So, the trip from Osaka, Japan, to Beijing, China, could have gone a little better. The flight was fine and on time, but getting through passport control and then from the airport to the hotel was a little more stressful than we had hoped it would be.
Immediate/obvious differences from Japan: The first obvious difference between China and Japan was that, unlike Japan where I speak/read a bit of the language, we were ALL at a loss for effective communication, as none of us know anything about the Chinese language. There is a decent amount of English on signs, but seemingly far fewer people speak English, so asking directions in our native tongue is quite hit and miss (mostly miss).
Another difference is that passage through passport control is much more stringent in China than Japan, with multiple “finger printing” stations to pass/use along the way. Here is Max at one of the fingerprinting stations:
I also must look very different than 3-4 months ago when I obtained my passport, because the border agent had to check my photo several times and seemed super-skeptical that the real me was the person pictured. The kids were quite put off by the more paternalistic/policing presence through the passport control process (as compared to Japan, and anything else they’ve encountered to date).
Also, the transportation from airport to hotel, while “easy” enough if we had just stuck with one mode of transportation — the Airport Express and then the subway system to which it links — we initially tried (unsuccessfully) to hail a cab once we were within the city/downtown area, without success; and with a fair bit of what we perceived as rudeness by the taxi drivers who seemed super annoyed that we didn’t speak Chinese and weren’t able to provide clear enough directions to our hotel. (Much of this I chalk up to cultural differences rather than intentional rudeness or hostility, but after a long day of travel, it is sometimes difficult to appreciate those nuances in the moment.) We ultimately had to backtrack to the subway and take that to a station close enough to our hotel to walk the rest of the way.
Finally, teens will be teens (no matter how great the gift or experience you thrust upon them): As a result of these travel stresses, all of us were a bit on each other’s nerves — it was bound to happen at some point. The kids’ approach to dealing with these stresses was to be pissy/impatient/barking (Max) or to be distant/quiet/refusing to talk or acknowledge us (Zoe)… I can’t say I blame them for their feelings … it WAS stressful, but its hard to appreciate the “teen spirit” in the moment.
Hopefully, we’ll all be back to our happier selves after a good night’s sleep.
Taxis will not pick up unless you are at a pick up point. I can’t remember how they are marked. Ask at the hotel. I could never get used to the communication difficulty. How does it feel to be a minority? Max and Zoe let me know your thoughts.
I knew/had read about the taxi stands/pick-up points. Oddly, there weren’t any in the ½ mile and direction we walked from the major station. But we did manage to flag down a couple cabs (websites say they’ll stop, even away from those taxi stands, if away from major intersections), and the perceived rudeness I was describing was by the cab that did stop, not the ones who drove past.
As for being a minority, as you know, living in Japan for 2.5 years gave me plenty of that experience. But that IS part of why we brought the kids — to experience these things, good and bad! (So far, they aren’t fans of China, but it is SUPER early in the experience. (Max seems most hostile to the experience so far… I’m hoping he finds his comfort zone soon).
Outside our comfort zones, it’s easy to be testy.
Max and Zoe–your reflections?
True enough! Max was so angry that he’s refusing to hang out with us or to venture into Beijing at all today. ???
He is not (yet) what one would call a resilient traveler… hoping he gets into the spirit and more curious about the “why” of the differences; not just upset at/about them.
Yesterday was long, stressful, and exhausting. I’m confident the kids will rally after some rest and some space 🙂 I’ll post more later.