Now Boarding for Shanghai

To get to Shanghai, China I flew Air China from George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas. The first leg of my journey was a 15 hour flight from Houston, Texas to Beijing, China.

I arrived at the airport on Wednesday, June 3 at 1​​0:30 pm. Mom, Dad, and Sara parked the car and came into the terminal to check my bags. I took two suitcases, a carry-on duffle bag with food, and my backpack with my laptop. Each suitcase had to be under 50 lbs (or 23 kg). What I did not know is that my carry-on bags have to be a COMBINED weight of less than 10 lbs (or 5 kg). As many of you know, I travel with gluten-free food when I travel. Since the flight to China was going to be over 15 hours (and I didn’t know if I would actually get a gluten-free meal on the plane), my Mom packed my duffel bag with sandwiches, fruit, and snack food. I was amazed to learn at the ticket counter in Houston that I wouldn’t be able to take all of the food on the plane in addition to my backpack. On the bright side, I was not the only one repacking in the middle of the terminal at 11:00 pm.

Once my bags were repacked and satisfied the weight limit, I checked my bag and then went to the security line after saying my “good-byes.” At 11:00 pm, the security line was super short. Boarding the plane at 12:15 am was quite an adventure. Even in Houston, I was one of the few Americans boarding the plane. This means that all “society norms” go out the window: the Chinese corral at the gate and shove-and-push to be first. There’s not really a line. It ended up being entertaining to watch. Now imagine boarding an airplane where there is even narrower rows. I guess Air China knows that the boarding process is going to be chaotic and they account for it because the plane left right on time.

​The flight was 15.5 hours from Houston, Texas to Beijing, China. It was a very long flight!! We flew north over Arlington, Texas and Bozeman, Montana. Food was served two hours into the flight. I was brought gluten-free tilapia and gluten-free bread. Since this would have been 3:00 am in Houston, I wasn’t very hungry. The food did make me tired though so I tried to sleep for a few hours. I ended up only sleeping for 3-4 hours. When we were flying over Alaska (about 8 hours into the flight), the flight attendants brought us more drinks and food. I was served chicken, which was not very good. At this point I couldn’t fall back asleep. I watched Night at the Museum on the seat-back entertainment system (it’s sad that this movie was one of the last movies Robin Williams starred). I also played Sudoku and read a book to occupy myself since I couldn’t fall back asleep.

At 3:00 am, we arrived in Beijing 30 minutes early. The airport was completely empty. I had to fill out a landing card and present it along with my passport at the immigration check-point. After I was cleared, I took the train to connect to the domestic flights terminal. The customs check-point is also in the main terminal. The immigration process did not take very long – less than 30 minutes. I had to wait about an hour for customs to open. No one spoke English (other than the few Americans on my flight), so I was confused on whether or not I retrieve my luggage and when the customs line opened. Once the customs line opened it was also an easy process since I didn’t have anything to declare. I then followed the signs to gate C02. Because I was re-entering the terminal, I had to go through security (not as strict as TSA though). I put my carry-on bag and backpack on the conveyer belt. I began taking my belt off and emptying my pockets but the security guard signaled that I was okay. Thinking that it was odd, I went through the metal detector with my phone, wallet, etc. in my pockets, my shoes on my feet, and my belt around my waist. Apparently this wasn’t what the security guard was trying to tell me because next thing I know I am getting the full-pat down at 5:30 am in the Beijing airport. There is no privacy – I just stand like a helpless foreigner in the wide-open area of the airport.

My connecting flight to Shanghai did not depart until 8:00 am so I had plenty of time to walk around the airport. I bought a bottle of water from Starbucks. The coffee is the same (Pike Place, latte) and the cup sizes are the same. I just wanted bottled water to drink with my sandwich. When the boarding process began at 7:30 am, an announcement was made in Chinese. Because I read in a tour book that an announcement for a domestic flight may not be made in English or even at all, I just followed the Chinese when they started moving towards the gate. I was actually surprised that the boarding process on this flight was more orderly as a line was formed. The flight left on-time too and arrived in Shanghai 30 min. early. At this point I was exhausted so I tried to sleep on the 2 hour plane ride. However, I completely forgot that even on 2 hour flights, Air China serves a meal. So I was woken up from my nap. Good thing I wasn’t hungry, because I couldn’t figure out what they were serving me. It looked like chicken but I could tell that it was breakfast food. I had a bite and was reconfirmed that the airplane food had no flavoring.

After exiting the plane in Shanghai, I made my way to baggage claim. I thought Absolute Internship was going to meet me at my gate but I didn’t see anyone. My bags came pretty quickly on the baggage claim carousel. At this point, I still did not see the Absolute Internship sign. I walked up-and-down the terminal for about an hour. I tried asking airport employees. No one spoke English. I was exhausted, frustrated, and helpless. Logically I decided to walk over to the international arrivals baggage claim area. I thought that I might find other interns who were arriving. No one was there either. Apparently, I walked past the Absolute Internship staff. My flight was expected to arrive at 10:05 am. Thus, because I was so early, the Absolute Internship staff did not realize I arrived early.

I was the last intern arriving in the morning group. The staff led us to a shuttle bus that took us to the Rayfont Hotel & Apartment. The bus ride was supposed to be about 45 minutes from Pudong International Airport, but with all of the traffic the ride ended up being 1.25 hours. I have yet to figure out why the cars honk at each other: do they really think it is going to make the other cars drive faster? There is so many cars on the road that the congestion is probably worse than I-10 Katy Freeway in rush hour. And it was 12:00 pm in Shanghai on a Friday. Are that many people going out to eat for lunch? If you thought that Houston drivers are bad at cutting people off when they change lanes, you should see Shanghai…cars weaving in and out and almost colliding with each other. Now you’re probably wondering, are there accidents? Yes, we actually saw an accident on the freeway. The interesting part is that if two cars hit each other, they stop in the middle of the highway. There are no “Steer It or Clear It” laws. The driver who is at fault also usually settles with the other driver via cash at the scene of the accident. Basically accidents are not uncommon.

Once arriving at the Rayfont Hotel & Apartment, I was checked-in to the hotel. I had to pay a ​​deposit of 500 RMB. This ensures that I won’t steal any towels, soap, etc. from the hotel room. I will receive the deposit back when I check-out of the hotel. I am living on the 25th floor of the hotel/apartment complex with two other roommates. Colton is a junior in Accounting from Iowa State University (coincidentally we did not know each other prior to coming to Shanghai) and James is a Mechanical Engineer from California. There are interns from all over the world and in every field of study.