World Expo-sure

Hello again! I am reaching out to you from Shanghai, China, just a few days after my arrival to this massive city. It is difficult to get to my blog on a regular basis because of the firewall here in China, but I will do my best. I want to update you on my experiences thus far. Let's go back in time...

My journey to Shanghai began on Tuesday, May 18th at around 5:00pm when my flight left Little Rock headed to Houston. After quickly changing planes, I headed to New Jersey and met a really nice woman named Carolyn on the plane. We talked the entire flight from Houston to New Jersey and managed to discuss life, relationships, a career in pharmaceutical sales, at least three books that I need to read, and of course, why I was going to Shanghai. I made it through an eleven hour layover in New Jersey before embarking on a fourteen hour flight to Shanghai. Because this is the longest flight I’ve ever taken, I was prepared to entertain myself for fourteen hours with music, books, magazines, and my Nintendo DSi. Wouldn’t you know that I didn’t listen to any music, I read nothing, and my Nintendo DSi is feeling quite unloved right about now. Continental fed us like five times and kept the plane dark, so I took that as an opportunity to eat and get some much-needed sleep. I did manage to catch two movies when I wasn't sleeping. I have to give a nod to Mircha for serving as my travel companion…it was comforting to have someone familiar with me as I ventured into the unknown.

We landed in Shanghai and exited the plane to an absolutely immaculate airport. After going through airport security, we were greeted by the assistant of one of Dr. Singhal’s (one of my professors) friends (thanks Min and Caroline) and then whisked away into what I have been told is the largest city in the world. We met up with Becca (another class 5er) and went to grab a bite to eat at a local spot where the ladies were eating ice cream and waving at us. Good times...good times!

Trenia's Finale:
I managed to get in a couple of movies on the plane (that is whenever I wasn't sleeping or stuffing my face of course), one of which was Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. Yes, I like to watch animated kids’ movies and I’m comfortable admitting it! Anyway, throughout the movie there is this reoccurring mention of family because one of the main characters was expecting a baby. One of the other characters is struggling with feeling that being a part of a family is not for him while another character wants nothing more than to have a family, so he tries to mother some baby dinosaurs (this is ironic because the character is a sloth). At the end of the movie, these two characters reconcile their very different struggles by realizing that 1.) Family is something that everyone needs to be a part of and 2.) What you are seeking in a familial structure may not be what you expected but it might just be right in front of you.

This got me to thinking, so I thought I would share my thoughts with you. This movie (and today’s finale) serve as an opportunity to remind all of us to embrace our families (which could be the one that you were given at birth or the one that you have adopted along the way) by realizing and appreciating the vital role they play in who we are as individuals and be careful not to take them for granted.

Welcome to my world…expo-sure!!!