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Writer's pictureKayla Grant

Next Stop: China

Updated: Oct 10, 2020

Out of hundreds of applicants, I was chosen to attend a two week study abroad program in China!

A photo of the individuals awarded the opportunity to attend the China Summer Cultural Tour! This group includes faculty members, graduate students, and undergraduate students of Clark Atlanta University.

On this trip, 22 Clark Atlanta University students will be introduced to the rich Chinese culture.


We will be visiting two big cities: Beijing and Changchun. We will be staying in Beijing for six days and Changchun for an additional six days. For twelve days, we will be attending lectures and going to tourist destinations, such as The Great Wall of China, to gain a deeper understanding and knowledge of the Chinese culture.


I intend to share all the information and knowledge that I learn from China through my blog. The purpose of this trip is to be a Global Ambassador. As a Global Ambassador, it is my responsibility to challenge stereotypes, to promote sensitivity and inclusion, and to continue internationalization, which is the process of embracing culture differences and celebrating them. The only way that I can fulfill my responsibility as an Ambassador is by sharing the knowledge that I gain with others.


With that being said, I am VERY excited about this trip. This is going to be the first time that I fly internationally. I am in a completely different country and I am going to enjoy every single second of it.

 

Program Itinerary





 

July 21, 2019

Today is the day that we flew into China.


I woke up at 4:30 a.m. in order to be at the Atlanta airport by 6:30 a.m. From there began the very long journey to Beijing.

After we were checked in and through TSA, we had to go to our gate to catch the first flight to Detroit, Michigan. The flight to Detroit was about an hour and a half.


During this flight, I watched a movie called Isn't It Romantic.


On a scale from one to ten, I give this movie a 7. It was a movie that I wanted to see, but did not want to pay for. After seeing it, I am glad I did not pay for it. It was a good movie with an amazing message of self love and self worth; however, it definitely is not worth a $12 movie ticket.


When we got to Detroit, we had to go straight to the other side of the airport to catch our connecting flight to China. We made it in enough time for all of us to use the bathroom and buy snacks.


The flight from Detroit to China was 12 hours and 30 minutes. It is the LONGEST flight that I have ever been on. I honestly thought I was going to go insane.


In order to keep my sanity on the LONG flight, I ended up watching three movies (Aquaman, Wreck It Ralph 2: Ralph Breaks the Internet, and Baywatch) and taking COUNTLESS amounts of naps.


Aquaman is an AMAZING film. I am a big fan of superhero movies, and I have to say that I am a Marvel fan. DC Comics puts out the worst movies because they do not take their time and plan out the movie. That is why I was shocked that Aquaman was so good. I definitely wish I would have seen this in theaters. I rate it a 9/10.


Wreck It Ralph 2 is the sequel to a great Disney movie and it did not disappoint me. I even shed a little tear at the end of it. I definitely rate this a 8/10; however, I would not go to see it in movies.


Baywatch, starring Zac Efron and Dwanye Johnson, is definitely a funny film. I liked how, even though it is a comedy, it combined drama and suspense to make one amazing storyline. I rate this movie a 8/10. I probably would not have spent money to buy a ticket on it, but if I seen it in the movies, I would not have been disappointed.


Important Note: Airplane food is not good at all.

 

Once we got off the airplane, we had to make our way through customs. Before we stepped foot on Chinese soil, we had to show our passports and be fingerprinted.


I am pretty sure that I confused the man, who was looking at my passport and verifying that it was me in the picture because I had a different hairstyle in each of forms of identification. He looked at me and asked "Is this you?" This is a prime example of #BlackGirlVersatility.


The bus ride from the airport to the hotel was about an hour because we are staying at a hotel really close to the city.

















This is a picture of the hotel that we are staying at in Beijing.










After we put our luggages in our rooms, we ate dinner and exchanged some money. It was at the dinner table that we discovered that we could not use certain social media applications, such as Instagram, Twitter, and even Facebook without a working VPN, which thankfully we downloaded with no problem.


That is the end of my very first day in China.

 

Continue to follow me on this journey through my upcoming blog posts and my friend's youtube page.


Continue to the next blog post by clicking here.

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