Back to College

Ni Hao!

I am here and have moved into my new home for the next three years. So far, I am very happy with it but I have only been here 24 hours. Let's recap the last 3 days.

I left Dayton on Tuesday. Shelly and Natalie drove me to the airport at 6:00 a.m. It was very sad to say goodbye but I know that Shelly and Natalie will be coming very soon themselves - that makes me feel very good. These first couple of months will be long hours at work so it may have been for the best if they came later as planned. I slept from the flight from Dayton to Chicago so I really don't have any experiences to recite. Arrived in Chicago with about an hour before boarding for the next flight. I decided to go to the Business Class Lounge. When I checked in they told me to the First Class Lounge. I thought it was odd but didn't think twice about it.
When it was time to load the plane I boarded and turned right by habit (I've done this flight many times) but I immediately noticed that I was already passed my ticketed row. Strange I thought. I turned for help and the steward told me I was in first class - Cool! I have flown all classes in my previous trips to China. Coach is very uncomfortable for a big guy (soon to be smaller - more on that in a later blog). Coach-plus was very nice but still a little tight for my broad shoulders (but plenty of legroom). Business Class is great. Plenty of room, seats recline to almost flat, power supply for computer, and video on demand. When I fly Business Class I usually feel better on arrival and can go staright to work without losing too much time. In Coach or Coach Plus, I lose a lot of time trying to recover from the 14 hour flight. On a Business sense, Business Class allows you to work during the flight and start working immediately upon arrival. On a personal sense, it is a waste of money. They serve nice meals which I can't eat due to my lactose intolerance and shellfish allergies. I don't drink so the free wine and beer goes to waste. Plus I don't feel comfortaable being waited on hand and foot.

Now First Class is even a bigger step in luxery. The seats actually recline into flat beds. They give a qulted blanket and two very large pillows to use. They have nice storage areas to keep all my travel tools (laptop, video game, books, etc). Additionally, they give you video tapes of movies that are un-editted. You play them at your convience. Again the meals are great but I still can not enjoy them. The wine list is even more exclusive but I still won't drink it. To summarize, still not worth it but it was nice to get some great sleep on the flight. Best thing, it didn't cost the company anything extra for first class since I was upgraded at no additional cost.

We landed in Shanghai and everything went smooth in immigation and customs.