I'm surprised at the count-on-one-hand number of Caucasians
on board. Though I’ve been here before, on my first China trip 10 years back, I
must have been in such maternal delirium that the attention never registered as
anything but the whole world smiling with me. Now, feeling
noticed, I think of Sophie saying she’s always surrounded by white people . . .
So in some small sense, this trip is a chance to walk in her shoes.
We arrive pretty wrung out. My
bed hair seems a little unfair since altogether I catnapped maybe 15 min over
Finland. At Beijing airport, a vast new uber-structure, we connect with other
CWT-ers-- excited, exhausted teens, a few tired Moms with girls and, of course
Gongzhan and Chuck Johnson. In our state, the energetic Beijing guides Wendy
and Linn seem to be moving on Forward Fast as they get us to the waiting
buses.
Beijing is hopping and much traffic between airport and
hotel. The lobby's festooned with Christmas decorations circa 1965 but
eventually, we’re warm and settled into our rooms. Given the fact that we've
been up for over 24 hours, I'll quote the man of the hour on this Christmas Eve
and say "To all a Good Night."
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