First things first

WEEEEWOOOO! So I’m a little late in the game as I’ve been in China for nearly a month now. For anybody who knows me well, this should not come as a surprise. I majored in English and minored in procrastination. Good thing I have my trusty notebook to refer back to so that I can share the details of my arrival and first impressions of China. Here we go….

Another thing that should not come as a surprise is that I over-packed. So the first lag of the journey took me all the way to the “Excess Baggage Fees” counter at Pearson. Soon after it was time for our final goodbyes and we headed through security into the Maple Leaf Lounge (thank you Jennie!) where we clearly did not belong. While business men made phone calls and checked emails in their suits, Emily and I stuffed in as many breadsticks and crackers and free magazines as our carry-ons would allow. We were very thankful for our shameless gluttony later on in the trip (story to come). Our 13-hour flight was not bad at all – plenty of movies to choose from on our personal TV screens and the food was better than decent. We then had a five-hour layover in Beijing, which was spent sleeping. We arrived in Guilin airport just after midnight. Emily and I were the last ones waiting at the baggage carousel when we were approached and told that there was nothing left on the plane. No luggage for us. The guy who approached us took us to an office and eventually tracked down our luggage (still in Beijing) and assured us we would get it in a few days. This is how I felt about that: 

Our flight was the last to arrive for the day and the airport workers were clearly eager to close up shop. All of the lights in the airport were off so we scooted to the front doors to find our ride. Except nobody was there to fetch us. We returned to the office and called Buckland (our employer). Apparently the driver was having car troubles so there would be nobody to pick us up. We also learned that there are no taxis at this time of night so we would have to stay at the airport hotel and wait until the morning. No luggage, no ride, but we did have snacks. Our first official meal in China consisted of candy and breadsticks.