A Layover in Beijingland

My throat filled with my first major butterflies of the trip. It was 11 hours into our flight on Air China and out of the window I saw the mountains of the Orient. Lush and green the ground folded beneath the plane into mountains and valleys. Upon seeing those hills my heart leapt like it did when I was a child and caught a glimpse of the Matterhorn. As we continued to fly I noticed a change in the view below me. The ground became less clear, cover by a cloud of what I assumed must be the byproducts of life in Beijing. It was like we were entering the cloud into a mystical other world. The difference was that Neverland is filled with pirates and children living freely, while Beijing is a land of the steel, concrete, and governmental authority.

We exited the plane and entered Beijing international airport. This structure built by the People’s Republic to show off the modernity of China during the 2008 Olympics accomplished its task. I was nearly awed by this massive complex just like when I glanced Cinderella’s Castle constructed by the Magic of Disney.

Before we could go on our first ride in Beijing we had to exchange our money for colorful coupons of different colors and sizes. These Yuan all had the picture of Chairman Moa on them. With his picture scattered throughout the city it appears that he is their mascot.

We crammed onto the first ride, a subway train. It wasn’t crowded at first but as time went on it got more and more packed as if the park was filling up. We struggled to keep track of each other on the subway. Rushing on to this train and entering another each time we raced the closing doors.

Once we exited the Subway we were truly in Beijing land. Crowds thronged around us but the sights were mystical. Lampposts covered in cameras reminded us of Hu Jintao’s ever watchful eyes that like Disney’s never blink. The building in Tiananmen Square were grand and unreal with Moa face looking down upon us. Guards in military costume with automatic weapons patrolled the streets never breaking character.

The streets were lined with various souvenir vendors selling Chinese themed toys and oddities, which could be purchased with our coupons. After not to long it was time to return to the airport for the night. As I fell asleep on the airport bench (not much worse than a hotel bed) I dreamt of my day and all the exciting adventures to come.

A brief explanation. I decided to compare Beijing with Disneyland in this post because at this point the reality of my trip hadn’t hit me yet. Beijing felt like a dream. Walking through alleys looking for food and going to places I had only seen on TV. It was like entering a movie. I can’t wait to return to Beijing and get to know the people and to make it a reality. I look forward to making it a real place in my mind soon enough. I hope everyone enjoys this post. I will endeavor to post more often.

A More Appropriate Title

I have decided to change the title of my blog from "A Journey Around the World" to something that tells the reader a little more about myself. The original title was quite succinct but I think it was also a bit of a cop out. I created my blog under slight duress to get it up an running. The result was a title and a first post that were both true yet revealed very little (except perhaps that my lack of creativity.)

In light of this a new title is in order, one with a little more depth. "The World is a Book." This title is taken from a quote attributed to St. Augustine "The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page." This new title is fitting for many reasons. First it is attributed to St. Augustine a figure in all three fields of study I am interested in. He is a giant in history and one of the Doctors of the Church. Of course the content of this quote is more important than its name sake, and it is immanently meaningful for my purposes during this trip and life in general. I want to find Truth (note a capital T)

 As a Historian: First, I will note that Herodotus' Histories is often considered the first true work of history. Herodotus gathered his information about the Persian wars by traveling. I certainly would be honored to follow in his foot steps. Second, history consists of events that happened in time and place. Traveling to the place where history happened can't hurt my understanding of the events. Third, My professors have always directed me to histories great works. By reading their written works I can have conversations with the people who shaped our world. Some of histories greatest thinkers used travel as their muse. This can be seen in the era of Utopian literature. Tomas Moore's Utopia, Tommaso Campanella's The City of the Sun, and Voltaire's Candide are all perfect examples. They used a Traveler with tales of lands far away to comment on their own societies in ways they never could other wise. Perhaps travel could be my muse as well. By mixing travel with my readings of the great works I hope to continue turning the pages of the world and history and to gain a deeper understanding of both.

As a Philosopher: I have an interesting relationship with Philosophy. I both find it fascinating and incredibly frustrating. I will keep this part short. As a Philosopher I want to explore ideas. There is no better way to do that then to talk people about their ideas. Traveling will give me a chance to explore new ideas with new people.

As a Theologian: I will borrow an idea from Galileo that fits into my book analogy. Galileo argues that Truth is written in two books. The book of Scripture and the book of Nature (or the world for my purposes.) Both of these books are true. If they seem to conflict it is only because we have failed to interpret one of them correctly. Truth can't contradict truth.  This trip will allow me to read both these books and hopefully I can discover some truth. I will of course have to keep in mind that Scripture is God's perfect and revealed Truth. I may learn things from the world but those things are subject to distortion because of our fallen world. I hope to learn more about God through study of his words, communion with his Church, and through seeing and learning from his creation.

This concludes my justification for changing the title of my blog. I hope it isn't to long or boring. I tried to keep things short.

First Thoughts

I am less than two weeks away from leaving the country for the first time (unless you count flying over Mexico on the way to Texas.) I am excited but not yet as nervous as I think I should be. My first dip into international travel is more of a flying leap. Nearly five months and nine (or more) countries. My anticipation for this trip has also increased because of Summer work. There is nothing like an eight hour shift in the office to make world Travel an alluring prospect.
I hope to keep this blog up to date so that all of you can participate in this trip with me. It might take me a while to figure out how to use it.