unhealthy "for sensitive groups"

I have mentioned before that one of the reasons that I picked Shanghai is that it is less polluted than Beijing and most of northern and central China. It sits on the coast and usually the air if churned enough to keep the pollution down.

Well, the last week is not one of those weeks. The pollution has been from yellow to red on the scale, with a few days saying that it is unhealthy "for sensitive groups". It got so bad the last two days that it is now just plain unhealthy. I am hoping that it will clear out soon because it is just plain nasty.

I posted a doctored photo of the Bund, the view of the famous skyline in Shanghai with the Pearl Tower. I wanted to highlight the lights, not the pollution. But here are a few photos of what Shanghai really looks like:

It might not look that bad, but this last one I think really shows. The sky was brownish gray with the reflection of the lights and this is the best one I have before edits (oops), so don't mine me being in it. Pollution levels are very high here and in China, which is well-known around the world. What is not known is that the pollution kills 1 million people a year, which doesn't seem like a lot when there are 1.25 billion people in China; however, be aware that if you have any type of breathing problem, be careful when visiting China. Add the humidity and rain, the acid rain here is so bad it is white. 

Please recycle, save water, turn off your lights. Do something to lessen the pollution where you are. It is sad to see somewhere that can be so cool be shrouded in thick brown haze. 

"please remove your upper underwears"

The process of getting the Residence Permit in China to stay here for the year is not the easiest. Luckily there is someone at the school who handles a lot of it, so I just have to show up and have my passport. I arrived in Shanghai on Friday night and orientation for work started on Monday morning at 7am for teachers new in SSBS this year and not from the sister school (SSHID). There were about 7 of us that met Lily, a member of the Foreign Affairs Office (FAO) at SSBS, in the lobby of our building and we were off to the hospital for the required health check.

Yep, you read that right. A health check.

Now, everyone except me had either taught in China or had official teaching jobs before, so they knew the drill (or so they thought). They told me that all they have had to do is pee in a cup and bam, you're done.

LIES!

It was not that easy. First of all, a typhoon hit Shanghai so it was pouring rain. Hot, sticky rain. The roadways were turning into rivers and most of use got pretty wet, even with our umbrellas. When we got to the hospital we had to wait for awhile (shocking, I know...waiting at a medical institution) and got passport photos taken. We went into a corridor that had about 10 rooms off of it. Each of us was given these blue plastic shoe-cover things and ushered into a room one at a time to have our weight and height taken. Then the lady looked at me and said, "Here is the key. Please remove your upper underwears and put on this robe."

WHAT???

No one told me that being bra-less was part of the deal. And with a bunch a people that I just barely met, let alone all of them being guys except one? Cool beans, this was either going to be hilarious or painfully awkward.

Luckily there were stalls to take off the "upper underwears", so I at least didn't have to do that in public. The robe, on the other hand, was not made for busty American women...just sayin'. The whole "one size fits all" is the biggest lie of all and it was definitely true in this case. I held my arms over my chest with the hope that nothing too exciting would happen.

So, there we were. A bunch of strangers with no shirts on, wearing these tiny robes, sitting in a line and going into different rooms for a bunch of tests. The tests included an EKG, chest x-ray, ultrasound, blood test, eye exam, blood pressure, the person who feels your belly to make sure nothing weird is going on, and a lung check. And it isn't slow, you are through like bam-bam-bam-bam. They aren't messing around.

But you know what is funny? No peeing in a cup! Oh, and I also marked "drug addiction" and not "food allergy" (best way to put down celiac disease here) and that raised a few eyebrows. Yeek!

In the end we all put our clothes on a drove an hour through the rain again to school for orientation, which is fondly known by another name at SSBS.

Good times, good times.

A fair warning to all of you looking to work in China....have fun with the health check! 

welcome to china

Okay, I've been here for 9ish days and have good internet, so now is the time to talk about CHINA! What the chuff people, I am living in Shanghai. Whatever possessed me to do that is still debatable, but despite the difficulty of starting out here (and I say that still in the difficulty), it is a good thing I am here to have this experience.

