First Days in Beijing

As the Boeing 777 from Chicago to Beijing landed after almost 14 hours on the plane, I thought about the adventure that awaits. As I was leaving the plane there was a young American woman walking off the plane at the same time as I. She could have my daughter, Elise. Cute, long blonde hair, carrying a plush Panda bear and looking a little out of sorts. I asked her where she was from and if this was her first time in China.

From Minneapolis, Minnesota, she said this was her first time in China. I asked her if she knew anyone here. She said no. I asked her if she was a student. Again she said no. Realizing at the moment she was a college graduate who must have been advanced because I swear she looked seventeen, I asked her why she came. She said that she was here to teach English. Recently graduated from Bethany, a Christian school in Minnesota, she learned of this opportunity and signed up for to a one year contract with an agency. How young she looked and how great an adventure for someone not yet fearful of the great unknown.

Which reminded me of a quote from Mark Twain: "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” I thought to myself, here I am 54 and it is my first time in Asia and this young girl not knowing anyone is here to Explore, Dream and Discover. I must confess, I would have had a hard time putting my daughter on that plane bound for Beijing. Youth knows know boundaries.

Good for her. China awaits. More tomorrow on my first full day in Beijing. My good friends, Fred and Lisa Begtine, who have learned the value and excitement of new adventures, treated me to a day of shopping and important Beijing landmarks.  The Temple of Heaven and the next day the Forbidden City.