I Have Arrived!

Hello everyone! As I said before, I went to my grandparents on Thursday night to stay over so that we would not have to leave so early in the morning to be to the airport by 6am. I got to sleep at about 11pm because we left late from our house and chatted and made plans with my grandparents about the following day. I then had to get up at 430am, so that I could shower, and we could leave by 5am. We got there pretty early because I didn’t have an assigned seat on my flight from Chicago to Beijing. Lisa thought that maybe Colin and I could choose our own seats, so we could be close to Meera but no such luck. I was handed a ticket with my seat already on it. Our flight left on time from Des Moines at 815am. The flight was very short, and after a very long taxi, Collin and I were walking the great distance to our next gate. Our gate was switched about one hour before our flight was scheduled to take off, and Meera met us shortly after. I made my last few phone calls to my loved ones before I boarded the Boeing 777. It is the biggest plane I have ever ridden in. It is 2-5-2 seatwise and I have a window! I am pretty far away from Meera and Collin, though.
The flight took off ahead of schedule at about 1230pm Iowa time. The flight was pretty uneventful. I just watched some moviesand read. I was also fed pretty well, so that’s a plus. The flight was a whopping fourteen hours long. I am pretty exhausted, but I can never get comfortable enough to sleep on a plane.
When the plane landed, members of the health department boarded the plane and took everyone’s temperature to check for H1N1. I was freaking out because like five little kids threw up right before we landed, and if you are running a temperature, you and everyone around you gets quarantined for seven days. But luckily we got through without a hitch. Then, we went through immigration, customs, and a bioscanner to check for a temperature again.
My supervisor, Dr. Li, picked Meera and I up at the airport. He and a colleague took our baggage, and a grad student took us in a taxi to a four star hotel for three days for quarantine just in case we do have H1N1. The hotel is really nice. So far I love Beijing! The two grad students are going to take us out tomorrow to see the Birds Nest (Olympic Stadium). It is currently 545pm here which is 445am in Iowa. I have been up for over twenty four hours now with no sleep. Needless to say I am tired. I will just relax for the night. I’ll post again soon though.