Traveling to the other side of the world is a first for me. I had found out what I needed to know, where to stay the night, which metros and trains to take to get from the airport in Beijing to the University in Jinan. Usually traveling involves a lot of waiting, with no difference this time. I had a lot of waiting today…

At first it didn't seem to be that bad. After arriving in Kiev I had some take for a toilet break and then I could almost directly board the plane to Beijing. That flight was taking nine-and-a-half hours. Unfortunately I wasn't able to sleep for very long, just one-and-a-half hour. The rest of the time I was just listening to some music, getting around for a small walk and to get something to drink, staring at the screen in plate which displays where we are and waiting to get to Beijing. Luckily the plane wasn't even quarter full, so it wasn't super busy. The good thing was that we got two meals during the flight, so at least I have something to do for some time.

Eventually, I finally landed at the airport of Beijing. Of course there's the passport and visa check and picking up the luggage, and then there was a second check for the luggage and hand luggage. Then I was finally ready to leave to the hotel.

Half an hour later I got to the hotel and tried to check-in. There I had two problems, the first one being that the woman there didn't speak any English. So there I had to write down my sentences and then she would translate it into Chinese, and vice versa. That wasn't the main problem though. It was a bigger issue that all the rooms were taken, even the one that I reserved. It appeared to be so that the check-in time is only till 8 p.m. and I was there at 2 a.m., too late. Still according to the website they should have a 24 hour check-in…

All in all, sleeping in the hotel wasn't an option. The hotels around there were full as well, so I took to bus back to the airport. Meanwhile it was already 3:15 a.m. and I decided to stay at the airport and take the earliest metro to the train station to get to Jinan as soon as possible to finally get some sleep.

The first metro was at 6:35 a.m. and I was lucky to sleep about an hour at the airport. My journey continued to the train station of Beijing. I was going by metro with my two suitcases and my backpack, not the most convenient way of traveling though. Doesn't matter, I made it to the train, bought my ticket, eventually found the right platform and headed off to Jinan. In the metro though, there was a documentary about Finnish Lapland. Coincidence!?

In the train I could see a bit of Beijing and it didn't really look that pretty. There is a lot of smog in the air, you really can't see far ahead. It is like there is a yellowish mist in the sky. It was even possible to look directly into the sun, because the smog was kind of 'protecting' my eyes from the bright sunlight. That is very bad and unhealthy. Maybe that's why they go around with a stroller of fruit in the train instead of with cookies and chocolate bars, like in The Netherlands.

About two hours later I was in the taxi going to the university. There I did my registration as a student, got the key for my apartment and got some information. Then I was brought to my new apartment and I was finally 'at home'. That was a long day, long trip and pretty exhausting. Time to unpack and make myself at home.