Now that school has ended, I finished my testing and I am almost done with my online health class, I can finally travel. Where would I go? None other than China. My dad and I usually go every year, except last year. This year we are visiting family as well as doing some other fun touristy things such as the forest where Avatar was filmed.
On Saturday morning, I woke up at a nice 3 am to catch a flight. I am one of those people that has to do an entire routine before I travel, so I have to wake up extra early. I did my morning routine, ate some food, at headed out the door. My dad and I left at 4 am to get to the airport. A friend was kind enough to drive us to the airport; what a nice friend. Our flight was at 6:30 and we flew to Vancouver. In that three hours flight, I proceeded to do literally nothing. I stared for a while, napped for a while, and watched some tv. Super brainless, but what else are you supposed to do on a plane? Yoga? I mean, I wish; that would be so sick. We got to Vancouver and immediately found a place to eat. I got eggs benedict. I have eaten my fair share of eggs benedict and I have to say, it wasn't that great. The egg wasn't cooked correctly and it wasn't very flavorful. Regardless, I ate the entire thing. After we ate, we went to the duty-free section of the mall. My dad wanted to get some last minute gifts for family members and I suggested skin care. Little did I know that it would be so expensive. The stores may be duty-free, but they raise the price anyway so that it all balances out in the long run. I call that a rip-off. We then boarded the plane to Shanghai. Got to our seats and found out that we were the second to last row. I actually didn't mind it since we were close to the bathroom. Then I sat for 13 hours, watched some good movies, played some games and ate a lot. By a lot, I do mean a lot. Had two of my own meals, plus one of my dad's and a sandwich. I guess flying makes me hungry. After the long flight, had to get through immigration and baggage claim. You would think the traveling ends there, but it doesn't. We then had to take an hour and a half bus ride to Suzhou, where my uncle lives. Then we got there and got to rest. I wasn't as tired as I thought I would be but still fell asleep at 8. Today, I woke up at 7. Earlier than I have in a long time and I actually felt well rested. That might just be the jet lag talking because writing this, I am exhausted and actually might be delirious. I got ready, ate breakfast and tried to connect my phone to a VPN for 30 minutes. I need the VPN to access my online presence. Everything I use is blocked by China, so the VPN was crucial. Then, my dad, my grandma and I went on a walk. My grandma is a short little lady, but she is lively and super fit. She exercises every morning and talks to her friends while she is there. We also got some fruit at a local market and headed back. We got back, rested and went to lunch. The thing I love most about China is the food. We had beef noodle soup and dumplings from a local restaurant. After, we walked back home and spent the rest of the day doing nothing. I was on my phone for two hours. That is super long, but half the time things weren't loading so I had to wait. Today, I realized how impatient I am with my phone. Something wouldn't load for two minutes and I got fed up and tried something else. The jet lag is really catching up now and I am definitely going to sleep well tonight. I am trying to stay awake so I can adjust to the time in China. Writing helped, but I wish I had some coffee to keep me awake. Family is more important than anything else. -Jamie
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