BRING IT CHINA!
Published by O-CO under on 09:09
Ironically, my last dinner in US was Chinese food, lol. Good old house special fried rice, egg foo yong, chicken lo mein, hot and sour soup, poo poo platter.. Ill bet the people in China never heard of these recipes before. Western Chinese food is not the same as authentic Chinese food, for those of you who dont know, other than a few dishes, like Peking Duck.. This fact I know prior to arrival, thanks to my handy contact in China, Michelle :) Peking is the fancy way to refer to Beijing for scholars and diplomats, and the airport code for Beijing is PEK, for your info. I want to eat some of this specialty when in Beijing, along with other weird shit at this night market I am planning on finding. I wont get into what they serve until I see/taste for myself. No lamb penis though!
Saying goodbye to Roxie was really hard because she has no idea whats going on and when I dont come home for 6 months, I dont know if she will think I abandoned and just forget me for a while or what :( Ill be back sweet Roxie May!! Lucky was a different story. That was most likely the last time I will see good ol Lucky boy alive and well ;,( He has arthritis and has a hard time getting around, he is going blind, and is somewhat deaf already. Poor guy. He had a great life, though. What other dog can say he lived in Wisconsin, Mississippi, and New Jersey? What other dog can say he played in snow 4 foot deep, was chased my alligators in his backyard, and still lived to be 14 years old? Lucky you will be missed terribly! You were a great dog, even though you sure did piss me off at the end, barking and not listening all the time, just like an old grandpa. So that was the hardest part of saying my goodbyes, friends and family know the deal, Ill be back.
So, my trip driving up the Parkway, then onto the NJ Turnpike, to JFK airport, NYC was through a snow storm, actually more like a blizzard.. And the day before was short sleeve weather, go figure. I guess it was just he good ol US of A saying farewell with a kick in the ass of northeast weather. I seem to carry you with me when I travel, but I have a funny feeling you wont be following me over the Atlantic. Anyway, you will be missed too snowstorm...
After picking up my Dad from work in Newark, we had my last meal at a dinner in Coney Island, NY, called Pete's Family Restaurant. What a way to take in the last bit of American culture I will see for a while, huh? I had a huge, greasy, mushroom stuffed cheese burger with fries and slaw. It was not that good by American standards, but as my last source of energy from America it was delicious.
Thirty minutes later I made it to the airport, got checked in, said good bye to my bags at security, said good bye to Mom and Dad, then proceeded to my gate through security. Stopped at the duty free store for a carton of smokes, even though I quit, for that rare occasion when I need a f-in Newport. Know the feeling? Everything went smooth at security, thank God. That pound of weed I got in my suitcase made it through I guess. JUST KIDDING. It grows wild in some parts of China, why bring my own..
My plan now is to try to seem like Ive been here/done that before in Beijing, so people know they cant take advantage of my inexperience and con me in anyway, although Im going to be like a snowball in a desert out there. Maybe better put, an oz of water in a quart of oil, or we can go with, a piece of corn in a pile of mashed potatoes, dont ask where I got that one. Ive heard taxi drivers will drive around in circles and take the long way to destinations if they know you are a tourist. Not to worry, I come prepared with printed directions and address's of where I need to go and an itouch loaded with Chinese Mandarin programs to help me communicate. I have little faith in my communication skills with the native Chinese once in Beijing though.
As I sit on the airplane listening to my electronic music staring into a dark empty space outside my cabin window, I cant help thinking about all the ways I will be changed from this adventure. First off, my already whack ass accent; a mix of Mid-west country, Southern draw, and Northeast 'guido' slang probably wont be the same again. Mix in a little Mandarin Chinese and you have yourself one rounded ass individual accent, thats for sure. Im getting a f-in headache thinking about it. Second, Ill never look at Chinese people or the Chinese culture the same again. In New York its an everyday occurrence to see huge groups of Chinese people on tours and wondering around, usually in your way, going slow, lost as hell, cant understand what the hell they are saying, and they cant understand you. Lets not even go into China town. Chinese in China, from what my sister tells and what I read, are a very friendly people, interested in who you are and where you come from, and always willing to help in any way they can. I already made friends with the couple Im sitting next to, even though we cant really communicate that well. The occasional nods and smiles are enough.. They get a kick out of my itouch too. I hope to learn a ton of Mandarin(I know zero now) and learn as much as possible about the oldest civilization on our planet as well. The last way I know for sure Ill be changed, is being thankful for how we in the US live and the freedoms we have everyday. Little cliche I know. Not sure yet, what faucets of Chinese society will make me proud to be an American, but taking a shit in a whole in the floor(Chinese toilet) is definitely something I am looking forward to, believe it or not. Not being able to drink water from the sink and having to peal or cook all my fruits and veggies, Im sure will get old. The language barrier between me and everyone else, Im sure will be frustrating sometimes also. Only time and this blog will tell for sure.
I am now almost directly above the North Pole at 23:00 EST, just waived to Santa and gave him my Chinese address. It seems there's no lay-a-way plan for Xmas presents. As the sun is peering through the thin vapor clouds of twilight, I am looking down at icebergs and broken up ice sheets in the water, what I believe is the Arctic Ocean.. Of course there is a movie on now so I cant see the map. The snow glowing orange and red is extremely beautiful, as the sun touches it for the first time at 23:30 at night! Crazy right.. We are traveling 551 mph at 34,000ft, have about 7hrs left, with an outside air temp of -74F this screen in front of me says.. Thinking about this flight. Its a body aching 14.5 hour trip of over 6,200 miles up and over the top of the world. I left New York just before sunset, and watched the sun fall into the clouds from the plane and am now watching the sun gently rise into and out of the clouds again after about 6 hrs. Im still confused about how that works exactly. I guess the sun and I left each other just off the coast of New York and are racing to Beijing.. He beat me. Sun of a bitch! :) I bet I see it set again before I land.. That means Ive been on this damn plane waaay too long!
Laptop battery at about 50% so I will leave you at that for now. Next post will be from the driving city of China's current revolution, Beijing. Oh yea, China is going through a pretty serious revolution, if you haven't heard. Hopefully Ill get to that in detail.
Bring it China, Im ready for you!!
Peace from the North Pole.