So, how I got here was pretty straight forward. I left from Salt Lake City Airport a little after 11am and flew to Seattle. It was my first time there, but didn't see anything except the beauties of the airport and its artwork:

I was one of the only non-Asians at the gate, which was a taste of what to expect here in Shanghai. This picture doesn't quite capture it, but close enough (and I didn't want to be obvious):

I had absolutely no RMB (Chinese yuan) on me, so I changed some money at the airport. The lady must of misheard me and I was so out of it from not sleeping the night before I left (or pretty much that week) that I didn't notice she gave me this:

Yep, Japanese yen. Not going to be very helpful at all. I considered going back for a minute, but decided against the 15 minute walk with my insanely heavy backpack. (Luckily I was able to exchange it in the Pudon Airport...it ended up being 75 RMB). 

So, I get on the plane to Shanghai. When I was lining up I had this thought, "I can just turn back now, no one will care." Well, that is a total lie because people, namely myself and my employer, would care. I just was still processing the fact that I was going to be living in China for 10 months. Once I got on the plane, I (most beautifully) had a window seat and decided to introduce myself to the Chinese teenager sitting next to me. Why? It's going to be a long flight and I want to get the awkward vibe out the way. When he asked me why I was moving to Shanghai and I replied with the name of the school, the guy behind me piped up and said that he was teaching there too! What a small world and poor guy (his name was Scott) proceeded to be bogged down by about 103 questions, most of which he could answer. 

The flight was fine, though sleeping was elusive. My screen on the back of the seat wasn't working too well--it took a lot of punching of buttons to get a movie going. I flew the Pacific with Fantastic Mr. Fox (brilliant!) Avengers Age of Ultron (very enjoyable) and started Into the Woods, but I couldn't handle the singing. I'm not saying it was bad, there was just way too much of it.

We landed in Pudong Airport around 6:15pm on Friday, having left Salt Lake on Thursday morning (gotta love that 14 hour time difference!). The customs line took forever because there was only one official working it for awhile, meaning 45 minutes. It was kind of ridiculous and I was hoping that the ride the school sent me was a patient person, unlike myself. I got through customs with no problems and headed down to baggage claim praying that both of my bags arrived in good condition and nothing missing. THEY DID! Wootsauce, I was halfway there. Scott didn't have a lift provided by the school, so he just tagged along with me as we went through the gauntlet of people at the pick-up area. 

The lady was waiting for us with a beautiful laminated sheet with my name--my full name for some unknown reason--and the name of the the school. She didn't speak a word of English, but seemed rather excited that I had finally arrived and she could get home soon. We walked to the car park and loaded into a van. The ride from the airport to the apartment was about 35ish minutes. They are in kilometers here, so when I saw the 60 speed limit sign I thought, "there is NO way she is going 60 MPH...oh, that is because it is kilometers!". 

Traffic here reminds me a Egypt, though it isn't nearly as bad. There are a ton of scooters, motorized bikes, and push bikes everywhere. People don't really respect the lane markers and there is quite a bit of honking, but still not as bad a Cairo! (Man, I miss Cairo, just sayin'.)

I get to the apartment building and I'm taken upstairs to mine by Mary, who is the landlady of sorts. She is the sweetest and absolutely miniature. Oh, and she also doesn't speak English. She and her husband (Chinese only, too) were giving me a quick tour of the place and trying to explain something, but it didn't really sink it because I had no idea what she was talking about. We did agree on buying the 5 gallon water bottles and how to do that, though! She was very patient with my bumbling Chinese and I think I might have told her that I am a heart, not new in China. Whatever, I'll blame the fact that I am a meiguo (American). 

The school ended up providing the bedding, which was a surprise, and the air conditioner worked! I was stoked about that because it is HOT and HUMID. I am not kidding...it is oppressive and the swass is real here. I am constantly dripping when I am outside and my AC is blasting when I am back home. I am very much looking forward to fall and winter because it won't be as hot!

