Most recent itinerary planned:

 

Dec 25th: DC --> Frankfurt, Gemany

Dec 26th: Frankfurt, Germany --> Mulhouse, France

Dec 27th: Mulhouse, France --> Zurich, Switzerland --> Bregenz, Austria

Dec 28th: Bregenz, Austria --> Venice, Italy

Dec 29th: Venice, Italy --> Florence, Italy

Dec 30th: Florence, Italy --> Milan, Italy

Dec 30th: Milan, Italy --> Frankfurt, Germany

Jan 1st: Frankfurt, Germany --> Washington, DC

 

 

短短的10天就这么过了。 福州变化大 - 我所有的路都不认识了， 旧家也拆了， 大的楼房盖了好多出来。 还好，“打的“很方便， 所以去哪都不成问题。 福州有一处没变的就是东西还是那么好吃，那么便宜。 我在那10天里是吃的开心， 玩得开心。 没什么抱怨了~~

 

第一天 （2/18/06）

 

刚下机的第二天， 早上5点就起来了。天下着毛毛细雨， 下午和奶奶还有小榕逛街去了。 东街口那一带很豪华， 可是我喜欢的东西没几件。 晚上和几位小学同学聚会了 （聪， 谢谢你特地为了和我碰面而改变你回杭州的车票)， 好几位都是有11年没见了，这次能见到真的是很难得。 终于也发现其实我们班上帅哥美女还是挺多的。

 

 

第二天 (2/19/06)

 

 今天和QQ表妹去了外婆那。外婆现在住长乐市，新家我也是第一次看到。我们一到外婆就煮了一大堆好吃的，从上午１１点多一直吃到下午２点。外婆的心脏不好，要吃很多药。我会一直为她祈祷。外公的身体就很棒，每天都在外头跑。希望外公外婆都身体健康！

 

 

 

第三天 (2/20/06)

 

参加了一位小学同学的婚礼 - 小学同学当中也算是她最早结婚生子的了。　恭喜了，乐！　希望你幸福！！

 

第四天 (2/21/06)

 

中午在盈家里吃了顿中饭。盈，你是越来越美丽啊！　晚上和榕一起打吃了一顿，海鲜，海鲜！！(其实我在中国除了吃，就是逛街)

 

 

 

第五天 (2/22/06)

 

这天我和奶奶逛了好多路。我们去了以前我小时候常去的“文化宫“，那还是一点都没变。接着去了我以前的小学。 去小学的那条路变得好宽大了。

 

第六天 (2/23/06)

 

和奶奶去了外婆那， 又吃了一大堆。 然后我吵着要奶奶陪我到我们的老家去了。 其实她开头不肯的，说那什么人都没了，没什么好去的。 可是毕竟小时候外公外婆还住那的时候，我是经常去的。 所以就很想去看看有什么变化，顺便也想去爷爷的墓那走走。奶奶好厉害，走山路比我快多了。

 

 

 

第七天 (2/24/06)

 

倒霉的一天啊。 走在路上不知什么时候手机被偷了都不知道。还是奶奶厉害，结果又给我弄了一张sim卡，而且连号码都一样。 真的是想的周到啊！！ 晚上去了舅妈就吃火锅， 又是海鲜！ Yum Yum~~

 

 

 

第八天 (2/25/06)

 

今天和小榕逛街的时候， 突然兴致来潮， 我们俩一起拍了大头贴。好可爱啊。。。哈哈！ 我的挚爱就是大侠的那张.

 

 

第九天 (2/26/06)

 

早上小榕陪我弄头发去了。 在美国的姑姑打电话说我怎么在中国也不去弄弄头，洗洗脸什么的。听了后也觉得也对， 反正在中国弄什么都便宜。 我把头发染成了棕色。 其实一点也不明显。 晚上又和几位小学同学相聚了 (其实我在中国还不就只有那么几位小学朋友咯)。 这次我们还约了我们敬爱的苏老师出来。 大家吃完饭， 就一起去了老师家。 老师的女儿刚结了婚，给我们看了婚礼的DVD， 还不时和我们说我们也要结婚了。。哈哈。

 

 

 

第十天 (2/27/06)

 

最后一天 - 晚上一位小学同学说一定要请我吃一顿福州的地道菜。 结果我们去了一间很破的店吃，可是东西的确是非常非常的地道，好吃！ 李超， 我还是得感谢你让我和程嘉等你20分钟，要不然我就碰不到觅了。 觅， 你还是没变。虽然11年没见， 我在街上还是第一眼就认出了你。

 

2/28/06

 

上飞机了。 心里难过！ 行李超重， 被罚了200RMB, 什么跟什么嘛！

 

今天已是回美国后的第3天。 时间颠倒的利害。 这3天来每天下班就抱头大睡， 结果早上天没亮就醒来。 整个人都昏昏沉沉的。 Exhausted!

