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.
