First Day Arriving in China 🇨🇳
Funny that it’s on Friday the thirteenth of August
Later in life years later my most tumultuous life experiences were to happen on Friday 14 of august.
How did we get so lucky (blessed) to have such a smooth flight from Vienna to Shanghai? It was like butter 🧈 ! I guess maybe Fritz’s hard pre-flight chanting and my prior chapel prayer encouraged some powers that be.
We left punctually at 9:15 A.M. just as planned; drove to Linz Airport; waited a while; then flew quickly to Vienna. After a quick trip to tax rebates (where I received real money = dollars!) we were on the next plane to Shanghai.
The economy seat I had was so scrunching small that I tried to sleep, or at least rest the whole way. My seat partner was a journalism teacher from London who had travelled a lot and was really cool. It was so nice to be able to speak English again with a native speaker; and I enjoyed the company of someone who was relaxed.
Since I originally thought the flight would be 12 hours, I was pleasantly surprised that it was only 10. Plus we were about 1/2 hour ahead of schedule, even though we took off late!
On the way (to the airport in the car) Luise told me about hitting sand storms over the Gobi Desert (on a past flight to China). She said that everyone on the plane, even the attendants got sick, as it was so bumpy. I could get sick just thinking of it and so luckily it didn’t happen to us.
We flew over Moscow, Siberia, the Gobi Desert, and Beijing. It was daylight until Siberia and smooth flying all the way! The skies were clear until the Gobi Desert. Daylight started to break just as we reached Shanghai at 6:11 a.m. By then, the sky had become so hazy we could hardly catch a glimpse of anything underneath us.
When we finally did peer through the haze, we saw small patches of fields with white-clothed people already toiling in them. There were patches of water and a dirty river, communist block houses, thatch houses (made) of sticks, and some sort of brick houses with temple shaped roofs. A lot of railway tracks, a bus station, and some small roads with fast-driving cars. The most striking feature however was the haze so thick you could carve it with a knife.
Eventually we landed, and I met the gang up in business class, where they were just about the only passengers. (Our agreement was, in exchange for not having to travel with the kids, I was to take care of them once we landed.) Seeing the empty business class section I thought, maybe on the way back, I could get a seat upgrade.
Once out of the plane, the thick heavy air grips you so tight, you can hardly gasp for air. We unloaded onto a bus and Frau Weinberger was there to meet us at the baggage claim. She is rather a loud and boisterous woman and yelled at the taxi drivers blocking the way, “Can you move please!!?”
So we threaded our way through cars, as taxis haphazardly rickashayed over the sidewalks, up and over curbs, and nearly mowing over pedestrians. Our two cars managed to arrive safely at her (Frau Weinberger’s) house, which she kindly offered us for the week’s lodging.
On the way, we passed a lot of billboards in both Chinese and English…for cell phones, cars, (SAIC), and other technical things. We also passed many Chinese (people) riding bicycles haphazardly in the mid-streets, pulling wicker carts, and going against traffic; a lot of Chinese wearing the blue workers uniforms and the oversize flat straw hats; some open-air food stands cooking corn cobs or so on the corner; and already a open street market selling the blue and white china vases.
My first impressions were of foreign writing mixed with English; typical Chinese dress; haphazardness verging on organized chaos; uncleanliness approaching clean; and curiosity mixed with awe on both sides. Even at the airport, I already got a sample of the so-called “staring squads.” They call us the “Big Noses.”
Later in the afternoon, after we all snoozed in the heavily air conditioned house, I witnessed a huge dark swarm of locusts (like huge dragonflies) winging their path across the sky. Right afterwards, the sky became so dark and windy, and it poured huge grey sheets of rain. I am told too, that the monsoon season is over. Luise told me though, that it rained every day in Beijing at 15:00, then stopped.
For dinner, we had some Austrian style potatoes and sausages, and a French Chardonnay, and Häagen-Dazs ice cream. Vera broke a crystal wine glass, which I suppose could be looked upon as good luck for Fritz and Luise starting embarking upon their next five years in China. As Fritz said today, most of their married life has been in China. Simply amazing.