Inspired by Andy's airport story, I've always wanted to write one of my own.  I don't remember how many airports I have been to - passing through arrival gates, or simply rushing from one plane to the next with a bite to eat and a bathroom stop on the way - nor have I ever tried to count them.  However, before I forget, I want to write down every little bit of memory that every single one of those airports has left imprinted on me.   Now I'm just letting the memories flow freely as I write, so what comes out may not be the complete truth, but it's how I remember it...and that's what matters...

 

The year 1995 is a special one in my heart.  Six years of elementary school had come and gone before I knew it.  Everyone was anxiously awaiting the acceptance letter from their dream junior/senior high school - a prized ticket to a better life.  Unfortunately, I did not make it into any of the top schools in our district.  I missed by 3 points.  I don't really remember much detail, not that it matters anymore now.  By late fall (October I think), we got an interview notification from the US Embassy based in Guangzhou - the next province over was already like the other end of the earth to me, America seemed like a universe away.  The date for our interview was set to be November 30th, 1995.  Therefore, November 29th was to become the day that I first set foot in an aiport, and eventually an airplane itself.

 

We departed from Fuzhou YiXu Aiport (I don't think it was internationl yet at that time - a flight to Guangzhou or Shanghai was quite far enough for one of those old Chinese planes).  I was excited about finally being able to ride on a plane and nervous about the interview scheduled for the following day.  Honestly, my memories of the events that took place in that small aiport have faded - but the sensations of the day linger on.  Of course, for those who have flown in the third world, it will not be hard to guess the kind of plane that I boarded.  To me, however, the plane was magnificent - a shining cylinder that would launch me into the sky and into a new life - and I could easily amuse myself by playing with the buttons installed on the armrests of my seat!  A short hour later we arrived in Guangzhou BaiYun Aiport.  Once again, my memory of this part of the trip has blurred.  One thing I remember vividly is that as soon as I got out of the aiport, we called a taxi and went straight to the hotel in which we would be staying.  The taxi driver turned on the radio station and the air was filled the the twists and turns of a completely different dialect.  I came to learn later that it was Cantonese, a dialect in which I would later become conversant.

 

A month later, we found ourselves back at that same airport in Fuzhou, except this time we were overloaded with large bundles wrapped in cloth and tied with strings.  We were moving to America!  Our first stop-over: Hong Kong.  Even though it was only a little over an hour away by plane, Hong Kong airport seemed exponentially better and a world apart from Fuzhou.  These were the days of the old airport in Kowloon, where landing planes narrowly missed high-rise apartment buildings and clotheslines. Through the large glass windows, I could see sky-scrapers - there had been no such thing in Fuzhou - and mystical mountains in the distance. I saw cars, trucks, and buses busily marching through the streets.  I almost wished that Hong Kong would actually be my final destination.  Soon after, the plane took off from HK and arrived in Taipei an hour later.  I was already feeling the fatigue by the time I got to Taipei airport.   It frightened me to think that it would take another 13 hours to fly from Taipei to New York. 

 

The plane that flew from Taipei directly to New York was the biggest one I'd ever seen - remember it was also only the fifth I'd ever seen.  I remember there was an Asian girl who was traveling with her American family.  I observed her the whole trip and I can still recall the tremendous envious feeling I had for her because she was so familiar with the country in which I would be arriving for the first time.  And her English was so...fluent. I feared I would never be able to understand such a strange language - not to mention dare to speak it. Finally, on the evening of December 30, 1995, my mom, my brother, and I arrived at JFK International Airport in New York City.  The feeling was overwhelming.  We had to stay a little later than everyone else before going through immigration because it was our first time coming into the country and we had to hand in a lot of paperwork to one of the officials.  "Thank You" in broken English, was the only word I could say to the immigrantion official - the only way we could show how grateful we were for being granted the visa.  I was wearing a little pink coat, which I got as a gift from one of my aunts back in Fuzhou.  I was also startled by the many types of people to be found at the airport.  Coming out of the big long tunnel in the arrival section of the airport, I saw people waving and hugging.  Aiports are often emotional places.  Not much later, I saw some familiar yet long-unseen faces.  I was more scared than excited.  At that instant, I wanted desperately to go back to Fuzhou. Stepping out of the front entrance of the arrival section, I was struck by a blast of wintery air and shivered into my new "American" way of life.  The ground was covered with snow (the winter of 1996 was the worst in more than a decade).  We hopped into my uncle's grand SUV and off into the sullen night we flew. New Jersey was not far off...

