Latest Trip to NYC

Luckily I had a friend to stay with in NYC--Justin, who I met
at Ohio State (pictured traveling together in Taiwan)

Last time I updated the blog I was in New York, having just applied for my visa.  Today I’m writing from my apartment in Hangzhou – quite a big change!  I’ll fill you in on my new life here in China shortly, but before I do so I need to finish up covering my last few days stateside.

I applied for the visa on Wednesday afternoon and had been hopeful that I could get my application processed by Friday.  The expedited visa service takes 2-3 business days, and in cases of emergency a rush order can be processed in only one day.  Although pressing, my case wouldn’t have qualified for a rush order, but I did manage to get it expedited.  The employee at the consulate, however, told me it wouldn’t be ready until Monday.

In the meantime I heard from the school in China that there was a conference in Beijing the weekend of the 19th, and that they were planning to send me assuming I could arrive in time.  That meant I’d have to fly out mid-week at the latest (due to the flight length and time change it’d take me over a full day to get to Hangzhou).  So instead of hanging around New York for four days waiting for the visa, flying home on Monday, and finishing my pre-trip arrangements in a day or less, I decided to fly home Thursday.  That way I would have a few days to pack, buy clothing last minute, and do whatever else needed to be done before flying back to New York Sunday.  I would pick up my visa Monday and go directly from NYC to Hangzhou Tuesday.

I was also glad to spend a few more days with my family in Ohio before going.  I’d been home for over a month, but it hadn’t hit me that I was actually leaving until a few days beforehand (well maybe that was because I hadn’t known when I was leaving!).  So on Friday and Saturday I got to hang with my folks and sister Christine; my other sister, Anna, is already teaching in Germany!

On Sunday I left Columbus at 11 am, arriving back at LaGuardia at 12:45.  That left me a good part of the day to spend with Justin, who I would again be staying with in New York.  His apartment near Columbia is conveniently located near the M60 bus stop, which goes directly to the airport.  When I went to JFK on Tuesday I could also take the A subway nearly the whole way (to the airport rail link out in Queens).  The University of Columbia isn’t exactly in the middle of the Manhattan action, but it’s well connected via train and bus.

Sunday afternoon we went for a run in Central Park, which turned into an extended walking tour of upper Manhattan.  Justin recommended we stop by a Vietnamese place for Banh Mi sandwiches.  It took us over 20 minutes to find the place – we ended up asking someone who looked it up on her smartphone – but the search was definitely worth it.

After a quick shower back at the apartment Justin gave me a tour of Columbia, where he is studying for his PhD (at the School of International Political Affairs, shorthand “SIPA”).  The campus is quite small – Columbia is a school of only students – but it was still interesting to visit.  That evening we walked over to a BBQ place in Harlem for takeout and got beers from the supermarket.  It was a relaxing night, watching stand-up and having a drink at the apartment…a good way to hang with Justin before I left.

Justin’s schedule was chalked full on Monday – class until 8 pm, after which he’d be leaving directly for Penn Station.  He had a conference to attend in DC, which meant I’d be alone at his place that night.  It was fine by me to be on my own.  First I had to go to the Chinese Consulate to pick up my visa; I’m happy to say it went smoothly this time around.  Once I had my visa in hand I booked the flight to Hangzhou for the following day.  That left me with a free afternoon, which I spent riding the train to the JFK Airport Rail (to familiarize myself for the actual trip), and exploring Brooklyn Heights and Lower Manhattan.

On Tuesday my flight left at 12:50, meaning to give myself plenty of time I needed to leave Justin’s apartment four hours beforehand.  The trip from his place to JFK took 90 minutes, and by the time I checked my bag and got through the ever-so-long security lines I had less than 30 or so minutes before boarding.  Not that I was cutting it close, but I was surprised at how long everything took.  This ain’t Port Columbus International Airport!

Shortly after 12:50 we took off from New York City, and I was getting settled for my 13+ hour flight to Beijing.  More on my arrival next time!

(my connection here is super slow; hoping to fix that soon and add pictures!)

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