On February 20, 2014 we boarded a plane to China. Even though we had never been before, and had only started to consider visiting 2 months prior, we were strangely confident that this would soon be our new home.

The flight went as smoothly as 20 hours on a plane can go. We had planned to spend a couple of nights in Beijing visiting our college friend/teammate who had been living there for 6 years. Thankfully, she picked us up from the airport and essentially held our hands all the way back to her apartment. I’ve traveled quite a bit in my almost-30 years, but I’ve never felt so foreign and helpless as I did then.

She taught us all the essentials — how to get around on the subway, how to eat soup with chopsticks, and how to pose for pictures Chinese style. We are forever indebted to you Meg! Eventually we got brave enough to wander off on our own and eat some donuts and scorpion 🙂

After our short-but-sweet visit with Meg in Beijing, we got back on a plane and headed to our final destination in Central China. We were supposed to meet up with friends from Texas and fly out west together, but they were delayed in Dubai. They had made all the plans arranging for our pick-up from the airport, so we just had to hope that someone would be there to get us. So we deplaned, got our bags, and waited… nothing. About 20 minutes later, just as we started to panic, two guys come through the doors looking for us. Saved again!

We stayed with a couple from England who had been there about 6 months — they were awesome! They showed us around town, guided us to all the good restaurants, introduced us to the BBC Sherlock series (so good!), and even took care of us when we got sick :). We’re excited to be seeing them more when we move this summer.

Here are some of the highlights from our time there:

1. Their cozy apartment. There are 35,000 units in their apartment complex alone!

2. We spent 2 days looking for the only gym in town. Not the World of Tennis, but it’ll do. We plan on being regulars here… Where’s the free coffee?

3. Our local fruit market.

4. Small village outside our city. The sheep was our tour guide, and lead us into the local home we visited!

5. Tibetan monastery/temple.

6. The surrounding landscape on the Tibetan plateau… we’ll need better jackets.