And that is that. Olivia, who works at the school as well, ran into me in the elevator, so she helped me get food and supplies from the market across the road (the apartment had nothing in terms of kitchenware, bathroom stuff, cleaners, even rubbish bins). We walked in the hot drizzle and I unpacked until 12:30am....

And spent most of Saturday sleeping. No shame people, no shame!

This is my apartment the first night I got here (with the exception of the study room, which I haven't used at all):

This is the "main room" as they call it, complete with a new TV that I'll never use. The balcony is enclosed and has a washer with movable laundry lines (those metal bars behind the door.) Do you like the purple curtains? Fancy, huh?

This is the kitchen, which is an odd design and made for short people. I stand a head taller than the fan and light for the oven and the counters are short! It has a fridge, stove top with two burners, microwave, and a sanitizer for dishes (that I have no idea how to use). Around the corner is empty space, very random empty space. It now has a line hanging for my dish towels and a broom.

This is the entry way. That is my front door. To the left is a nice cabinet thing (seriously, there is a lot of storage space here) and a table with two chairs. I've made that my main desk and it is the place where I am currently writing this amazing piece of literature.

This is obviously the bathroom with a clear door shower and an electronic flush toilet. Seriously, it is plugged in. There is a warning sign when the lid is open about not unplugging it. 

And, this is the bedroom that look way better now because all my stuff is put away. The mattress is quite firm, but it does the job. There are two large wardrobes and two nightstand/drawer things. 

There is another room that is deemed the "study room" that has another table, chair, sizable bookshelf, and an AC unit as well. I was surprised how large the apartment is and it is all mine. No roommates. 

Here is what the building looks like:

Sorry it is sideways, I can't figure out how to turn it and I can't be bothered right now. I live on the 11th floor of a 17 floor tower. There are I think 30 identical buildings in my compound, accessed by key card. 

Well, that is me in Shanghai. It is definitely different and it is strange to stick out, something I have never really experienced before to this extent. The best thing about the Middle East for me? I blend in. Here, not so much. But this building is owned by the sister school of SSBS, so everyone in it (with the exception of a few) are all foreign. 

Welcome to China! 

another plane ride

It is hard to believe that the time has come for me to leave to China tomorrow. I am currently waiting for the clock to hit 11:00 so I can check in for my flight tomorrow. It is funny, I have loved having the last three weeks to chill and kind of do nothing, but I am so ready to get back into things and start working again. CELTA was stellar and such a great experience, now I'm ready for another one.

I head out from the Salt Lake City Airport at 11am to Seattle, have a 3ish hour layover, then off to Shanghai! It makes me laugh that I leave on Thursday morning and land Friday night. I'll have two days to get settled and start orientation, lesson planning, curriculum development, and general figuring it all out on Monday!

It's been real, America. Laterz. 

gathering documents: getting a visa

Getting a visa is not hard, yet the hardest thing in the process so far. Because of some issues I had to go about things a bit differently, which shall remain unpublished in the public realm. But, let me share with you some things that I have learned in the last little bit.

First, if you don't live in a city that has a Chinese Embassy (aka, San Francisco or New York) or Chinese Consulate (aka Chicago), it is not very practical to fly out there and spend the money to get the visa on top of finding a place to stay, unless you have friends or family whose couch you can borrow. So, the moral of the story is to trust your visa to a friend or a company.

**Now, there is one issue with this. The Chinese Embassy website is clear that if you are called upon for an interview, you will need to show up in person. I have many, many friends that have traveled to China and never had this happen with their visa, but that is just a FYI.

Second, I recommend using a trusted and well-reviewed visa company to handle getting your visa. I used a fantastic company called Passport Visas Express. I did a lot of research on visa companies and this particular one had a plethora of great and solid reviews. Because you are sending your actual passport, it is nice to know that it will be well taken care of. There are many visa companies out there, but make sure to DO YOUR RESEARCH. Another good company that my friend uses is A. Briggs Passport & Visa, which also has great reviews and wonderful customer service.

Third, check your documents. There are several things that you have to send for your visa, whether it is the Z-visa (work) or L-visa (tourist). (Plus, there are a lot more types than just those.) In general you need to send the following for a Chinese visa:

1) Passport. It must have one year of validity left.