 

It wasn't until five years later that I once more crossed a departure gate - this time heading back to China, but not home (and where was home, really?).  Being stranded in the Syracuse International Airport in cold, blizzardy upstate New York for 12 hours was utterly unimaginable.  Beijing could be so close and yet so unreachable. Not given an exact time of when anything would be ready for departure, we played cards, slept, even went shopping at the neareast mall.  Finally, the announcement came -- the runway and the plane were ready.  It was still snowing outside.  We hopped on the plane filled with excitment!  Beijing here we come!  That trip was doomed to be a long one.  First, we flew to Detriot, and sat around for a few hours.  When we were ready for the next flight to Minneapolis - two flights and we still hadn't crossed more than half of the US. Andy left his sweater in the Detroit airport...one less thing to carry to Beijing.  We spent a night in Minneapolis and couldn't wait to get on the next flight, which would take us a world away - to Tokyo and then Beijing.  At that time, anywhere outside of the US sounded appealing to us.  Narita airport was multi-lingual, high-tech, spotless, and sterile as a hospital.  Japanese toilets do flush differently!!!  Finally, the plane landed in Beijing Capital Airport.  It was my first time visiting the capital of my homeland.  Having to stand in the "Chinese" line (little red passport in hand) before going through customs and seeing the big poster of Deng Xiaoping brought warmth to my heart.  I was proud to be a Chinese and finally being able to come back home.  Ten days flew by too quickly.  Before we knew it, we were back at the airport and headed to snowy New York once more.  My mood was gray.

 

Unexpectedly, a year and a half later, I had the privilege of returning to China by myself - Fuzhou this time - to bring my two cousins, whose parents had just won their case for political asylum in the US.  As I had been on the flight to Beijing, I was expected to stop in 3 different cities before arriving in Fuzhou.  First stop: Anchorage, Alaka.  It was about 3 am (Eastern Time - and who knows what time there).  I was feeling awfully naucious after I sitting in the cramped plane cabin for 6 hours.  I don't know when I started getting air sickness, but this time  it was  unpleasant and irrating.  The nausea finally rushed me to the bathroom.  Right afterwards, I bought a pack of orange flavored motion sickness pills.  Calling Andy collect from one of the phone booths outside of the bathroom,  I woke him from his sleep and he sounded awfully far away and a bit lonely -- though I was officially still in the United States.  The 13 hours from Anchroage to Taipei seemed to have flown by quickly (pardon the pun),  because the medicine put me to sleep for most of the trip. Less than an hour in Taipei and I was off to HK.  The day was beautiful in Hong Kong.  I sat on one of the benches by the large glass windows in the waiting room.  That was my first time being in the new HK airport.  Its ceiling was very distinguishable, very unique.  There was an old man holding an infant pacing back and forth in front of me.  The baby was crying.  Without asking my own origin, he asked me in Fuzhou dialect where I was going.  I said Fuzhou and the conversation ended there.  It was also my first time entering Fuzhou's new Changle International Airport.  It was clean and empty. I should say it was depressing in a funny way.  My grandma and my aunt were waiting for me at the gate.  Their faces seemed very distant.  Of course, they thought I, too, had changed. 

 

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I probably shouldn't continue writing about each airport that I've been to -- it's going to take me too long to write and it will probably discourage you from reading as well.

 

A few more significant airports I have been to:

 

1. Narita (August 2002): Just finished the summer program in Japan and on my way to Beijing to visit Andy.  The 6 hour wait in the Narita waiting room was the longest 6 hours I have ever had to go through.  Sometimes when you are expecting something exciting, the wait can be an eternity.

 

2. JFK (October 2002): The one-year study at Oxford was about to begin.  I still can't describe the nervous thoughts that ran like swift currents through my mind.  My mom and my brother were with me.  She was proud - I wished to turn back and cancel the whole plan.   It turned out that it was one of the best years in my life -- I grew not only in areas of study, but spiritually as well.

 

3. Heathrow (October 2002): First time arriving in London.  It was early in the morning London Time and I was still getting over my jetlag.  The whole airport seemed very dark.  In this new country, there was so much to expect and yet I was very lost.  Someone I'd never met before was at the airport to pick me up and take me to Oxford.  When I walked along the mental fences on the both sides of the arrival path, I saw a kind-looking lady holding a board which said "RonLing You."  My name was misspelled, it wasn't the first time that happened.  I didn't mind.  She was sweet.  I walked up to her and introduced myself.   She gave me a kiss on the cheek, which I didn't quite expect :).

 

4. Beijing (March 2003): Flew in from London.  I fully utilized my month-long vacation this time and went with Andy across the northern path of the Silk Road.  Once again, I was filled with excitment (how could one not be excited when traveling?).  The trip turned out be to excellent!!!

 

5. London (October 2005): I've fallen in love with this city ever since the first time I went there.  This time, I was going back to visit some friends whom I met while I was studying at Oxford.  This was also the first time that I traveled as an US citizen.  It did feel really nice to walk right through customs without getting a visa.  However, the lady at the immigration booth still threw me a bunch useless questions.  I had to answer them.