First days in DC

First days in DC,
originally uploaded by printsmart102.

I'm writing this on today the second day in DC, but I've been very
busy. They seem to keep us constantly occupied. That day after landing
I took a very long shuttle ride from Dulles to downtown and to GWU
(George Washington University). I rode with students from Rochester
and learned that some of them were in the same program as me,
International Baccalaureate. Which means I can find help with my
summer work for AP calc that I don't understand. We dropped off our
luggage and were dismissed until later (so I went to the white house).
For the rest of the day, we attended meetings with the coordinators
and did teambuilding, during which I did my Barack Obama impression.

On the second day, we had a lighter schedule. We reviewed Chinese
history since 35,000 BCE in the morning as well as ancient Chinese
culture at the Freer Museum. Then we had 3 hours to spend in Chinatown
for lunch -- we had burritos. Later that day we met Chinese elders and
talked to them about their lives in DC -- they only spoke Mandarin. I
saw the Asian liason police substation in Chinatown-- they don't have
liason offices in Atlanta, to my knowledge, and there's no chinatown,
either. At dinner I also met interns from the DC Mayor's office OAPIA
(Asian & Pacific Islander Affairs). They served as interpreters and
worked at that office to pursue careers in international affairs. We
had a traditional Chinese dinner on the third floor of a restaurant--
in a private room with a stage. Very nice. More pics soon.

Taxi & takeoff

Taxi & takeoff,
originally uploaded by printsmart102.

Good to go.

At the airport

At the airport,
originally uploaded by printsmart102.

8:24 am. I woke up at 6, got in the car at 7, getting on the plane at
9:30. Now I'm waiting with my group for one more person who was in
morning traffic on the highway. My family is embarassing me at the
airport and my bag is almost 50 lbs.; typical traveler stuff. We're
going to be waiting indefinitely for the last person -- we only have
an hour to clear security and be at the gate now. I can hear my
friend, Raven, on the phone with the last person. Apparently she's
trying to park. 5 more minutes or so I guess.

My 80%-packed suitcase

My 80%-packed suitcase,
originally uploaded by printsmart102.

flight info!

Yesterday i got waivers that i need in order to be able to go - something like "thou shalt not collaborate with the chinese to plot global armageddon" and a media release form. I'm supposed to turn them in when I get to DC. Today I'm going to go shopping for the rest of the stuff I need. I'm planning on packing a suitcase inside my suitcase, so I can fill it up with as many souvenirs as i can carry and bring it back to the states as an extra checked bag.

Also, I got my flight information. Which is really exciting. My itinerary is:

Sun, 28 June 9:31am: Depart ATL (Hartsfield-Jackson International, Atlanta, GA)

11:20am: Arrive at IAD (Dulles, Washington, D.C.)

Wed, 1 July 12:22pm: Depart IAD

Thurs, 2 July 2:20pm: Arrive at PEK(Beijing International)

The flight is going to be 13 long hours. And I'm going +12 hours ahead of Atlanta and the east coast time-wise. So I'll be on the plan for 13 hours, but it'll only be mid-afternoon by the time i arrive (almost the same time as when i left, if that makes sense.)

oral test and 5 days to go

Today I took a proficiency test in mandarin. It was lame. They asked two questions and asked me to reply to them in Mandarin Chinese in 5 minutes' time. The two questions were:

1. Tell me about yourself.

2. Describe a book you read or movie you watched recently.

It's notable that the first question is the same as the admission essay question for Columbia University, my first choice college that i'll apply to this fall. I answered it something like:

我的名字叫安祖。我十七岁。我是高中学生在北呀特蓝特高中学。我一起和我弟弟妹妹驻在呀特蓝

My name is Andrew. I'm 17 years old. I'm a student at North Atlanta High School. I live in Atlanta with my younger brother and sister.

特。我们每天起床，吃早餐，看电视， 和休息。我喜欢学习中国，上网，和做饭...

Every day we get up and eat breakfast, watch tv, and rest. (It's summer vacation.) Personally, I like studying China, surfing the internet, and cooking...

The other question was a lot harder; I didn't know how to express it well. I talked about Pelham 123, which I had seen last Saturday - it was a great movie, except that I didn't know how to say "terrorist", "hostage", or "train" in Chinese. So I went about explaining the movie sans this crucial vocabulary. I think I mostly messed that question up. If this were a test, I'd pass, but just barely.

The proctor told me that I'd get results back when i took another test in August after I come back. We'll see. Maybe someday this week i'll finish packing. The suitcase remains untouched and the saga continues.

Let the packing begin.

Happy father's day. Today i started packing; just clothes so far. I decided I want to pack as lightly as possible so I have a maximum of space for souvenirs and stuff like that. So I'm bringing 5 pairs of pants, 2 pairs of shorts, about 12 shirts, and miscellaneous socks and underwear, as well as two ties and belts. I still have to get:

-a bigger memory card for my camera

-a power adapter for chinese outlets

-socks

-suggestions?

Also, i researched bringing my iPhone 3G yesterday. It looks like it can't be unlocked to use other SIM cards (typical apple) but I'm going to bring it just in case. I'm also bringing an unlocked Motorola SLVR L6 as a backup.

8 Days Left

8 Days Left,
originally uploaded by printsmart102.

Time to get excited. Only 8 more days before I leave Atlanta for my
orientation in DC. I'll spend about 3 days there, and then head out to
Beijing around the 1st of July. This weekend I've been shopping and
packing the essentials-- such as adapters, clothes, toiletries, and
acessories. I'm also taking a language test for placement in a Chinese
class this Monday. Plus, I'm getting my spending money together. It's
a lot less than you'd think I need, as the price of everything in
china is much lower, but it's still some money. The good news that
this is all I have to pay for this whole experience. The rest is free!
I'm getting excited now.

I'm still in Atlanta.