Training for the New and Different

The last of the team arrived last night, mother and daughter. To say the least, having spent most of the last week in hospitals with their husband/father, they are shell-shocked. Then you drop them in China! They exited immigration and customs faster than normal so no one was there yet to meet them. We arrived to see them walking down the wide hall, looking lost. The relief when they heard their names was palpable.

But imagine arriving for the first time in Beijing. It is about 11 PM. You exit the terminal – and their flight came to an older terminal not the bright new one of the Olympics – to sauna heat and humidity, darkness blazing with neon lights, people everywhere, and a taxi line that winds a block long. We entered the line and immediately were swept along by people pushing from behind. The queue is not popular here.

We snagged two taxis. Because five is too many for one taxi, my husband and our Chinese administrator friend took one and I took the other with the two women. I found out later that our trip is not far enough for most taxi drivers and that may explain why the driver drove like a cowboy, muttering at me all the way. He was NOT a happy camper. So we sped down the expressway, weaving in and out of trucks and cars, at what seemed like breakneck speed. Keep in mind you have just arrived. The radio is blaring in Chinese. The signs are unintelligible.

Arriving at the hotel I helped the women unload and get inside, and we waited for the men to arrive. Since they didn’t have a cowboy driver, they took longer! It is rather dark in the lobby, and we woke up the desk clerk to check the women in. Their passports are taken and copied, but I think in panic the daughter thought she might not get it back!

Then we took them up the elevator – a classy new piece of equipment – to the 6th floor. We’ve warned team members over and over not to be surprised by the rather shabby condition of the hotel, but it still is a shock. However, it is cheap and convenient, and once they were in their room, saw spotless linens on the beds and a place to land, they were fine. A few more trips up and down the halls got them settled.

Breakfast comes early, and again, think that you have never been in China. You come into a dining room with two large tables set for the team. There is cabbage slaw of several varieties, fried bread, something that looks like canolis (and tastes wonderful), hard boiled eggs, jam, plain white bread, and more pickled vegetables. Sometimes there is rice soup. Coffee, lukewarm, milked and sweetened. (I brew my own, thank you!)

And now out to the street and down to the campus. On the way you pass residential apartment buildings, trees line the way, but it is noisy and busy. A curious black and red insect is common right at this time of year. I always look for them and find them interesting because in the morning they are scattered on the sidewalk, but this morning I thought about how strange they would be to a newcomer.

Training is in earnest, and we started the morning giving the new duo a recap of the last four day’s highlights. We wrote it because we do not assume they can absorb this much so soon.

After all, this is China, and they are somewhat overwhelmed!