2) The visa application, which must be typed in ALL CAPS and then signed in ink. Any box that does not apply to you needs to have an N/A. (And I mean every box.)

3) A passport photo.

4) An invitation letter (work or tourist visa), plus a copy of travel tickets.

Passport Visas Express is very clear about what documents you need for each visa type and provides a checklist. They also provide a service (for an additional $50) that they will fill out the application for you (application mistakes cost more money and time) and send it to you to sign.

Now, the disadvantage to a visa company is that you pay a fee in addition to the consulate charge to process your visa. To be honest, it is completely worth it. It was way cheaper for me to pay the processing fee and the overnight return shipping than to go to Chicago and do it myself.

So, here is the breakdown of the process I went through:

1) I entered my zip code on Passport Visas Express to assure that my passport was going to the correct consulate. (The Chinese consulates/embassies have areas of the USA that they are in charge of.) Colorado is in the Chicago Consulate.

2) I filled out the Visa application and had a friend of mine who has done it before check it to make sure that I was doing it correctly.

3) I gathered the rest of the documents required on the checklist. (Invitation letter, flight information, etc.)

4) I ordered my visa online. (This is great! Usually you send a check, but it was so nice to order it online and pay for it by credit card. Loved it. Genius and easy to use.)
    **I paid for 5 day processing and it was 5 business days exactly. It was perfect.

5) I sent my documents to the company in Chicago. I overnighted them through FedEx, which was worth every cent of the $34.

6) Wait. This is the hardest part because you want to know if things are going well and there is the latent fear that they are going to reject your application. The best thing about Passport Visas Express? They sent an email to say that my documents were received and in process! They provide a tracking service on their website that allows you to see what stage your application is in.

7) GET THE VISA! Mine came today and it is great.

So, all in all, the visa is not hard but time consuming and a bit pricey; however, it is worth it to make sure that it is all legal and you are ready to go. Passport Visas Express is a great company and I wholly recommend them to anyone who needs a visa.

and the results are in....

Hello! This morning I got an email that was beautiful. Seriously, it made me smile and jump (literally) for joy, even though I almost proceeded to fall over because I kind fell halfway out of bed in that process.

Anyway, my CELTA report from IH Belfast came today with this beauty:

WHAT WHAT??? Domination!!! I'm so stoked, especially since the tutors straight up say that 4% get Pass A, 15% get Pass B, and the rest get Pass. Solid middle!! WOOT WOOT!

If you want to see the criteria, look here on page 14: CELTA SYLLABUS. 

gathering documents: signing the contract

You've been through the interview process, done your research, and BAM...have a job offer! But what comes next? 

**Now, my case is a bit different because I had only reached the point of doing one interview and hadn't gone through the process with several different schools, so bear that in mind.**

The CONTRACT. Duh, duh, duh! Signing your life away and trying to handle it gracefully. I have never had a job before where I needed to sign an official contract. Yes, I've signed a confidentiality agreement for my first postgraduate job, but that wasn't like signing my life away. This was a bit more wearing on my nerves. What if this is all a lie? What if I get involved in something that doesn't really work? A ton of questions were going around in my head. 

When I got the contract emailed to me, the first thing I saw was a title in Mandarin. Oops, um, yeah. I can speak some Mandarin, but I only read 30 characters, so that was going to be problematic. I scrolled through the attachment and saw that they attached the contract and the addendum's in both English and Chinese. (The reason for doing that is because I had to fill out and sign both to send to the Expert Bureau in China.) 

Being my first time doing it, I learned a few things. This is what I recommend when doing when getting that TEFL contract:

READ IT! Don't just skim it, though it was helpful to skim through it first to get the basic idea and then read it more closely. Make notes on it. Heck, they emailed it to you, so don't be afraid to mark that sucker up. Underline, circle, highlight, do it all. Read it and read it well. 

