Friendly Fares

Dearest readers, I imagine that you have been in the thralls
of curiosity, anxiously awaiting the latest from yours truly. The amounts that
I have to share can hardly be contained within one post, and even in writing
one I am torn between providing a chronological update of our little family or
to straightaway delve into the ever-so-interesting cultural facets I have seen.
I think considering the long lapse since my last post, the former is more
appropriate.
 
The discovery of being pregnant was not a compromising idea
in and of itself, but morning sickness certainly brought me to the point of
wondering whether I was somehow letting my wife die. Not only that but I
seriously began to wonder if I should alter our plans to coming to China. Thankfully
there were in-laws on hand who helped guide me through what I can and cannot
due for Lacey and my own parents reminded me of the conviction I have had in
making this journey, one based in both personal ambition and divine
confirmation, primarily the latter which cannot be denied. All of that can be
summed up by a statement made by Lacey that, "I can be sick in the US, or sick
in China" a pragmatic notion that tipped the scales.
 
All of our flights with United Airlines, our first was from
Seattle at 7:16 AM on Wednesday, August 17, 2011, a departure that required us
to get up at 3 AM. The trip went smoothly from there to San Francisco, but the
planned flight to Beijing leaving at 11:14 AM went sickeningly awry. We had
boarded the plane and headed out to the runway when there was a mechanical
malfunction, requiring us to return to the gate and wait for an hour and a
half. The second approach to the runway presented another malfunction, and so a
second return. In summary it was 5 hours after our departure time before we
actually took off, all the while we had not left our seats. To the credit of
the airlines the attendants were as helpful as they could possibly be in
assisting a pregnant woman.
 
We arrived in Beijing at approximately 6:30 PM Thursday,
August 18, 2011 local time. My dear friend Victoria Wang had arranged a
rendezvous with the husband of her best friend, who picked us up and brought us
directly to the Capital Normal University International College campus. Please
to do not be disappointed that after all of that talk about the apartment
searching I ultimately opted to live in the dorms on CNU campus. Something
about it being more convenient for both Lacey and I, as well as preventing a
surely miserable towing of my morning sick wife around suburban Beijing for who
knows how long while I TRY to find an apartment, all made the decision easy.
 
So we're here, and we're safe. The list of cultural
insights, as well as some photo sharing is soon to come!