What a day. First we didn’t leave hotel until almost 6am. Then it took time to get to the train station then almost 40 min just to get to transfer station. Then the train that we were told took eight min to get to the airport took twenty. We didn’t even get to our terminal until after the plane had already started boarding. After running from terminal two to terminal one with all the luggage ( supposed to take five minutes) we were late. Very late. The plane takes off in ten minutes late. I was really worried now not only because we had missed it but also because now we’d probably have to pay huge fees to get another flight. After they took us out of the computer for the fliight we went to the ticket counter and after much work with the woman at the ticket counter, we got new tickets for 1220 RMB total for a few hours later. That sucked because we had to pay cash which used a huge amount of our cash.

After going through baggage (way overweight but no fees) and security we finally got to the terminal. The new flight was at terminal three. I tried to call home but no one answered so I just left a voicemail with Corey. The flight itself was so so. We got a small lunch but I couldn’t sleep as it was uncomfortable. We had some turbulence which was scary as at one point we just dropped what seemed like a few feet.

Once we finally got off the plane we got our bag and met some of his family. His mom and several other relatives were there. Everyone was very nice and friendly. However, everyone thought I was Justin’s classmate and friend. Due to various reasons, it would have been way too complicated to bring out that we were much more than just “friends.” As such, everyone treated me good and as a guest. Anyway, his nephew was there and is nine years old. He knew very basic English and we taught him the word Uncle.

Due to the driving and it was a little hot and I was already hungry, I was starting to get sick. We dropped off our luggage at his teacher’s apartment where we would later sleep. After driving some more, Justin and I finally got out of the car and got something to drink at a KFC. We then walked to his Aunt’s apartment and visited them for a while. After staying there for a while, we left at about 7pm. We were picked up by his teacher’s husband and we went to eat at a restaurant. On the way, I started to cry actually as I felt very alone, had a headache, and was sick and tired but I wasn’t telling Justin. Earlier he had kept asking me how I was but I just kept saying that I was OK even though I really wasn’t. As he was visiting with family he hadn’t seen in a very long time, I didn’t want to ruin it. On the ride to the restaurant however, he talked with me and cheered me up and tried to make me feel better. I felt good enough when we got to the restaurant that I at least wasn’t crying but still didn’t feel that great. After starting to eat however, and being surrounded by good kind people, started to feel a lot better. Although they didn’t know English, his teacher and her husband asked me several questions to get me involved. Justin translated naturally. For reference, his teacher was his math teacher when he was a senior in high school. Her and her family were great to Justin’s family and had helped them greatly and they all became friends.

After dinner, his teacher and her husband and their child took us to Ping Li street. It’s a street designed to look like traditional chinese architecture. There are some blurry pictures below of it. We walked around the whole area and I bought Mom a doll that was from the sichuan province. We then went to his teacher’s apartment where we spent the night.