Sorry for the delay, but I have come to discover that Chinese censorship also includes a block on this website. My brother seemed to have no issue with this two years ago, but I guess that times have changed, so we'll just have to adapt. So, from now on Papa Trescott will be uploading my entries from back in the US.
So after 53 hours in transit we finally arrived in Beijing! I could spend a long time blabbering about my current disapproval of the airline industry, but it's really not worth it at this point. However, I must share just how in awe I was when checking in at JFK to be issued a boarding pass with my fellow traveler's name on it (he had already checked in and received his own boarding pass with the same name). How is this possible?! I suppose it was good that the TSA lady denied me for having the wrong name, forcing me to wait another 45 minutes in her line after correcting the issue, but come on!!!! Okay, I know I'm boring you at this point, we've all heard enough about the TSA with their full body scanners and whatnot. Time to move on to the fun stuff!
Today I did many things involving vehicles with two wheels that might make my mother cringe, but they would certainly have made her father proud! While in these situations when I briefly stop to think, "What on earth am I doing?!" I like to consider the second part of that statement, rather than the voices of my mother. (Sorry, Mom!)
1) I rode a bike without a helmet.
2) I rode a bike without a helmet through the busy streets of Beijing. Although the university I'm working at is not in central Beijing where I'm sure the traffic is much worse, this is still as good as any Boston traffic plus bikers, more pedestrians, rickshaws, motorbikes, etc.
3) Not only did I ride this bike on the busy streets, but when we came to an intersection (I was following one of our host grad students), his directions were to cross directly through the intersection, one corner to the other. I looked at him in absolute awe. You want me to do what!? But as the light changed, it was like the parting of the Red Sea, allowing us to go right through!
4) I rode on the back of a motorbike driven by a stranger. Well he wasn't quite a stranger, I've known him for a little over an hour, and the second I hopped on he informed me of his recent accident. Nice!
5) I rode on the back of a bicycle driven by my fellow American student. (We're not strangers so really there's no cause for alarm). But oh wait, with one bike, two people, two backpacks, and very little experience in Beijing biking, this made for quite the adventure, and we're already excited for our ride back to campus in the morning!
So there you have it, Mom. Bikes, motorbikes, no helmets, lack of experience, and busy traffic -- the perfect combination! But I have yet to get hit by a bus, so I'd say we're starting off pretty well. We'll just have to see what the future holds!
Betty
Monday, May 30, 2011
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Now Potsdam, NY may not be exciting, but let me tell you, the Syracuse airport is really not exciting. We’ve been “in transit” now for over nine hours, but after a three hour bus ride to the airport, we haven’t made much more progress.
In the organic chemistry lab when I spend the entire period running a reaction, only to find in the last ten minutes of lab that I did not get the necessary product, I can often only say that the lab gods weren’t with me that day. Well, today I don’t much care about the lab gods (I will soon…), but I’m much more concerned with the travel gods that have let me down yet again. With three flights, it might be expected that something would go wrong, and it did. With our first flight delayed indefinitely, they’ll be no way we can catch our other flights. So, they’re instead sending us to JFK, where we’ll fly out again in the morning. We can only hope that the travel gods will be with us then!
In the organic chemistry lab when I spend the entire period running a reaction, only to find in the last ten minutes of lab that I did not get the necessary product, I can often only say that the lab gods weren’t with me that day. Well, today I don’t much care about the lab gods (I will soon…), but I’m much more concerned with the travel gods that have let me down yet again. With three flights, it might be expected that something would go wrong, and it did. With our first flight delayed indefinitely, they’ll be no way we can catch our other flights. So, they’re instead sending us to JFK, where we’ll fly out again in the morning. We can only hope that the travel gods will be with us then!