Read it specifically for a few things:

1) The pay. A lot of jobs will draw you by saying they will pay you "up to" amount x. Be wary of that phrase "up to" because it leaves a lot of room for interpretation. Make sure that your contract lists a specific amount of what you will be paid and how often. Also check if that is before or after local taxes. 

2) Housing arrangements. If the school states that they will assist with housing, it should be clearly stated in the contract. And not only should it say yes, there needs to be details. Do you need to pay utilities? Is there a flatmate? What amenities are available? 

3) Bonuses. Many TEFL contracts include a bonus, but it needs to be written into the contract as a clause or an addendum. In my case, there was a bonus addendum that was very clear as to the bonuses offered and requirements that needed to be fulfilled in order to receive them. Don't rely on the administration or HR department dealing out bonuses at will, have it in writing. 

4) Visa support. The contract should list whether or not the school will provide support or subsidize the work visa. I'm going through an interesting process with that night now (more on that later), so it is important to have that laid out clearly from the beginning. You shouldn't be left to the wind, especially if it is your first teaching job. (I realize that I say that not starting my first teaching job, but Sophie-one of my CELTA tutors-told me that it is vitally important.)

5) Health insurance. Yes, you might be young and healthy, but it is important not to let insurance slide. It is different for US citizens than it is for other countries, but see what kind of health insurance the school provides. My school, for example, provides free access to the on-site physician and will pay for any medical cost incurred at a hospital, granted the receipts can be produced. This is not official health insurance and will not cover my in the US. Get the information you need and see what you need to do if you don't want a lapse in coverage. 

6) Breaking the contract. What are the penalties for breaking a contract early? I'm not saying that you are going to break the contract, but is important from a legal standpoint to know what you are responsible for if you or the school breaks the contract. It needs to be explicit. 

ASK QUESTIONS. Don't be afraid to ask questions about the contract before you sign it. There are more things than what I listed above that you might find more important. If you aren't sure, ask. Don't sign something that you might later regret. 

REVIEW THE CONTRACT. Even after reading it several times, review it again to see if there is anything you missed. Those things that will get you are always in the fine print. Do not be fooled by excitement or anticipation and let yourself get drawn into a lousy teaching situation. 

KEEP A COPY. The contract should list specific dates in which it is in force. Once you sign it, keep a copy of an original signed contract. I had to send three original signature contracts to my school, so I signed a fourth one for my own records. Always protect yourself. 

I hope that this helps you in the contract-signing part of your TEFL adventure. As I continue forward with this whole first teaching job, I will keep you apprised as to how the contract pans out in real life (because we all know that can be completely different). 

 

review: practical english usage by michael swan

Practical English Usage by Michael Swan is the grammar bible. Well, one of them at least. I was able to use it significantly during my CELTA course and it helped me immensely. 

See, it is illogical to assume that a new TEFL teacher knows everything about the construction of the English language. There are so many things to memorize and learn about grammatical structures that it is pragmatic to have a reference book to assist with lesson planning and concept checking. Swan's book is one such reference. 

The book is does not waste any time in getting to the content. There is no fluff or needless filler. From beginning to end, this reference book is full of useful and well laid out information. After the two page introduction, there is a contents overview that acts as a table of contents, which complements the more thorough index at the end of the book. Swan then goes over language terminology, which is very helpful considering I forgot was a past participle was on day 2 of the course. *oops* The last bit before the reference section begins is a helpful list of 130 common mistakes that people make and the phonetic alphabet. This is a nice reference for lesson planning when looking at anticipated problems and solutions. 

The references are in alphabetical order, usually broken down into subsections if needed (i.e. complex grammatical structures that can be used in a variety of ways).  Most references include a brief statement of the rule(s) and a variety of practical examples. Many of the references for the verb forms include timelines as well. The references are easy to read and quick to find. The presentation is practical and efficient, making the information the focus and not the format. Swan also provides contrasting examples in many of his references to make a grammar point more clear. 

Overall, this book is fantastic. It is not necessarily designed for a non-native English speaker, at least not until they are upper intermediate. Though it does not go into deep detail, it is thorough enough to cover the practical points that would be taught in the TEFL classroom. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is pursuing a TEFL career: it would be an asset in any TEFL library. 

