From Leo Hussey

May 17, 2010

At the moment, I’m in the midst of my first adventure to China. Since this is my first time ever really traveling to another country, I expected to experience a variety of emotions. The first rush of emotion came for me on May 5th, while I was waiting with my luggage in the parking lot behind Bruce Hall. This emotion was excitement. As soon as I saw the Widener luxury bus turn the corner and approach the lot, I felt butterflies in my stomach. The reality was starting to sink in that by the end of today I will be half way around the world. I greeted my fellow classmates and my smiling teachers then we all excitedly boarded the bus. I could already tell this was going to be an experience that I will never forget.

Although I was extremely anxious and excited, the bus ride from Widener to JFK airport felt like five minutes. Unfortunately, once inside the airport we quickly learned our flight was delayed an hour! This minor detail didn’t break any spirits, but gave us all more time to share our excitement with each other. As time drew nearer for us to board our flight, our fearless leader, Paula, broke the news to us that Sethany’s seat on the plane was given away because she didn’t check in on time. It was reassuring to know she was given a seat on a later flight, but I still wish she was on our plane. After many phone calls, Paula and Sethany worked their details out and gave us the green light to board the plane.

Although I haven’t been on many flights before, plane rides do not scare me. I was excited for the thirteen-hour journey to Beijing. The Widener population was scattered all throughout the plane. I luckily had some friends seated nearby and I had a window seat, so I was sitting pretty for this half a day’s flight. Flying Air China gave us our first taste of Chinese cuisine. We were served two basic Chinese meals, both of which I thought were delicious, but I knew I had many more interesting meals to come. I also got my first taste of Chinese beer, Yanjing. Finally, after about thirteen hours and a few scattered naps, I had arrived at my destination.

Although I should have been extremely tired because of my long day, I felt the exact opposite. My adrenaline was through the roof as I grabbed my belongings and headed toward customs. The Beijing airport was much smoother then JFK and before I knew it we were on another bus that would take us to the North Garden Hotel. The weird thing was that even though I was excited and had just made a long journey, it still didn’t hit me yet that I was in China and my adventure had begun. That feeling came the next morning when I awoke. After settling my things and hanging out in Beijing for a little the first night, I woke up my first morning in Beijing at seven o’clock to traffic honking in the street. I got out of my bed, walked over to the large window of room 603 and took in a deep breath of Beijing air. At that moment butterflies filled my stomach and I knew my cultural experience had begun. I would be lying, though, if I said I wasn’t scared. A very, very, small part of me did contain fear of being submerged in a foreign culture. I attribute my fear being minimal to how well-prepared I was prior to the trip. Paula, Colette, Pat, and many others prepared us all extremely well to handle the cultural shock, so I thank them for that.

We had limited time in Beijing, so we made the most of every minute. We gathered early that first morning and shuffled onto a bus to take us to the Great Wall of China. This was easily the most magnificent sight I have ever seen in my life. The history behind it is fantastic, but the wall itself is indescribable. The further I traveled along the wall, the more impressed I became. I was determined to travel as much of the wall as possible and I accomplished this alongside Colette, Pauline, and Jess. As I traveled the Great Wall I remembered how rich in culture China is. This experience continued the following day while in Tiananmen Square.

The most amazing part I feel I gathered from Chinese culture so far is that everything has meaning. It seems that every symbol, picture, sign, color, action has a distinct meaning and reason for existing. The people of this culture also seem to have so much respect for their culture and customs and they’re so proud to talk about them. Beijing was an amazing experience. I got to travel the beautiful city, use my limited Chinese to bargain in the streets, enjoy the Beijing nightlife, and enjoy some delicious food.