First Day in
4:40am
Walk through the Bird Flu Quarrantine folks, waiting for the immigration oficer to grunt at me in disgust, like the Japanese fellow did for not having an address i was staying at. She doesn't.
4:55am
I see my bag, i'll grab it and walk through customs and they'll say nothing to me, barely even look at me as i walk by.
5:00am
I'm really in China now. Too early for the Hotel Reservation place at the airport, but up ahead is a 24 hour cafe with what appears to be a fairly well-stocked bar.
5:15am
It's hot - 21°C or so - and the chinese noodles (with beef, oops) are steaming hot too. Hopefully they know how to make a Bloody Mary here - that should cool me down a bit (hey, i's 5:15pm MI time!) I eat while wondering where i'll stay tonight, what i'll do in the upcoming days.
5:30am
A couple Spaniards walk in, and a Chinese man, all speaking Spanish. At LAX, China Airways flights depart from the same concourse as TACA, and on the flight here were a substantial number of Spanish speakers. I wonder if the language will follow me around the world (probably will - we notice what we want).
5:45am
Finished soup, waiting for waitress.
5:50am
Mumbling my way through explaining a Bloody Mary - she doesn't get it. How can a waitress not know "vodka" or "Smirnoff" or "Absolut" when there's a bottle of it behind her? Tsing Tao it is, and i'm back to pondering the more important, pressing issues at hand, like where i'll watch the game that's scheduled to start in just over 2 hours, if my time-math is right.
6:05am
Trying to remember the 2 Chinese characters i tried to memomorized on the plane: "exit" and "open". Still remember a couple of phrases in Serbian, which impresses a couple friends, and a few in Khmer, which impresses no one (yet!). I also wonder how long til my accent kicks in. During the Belgrade trip, it took under 2 days for me to start speaking with a latino accent.
6:06am
A large group of airport employees has gathered outside, a woman speaking to them. The Spaniards are speaking about garlic manufacturing and processing. I'm wondering what work e-mails await me - if i had my way, i'd still handle all the mail i normally do, but i don't know that they could take the delay (ok, as is there will be a delay anyways). I like my job, and love being able to do so much from around the world. If i had my way, this is all i'd do - travel the world and put in hours wherever i am.
6:20am
The employees are going their separate ways and i notice there is now someone at the hotel reservation counter. Must go ask for a hotel with the Pistons - at this point i still don't know they'll disappoint all of us.
6:22am
Just finished my first Chinese beer in China. Now to find a place to stay.
Walk through the Bird Flu Quarrantine folks, waiting for the immigration oficer to grunt at me in disgust, like the Japanese fellow did for not having an address i was staying at. She doesn't.
4:55am
I see my bag, i'll grab it and walk through customs and they'll say nothing to me, barely even look at me as i walk by.
5:00am
I'm really in China now. Too early for the Hotel Reservation place at the airport, but up ahead is a 24 hour cafe with what appears to be a fairly well-stocked bar.
5:15am
It's hot - 21°C or so - and the chinese noodles (with beef, oops) are steaming hot too. Hopefully they know how to make a Bloody Mary here - that should cool me down a bit (hey, i's 5:15pm MI time!) I eat while wondering where i'll stay tonight, what i'll do in the upcoming days.
5:30am
A couple Spaniards walk in, and a Chinese man, all speaking Spanish. At LAX, China Airways flights depart from the same concourse as TACA, and on the flight here were a substantial number of Spanish speakers. I wonder if the language will follow me around the world (probably will - we notice what we want).
5:45am
Finished soup, waiting for waitress.
5:50am
Mumbling my way through explaining a Bloody Mary - she doesn't get it. How can a waitress not know "vodka" or "Smirnoff" or "Absolut" when there's a bottle of it behind her? Tsing Tao it is, and i'm back to pondering the more important, pressing issues at hand, like where i'll watch the game that's scheduled to start in just over 2 hours, if my time-math is right.
6:05am
Trying to remember the 2 Chinese characters i tried to memomorized on the plane: "exit" and "open". Still remember a couple of phrases in Serbian, which impresses a couple friends, and a few in Khmer, which impresses no one (yet!). I also wonder how long til my accent kicks in. During the Belgrade trip, it took under 2 days for me to start speaking with a latino accent.
6:06am
A large group of airport employees has gathered outside, a woman speaking to them. The Spaniards are speaking about garlic manufacturing and processing. I'm wondering what work e-mails await me - if i had my way, i'd still handle all the mail i normally do, but i don't know that they could take the delay (ok, as is there will be a delay anyways). I like my job, and love being able to do so much from around the world. If i had my way, this is all i'd do - travel the world and put in hours wherever i am.
6:20am
The employees are going their separate ways and i notice there is now someone at the hotel reservation counter. Must go ask for a hotel with the Pistons - at this point i still don't know they'll disappoint all of us.
6:22am
Just finished my first Chinese beer in China. Now to find a place to stay.
posted by francisco at 6/03/2006 09:06:00 AM
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