Rating: 5/5

lessons from celta

It has been weird not having to plan lessons or do input sessions in the last two days. I miss my fellow trainees! (Well, graduates now.) Not saying that I'm dying to do another intensive course any time soon, but I definitely miss my group and the tutors. What did I do today? Not much. I went to the bank to sort out some things, ran a few errands, and went to see Inside Out, which is absolutely genius, so go see it! I have my pile of CELTA notes on the floor of my temporary room and I need to scan them in...but the desire to sit and do one page at a time on my scanner is not too appealing at this moment in time.

Anyway, I just wanted to share a few of the lessons that I learned from my CELTA experience at IH Belfast.

1) DO IT! It is a hard, intensive, somewhat emotional rollercoaster for the month, but totally worth every second. You learn so much not only about teaching, classroom management, lesson planning and that whole lot, but you learn about yourself and the people that surround you. What I love about teaching is that it isn't about you; it is about the students. How can you help them succeed? What can you do better in order to help them learn? How can they get a better education and utilize it in their lives? Education is powerful.

Okay, that was a bit a of a tangent, but I have a point. It was hard and difficult. I have done intense before, but this was a different kind of intense. This course showed me that I can not only do it, but succeed in it. Don't shy away from something that is hard.

2) Make friends. I loved the people that I met on the course. It is nerve-wracking to go to a new place and not know a single soul. When we were put into our TP group that first day, I realized that those people were going to be my mates for the next four weeks. The group came together beautifully and we worked together well. We became friends with each other, supporting and helping each other through the course. CELTA is not something that you can do alone. You need your friends to help you through it.

3) Be prepared. There are certain things that I wished I had known before CELTA, aka phonemes, grammar points, etc; however, you can't expect someone new to TEFL (ie, me!) to know everything. I was able to learn so much and apply it in the same day to my teaching. When I say be prepared I don't mean that you need to know everything, but be prepared to handle the load and the frustrations that come with CELTA. This is not something I would recommend doing on a whim. Not only does it cost you a nice chunk of change, but you want to be able to add something to the environment and lift others up, not drag them down.

4) You can't run at 113% all of the time. Yes, it is important to work hard and get things ready. I believe in trying to accomplish assignments early so you don't have to worry about doing 37 things at the last second, but make sure to slow down once in a while and take a break. That Saturday with Emma and Michael was so great and helped me calm down. Sure I ended up staying up late that night to finish a few things, but the day of fun (a bit of craic) was well worth it.

and finally....

5) Enjoy yourself. CELTA is a great sieve. It will weed out those who love teaching from those that realize that it might not be their talent or desire. Though it is a bit of a unnatural environment to teach (i.e. observed lessons that are graded), it helps you know if TEFL is something that you really want to do. This course not only gave me a greater desire to teach English and advance in the field, but to do DELTA eventually and become a CELTA tutor.

CELTA is worth it, 100%. IH Belfast is a wonderful place to do it. In fact, I have two coupons for 50 quid off a CELTA course there to anyone who is interested. (Comment below or contact me on Google+ if you are interested.)

Do something difficult. Take the chance and change your life. Believe me, it is worth it.

6 weeks is a long time....

After a day and half of travel, I'm back in the States and jet lagged. Seriously, I keep telling myself to stay awake so I can sleep better tonight, but I don't know if that is as successful right now. I landed last night at 7pm and I had hoped that I would be able to get back onto the schedule, but going back in time is always worse for me than going forward. 

So, my adventure in getting home. Good times, good times, 

We celebrated our last day: 

And then it was off to the Belfast International Airport with Suzana at 6pm. (She is the one in the middle in the picture above.) We got a lift from Margaret, whom I met at church. What a lovely lady, she bought us water bottles in order to prevent us from wasting money at the airport. Well, it was all going swimmingly until we met a collision on the motor way. Traffic was backed up and Suzana had her flight at 8pm. Margaret tried to get around it, but being the UK, there aren't a lot of options when getting to an airport. 