Potsdam, NY is not a very exciting place. There, I said it. This is especially true when you spend the entire day doing lab safety training, personality testing, and other somewhat lame orientation activities. Take home message: don’t be afraid to get naked when you spill chemicals all over yourself and have to use the emergency shower. Needless to say, after our second long day at Clarkson, a few of us were ready for a bit of excitement in our lives. We decided to explore a bit more of the Clarkson campus and go on a run through their extensive trail system. We were warned there would be mud, but we didn’t really think this through. We were much more interested in finding the large swamp in the woods. Well we did find the swamp. And the bonus sunset and lack of bugs was really the icing on the cake. But we also picked up lots of mud along the way. We returned home to pull off our disgustingly wet and muddy sneakers, considering how on earth we would be able to pack them in our suitcases in the morning. Luckily there was an extra trashbag in the bathroom… What were we thinking? I’m not so sure, but we all agreed that the wet sneakers in the suitcase were totally worth the adventure. Hopefully many more adventures to come in China!
Betty
Monday, May 23, 2011
Question 1: What do Massena, NY and Tortola, BVI have in common?
They are both serviced by Cape Air Airlines. Who knew?! I discovered this leafing through the in flight magazine when I came across an advertisement for Blue Water Divers. The small dive shop outfitted the entire Trescott clan (grandparents and all) with flippers and snorkels during our family reunion trip to Tortola about five years ago. I couldn’t help but think of Grandfather Trescott decked out in his snorkel gear. It was quite the sight!
Question 2: Why do you care about some obscure connection between Massena and Tortola?
Well don’t worry about Tortola, but I flew to Massena yesterday for a short stopover before departing for Beijing, where I will spend the next two months doing research in a materials science lab at Tsinghua University. The program is offered through Clarkson University, in Potsdam, NY, about a forty minute drive from Massena. Jimmy Trescott, my brother, participated in the same program two years ago and you can read all about his escapades in his blog Jimmy does Dalian (http://jimmydoesdalian.blogspot.com/2009_05_01_archive.html). This might also help you in understanding the names I have chosen for myself and my family. I've heard that censorship in China is widespread, and I’m all for avoiding kidnapping and imprisonment, plus an alias is always fun.
Question 3: Why would I want to write a blog?
Well after the part about going to jail, I’m not so sure, but whenever there is an opportunity to one-up an older sibling, it must be taken! I have no guarantees at this point, but we’ll see how it goes.
My hope is to regularly update you all on my adventures in China throughout the summer, but I make no promises. Rumor has it that my Chinese mentor works 90 hours per week, so who knows, I may not ever leave the lab! We have one more day of orientation here at Clarkson before a marathon day of travel to Beijing. Looking forward to shipping off!
Betty
They are both serviced by Cape Air Airlines. Who knew?! I discovered this leafing through the in flight magazine when I came across an advertisement for Blue Water Divers. The small dive shop outfitted the entire Trescott clan (grandparents and all) with flippers and snorkels during our family reunion trip to Tortola about five years ago. I couldn’t help but think of Grandfather Trescott decked out in his snorkel gear. It was quite the sight!
Question 2: Why do you care about some obscure connection between Massena and Tortola?
Well don’t worry about Tortola, but I flew to Massena yesterday for a short stopover before departing for Beijing, where I will spend the next two months doing research in a materials science lab at Tsinghua University. The program is offered through Clarkson University, in Potsdam, NY, about a forty minute drive from Massena. Jimmy Trescott, my brother, participated in the same program two years ago and you can read all about his escapades in his blog Jimmy does Dalian (http://jimmydoesdalian.blogspot.com/2009_05_01_archive.html). This might also help you in understanding the names I have chosen for myself and my family. I've heard that censorship in China is widespread, and I’m all for avoiding kidnapping and imprisonment, plus an alias is always fun.
Question 3: Why would I want to write a blog?
Well after the part about going to jail, I’m not so sure, but whenever there is an opportunity to one-up an older sibling, it must be taken! I have no guarantees at this point, but we’ll see how it goes.
My hope is to regularly update you all on my adventures in China throughout the summer, but I make no promises. Rumor has it that my Chinese mentor works 90 hours per week, so who knows, I may not ever leave the lab! We have one more day of orientation here at Clarkson before a marathon day of travel to Beijing. Looking forward to shipping off!
Betty
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