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.)