Pre-departure: China

A Little About the Program
I-AM Program: The International-Ambassador Mentor Program is designed to send a group of students from Western Oregon University to China to go to three different provinces to share with high school and university students about college life in the United States, specifically, Western. Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, the whole group will be traveling together. But hey: this is the pilot program – the first of its kind, sponsored by the international office. This covers the ambassador part of the commitment.
After spending time in China, the group will return to the states where, in the fall when school starts, each student will serve as a mentor to an international student. The mentors are required to participate, but to be mentored is the choice of the international student.

The Trip: In Brief
I am leaving for China in less than two days. I head up to PDX early Sunday morning (around 3:00 am / 3:30 am.) The group will fly to California, where we will have a three hour-ish layover, and then will fly about 13 hours and land in Shanghi. There is a possibility that the group may be able to take a small tour of Shanghi. Later that day, or the day following we will fly to the southern province of Guangxi where we will fly into Nanning. Nanning is one of the two cities – as of late – that we will visit high schools and universities. The other city is Guilin. We also will have the opportunity to attend evening classes and speak with. After spending about two weeks in Guangxi, we will fly up to the great city of Beijing. There we will spend a few days touring and visiting historically and culturally important sites. We then will return back to the states. But honestly, even though we all have a rough itinerary as to what we will be doing, we don’t really know. ‘Tis all up in the air for now.

For now…
Packing is a nightmare. I am feeling less and less prepared as I gather the needed materials for the flight and experience overseas. I will be taking many photos (and videos) as well as taking as many notes as I can. I know many/all will want to know about my adventures, but I ask that when I return, please do not bombard me with questions. :o) I know that happened when I returned from Argentina. Even though I will be away for only two and a half weeks, I will still be needed time to adjust both from reverse culture shock and jet lag. While I am over there, I will do my best to keep ya’ll in touch via my blog. However, I cannot guarantee anything, for, I do not know how much internet access I will have, nor for how long. If push comes to shove, I can always try to blog after returning and then just date each entry.