Pre-China Diary

Dear Blog: I'm sorry for neglecting you these past few weeks (things have been a little busy between school, Valley, Ed2010, Her Campus, oh -- and looking for a job!) but I'm leaving for China at 4:30 a.m., and I'm bound to have some exciting stories for you when I return. In the meantime, here are my thoughts pre-China on China:

First, I need to vent about my suitcase. I consider myself a 5-star packer (this is based on the fact that I went to Europe for a week during my freshman year of college and only took a carry-on bag), and I think it's ridiculous that I'm taking the same suitcase I took for four months in Paris! That being said, SpaceSaver Bags really do work wonders. I fit four months worth of clothes in the suitcase I'm currently staring at, which is now filled to the brim with plain-old folded piles of pants and sweaters.

I can't wait for this trip because it combines my two loves: traveling and writing. It all started with an e-mail about an international reporting class, this year going to Shanghai and Beijing over spring break, offered through the College of Communications. After two summers in New York City and a semester abroad in Paris, France, I wasn't about to ask my parents for a $1,500 trip to Acapulco. I took a chance and interviewed for the class, and now I'm going to a place I never thought I'd have the opportunity to see. To be honest, it hasn't really set in that I'm going until now, late at night, when I have nothing to do but wait to board a 14-hour flight. First I had to get through standing for 46 hours in THON, then I had to worry about the big "spring break" deadline for Valley, and now, 12 hours before takeoff, I realize that I am really about to go halfway around the world! I'm also pumped because I get to experience this with my best friend. We've done Mexico, New York City (and I don't know how I did Paris without her), and now we're taking China by storm!

So here are my goals for the trip:

1.) Come home with a great story.
2.) Order something off the menu without knowing what it is -- and eat it. And not throw up after.
3.) Take a jumping picture in front of the Great Wall!