Ted Land:
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John Paul:
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DELAYED

We all managed to get to the Illini Union by 5AM for our bus ride to O’Hare.  Just before arriving at the airport, we found out our flight that had been scheduled to depart at 10:42AM had been delayed until 6:15PM.  That puts our new arrival into Shanghai at around 11PM Shanghai time, and means we had to cancel a dinner we had planned to have with our translators. 

We all managed to get checked in and were given meal vouchers to grab some lunch at Chili’s.  Our wonderful professor got us into the United Airlines Red Carpet Club where we’re resting and emailing. 

More updates soon!

One Day Left in C-U

A couple of weeks ago, I thought packing all of my equipment, clothes and other necessities would be easy.  I figured I would allow myself enough time for packing so that the process would be “relaxing” and would give me time to reflect on all of the work that has led up to the trip. 

Then came finals.  Then papers.  Then graduation ceremonies.  Needless to say, this relaxation I previously imagined has turned into a mad rush to get all my things together in time for a 5AM departure from Champaign on Tuesday morning. 

I still have about 27 hours before I’ll be in the car heading up to O’Hare.  That’s plenty of time to have everything ready, right?