Wait... Windsor needs to get to the airport???

If you haven't figured out by the title already, last night at the Wrolstad residence was quite comical.

It went a little something like this:

Mom (to my Dad): "Steve, did you know that Windsor is leaving on the 31st?"
Dad: "Yeah, Ruth."
Mom: "But you'll be in Montreal."
Dad: "Yes, I'm aware of that."
Mom: "And I'll be working... it's on a Tuesday."
Dad: "I'll just call a limo to come pick her up."
Mom: "Are you kidding? It's four months!"
Dad: "Right. Think about Melissa and Gretchen. We don't see them for at least that long."
Mom: "But this is CHINA."
Dad: "Ruth, it's not a big deal. It's just another trip."
Mom: "Steve, she's going to CHINA."

I hope you found that at least a little bit as funny as I did :) The talk of the town is that my mom is gonna take a half day off to drive me to the airport. My flight takes off around noon, so that should work out. My thoughts are that my boyfriend, Bill should drive us to the airport and then my mom home. The thought of a 35 minute drive with my mother's painful tears might not sound that intriguing to Bill, but I'd rather that situation than her dangerously crying on the road alone. Maybe I'll buy him a special gift if he agrees to it?

I just found this quote online (AKA someone's facebook status):
"How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard." -Winnie the Pooh

Isn't my mom the luckiest??? Haha totally kidding. I keep getting nerves about the last time I see each of my friends and those dreaded 20 minutes getting dropped off at the airport. Airport security is gonna think I'm a wreck.

Side Note: The times on these documentaries have all been in Beijing time. No, I was not up at 5am writing the last entry. The location is correct but the time zone is off. Cool.

Quick SHOUT OUT to: The 3 small circular touch lights my brother, Bjorn got me for Christmas. We both don't have any clue why he bought them for me. I promised him the MINUTE I used those things I would blog about it. We're hoping for a Beijing-wide power outage. Stay Tuned!

Words of Wisdom

"What isn't written down is forgotten." -Grandma Schmitt

I'm leaving exactly 2 weeks from today. My thoughts? AHHHHHHHHHH!

I just got off the phone with the eye doctor- I have an appointment on Thursday... a couple hours after I go for a physical and get "ihavenoideahowmany" shots. Hopefully I'll get the rest of my visa information in today. It's really coming down to the end!

It's kind of a bummer knowing that all of my friends are back at school today. I've had a couple of them ask when I was coming back and needless to say, their reactions to my response of "never" were both expected and slightly humorous.

These last two weeks have been great though! Got to calm down and relax at "The Beech House" with my grandma- I have never watched that much TV in my life! Don't tell my mom.... even though my grandma told me that the playoffs don't count as TV... guess I'm off the hook! I also got to spend some really great time with my Aunt Becky's family and also a few days with my sister, Gretchen. Watching "Glee" kept us up a little bit later than we were planning- oh well :) That trip definitely helped settle a lot of my nerves.

I finally got a list of participants on my program! There are 15 of us- 10 girls and 5 guys (much to the relief of my boyfriend- hah). There are two of us from the Chicago area, then a few from Minnesota,Texas and Massachusetts,  and also someone from Washington, Virginia, Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Georgia. On the participant list it states our name, hometown, university, then major- mine is listed as "Other". 1) I have NO idea how that happened 2) I wonder what people think it is? Maybe I should make it up! "Ahem! Oh yes, I am a quadruple major in language, the sciences, history and the arts. What about you?" Done.

Challenge for the Week: How to fit a semesters-worth of clothing and supplies into 2 pieces of luggage and a carry-on? Details to follow.

-Windsor
(Still on American soil = using my english name)

Step One: Done!

Hello Everyone!

So my New Years Eve resolution for this year was to create a blog for my trip to China- well, looks like I can check that one off the list! I've never done this before so we'll see how this goes (fingers crossed).

My flight leaves at noon on January 31st and I land in Beijing around 3:45pm February 1st. The flight should last right around 14 hours... yikes! I got a neck pillow and a eye cover for Christmas this year, so I'm sure that those will come in handy!

I'll be attending the Beijing Language and Culture University for 4 months, returning at the end of May.

Fun fact: I leave Beijing on May 28th at 4:10pm and arriving back in Chicago Ohare on May 28th at 4:13pm = 3 minute flight!!!! (I wish...)

Alright friends, miss you all and I hope that everything is going well :)
I can't wait to see you when I get back!

-陆微(Lu Wei)
[[AKA Windsor]]