She was a bit cheeky and used a side lane and we were able to make it around the collision. And dang, she floored it! She was worried that Suzana wouldn't make it, so she made sure we got there. We pulled up and it was pouring cold (very cold) rain. We ran in with our bags and Suzana skipped the queue to get her bag checked. Her flight ended up being delayed, so everything worked out well. 

I went up to the EasyJet desk to check my bag and I was 30 minutes too early. What the chuff?? You can only check your bag in two hours previous to departure, what a joke. I waited in the check-in area for 30 minutes surrounded by teenage football teams. 

I was able to check my bag and things seemed to be moving well. I got through security and got pulled for a "random" extra check of my Surface. Joy. And in UK airports you can't just go to the gate, you have to wait in the "lounge", which really doesn't exist; it is just a bunch of assorted chairs and benches throughout the airport. I waited for about 1.5 hours and my gate showed up. Lovely, off I go! (This is about 9pm.)  

And then the dreaded announcement: "We're sorry, but flight EZ9182 to Manchester has been delayed 25 minutes."

25 minutes isn't bad.

Announcement 2: "We're sorry, but flight EZ9182 to Manchester has been delayed 40 minutes."

And there wasn't even another announcement when it got delayed again. I think they just realized it wasn't worth frustrating people more with their fake apologies. 

So, around 11:15pm the flight takes off and I landed in Manchester at 12:09am. Oh, yes. I had to take a bus-tram thing to the Terminal, only to have the driver leave us outside to ask permission for us to enter the building. WHAT??? 

Well, when they deigned to give us permission, it was off to baggage claim. Luckily I didn't have to wait too long, even though it didn't matter. I was spending the night in the airport anyway. I got out to the front and tried to find my way to Terminal 2. The lift, escalator, and stairs were all out of commission. Seriously?? What type of airport is this? There was a threat of tears coming from feelings of exhaustion and frustration. I ended up walking across the parking lot to the train station and taking the lift up to the sky walk. 

It was empty and rather eerie: 

I nicked a cart that was abandoned on the sight and began my trek to Terminal 2. The first thing I saw when I got there was two policemen with M-6-like carbines walking around. Hum, this was going to be an interesting night.

This was my bed:

My phone was almost out of battery and being the UK, there are no outlets! I found one by a post near the Saudia flight desk. 

If you look closely, you'll see the reflection of me lying on the floor on the right center:

Suffice it to say, I slept in 10 minute restless spurts from 1am to about 2:30am, when I just got too dang cold and found a bench. 

My feelings on the matter can easily be made clear by my expressions here:

So, 2:30am and I haven't really slept. And I am hearing the floor being waxed and the workers starting to come. About 3:30am the Terminal was hopping! People must love to travel that time of morning in England, I guess. I was so tired, but so buzzed! I didn't really trust the people, so I pretty much gave up on sleeping at about 4:30am. 

Around half 7 I checked my bag. Got tagged for extra security AGAIN! And more waiting in the "lounge":

My flight left around 10:45am. It wasn't bad and the secret to a decent airplane meal is to get the gluten-free option. It was actually edible! 

I landed in Atlanta around 2:30pm and ran the gauntlet that is US Border Control aka Customs. When I got the the part where you had your passport over, the Customs agent asked how long I had been in the UK and why. When I told him 6 weeks, he said that 6 weeks was a long time for tourism. WHo was he, the purveyor of holiday-time appropriacy? Forget that! (I didn't actually day that, I just said I had friends and family there, which is true!). When I went through security, I got tagged AGAIN for extra security. I must have looked particularly suspicious yesterday.  

And then more waiting in the heat of the Atlanta airport. I think you can see the humidity in this picture:

When you're used to 50 degree rainy weather, the sun and humidity was an adjustment.

FINALLY....after another 2 1/2 hours, I made it to Colorado, only to be greeted with a thunderstorm on the way into DIA:

And now it is time to prep for China. 2 1/2 weeks! I am sending the visa application to the Chicago Consulate tomorrow (more on that later).