Complete and Creative

My Hell Week Between China and Costa Rica (4/4)

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On the taxi ride, I thought I could get some shut-eye, but the driver kept talking to me about how people from Beijing and people from Shanghai have beef with each other because the former is the political capital of China and the latter is the business capital. And he kept asking me whether or not things in America were tense because of all the talk of terrorism.

The Huangpu, the massive river that cuts across Shanghai. Taken from the Oriental TV Pearl Tower.

You know that annoying wait period between getting everything done with customs and the aircraft actually taking off? You’re just sitting there at your gate with really nothing to do, constantly being told through the intercom to watch over your belongings. Going to the bathroom when you’re traveling alone is a chore, since you have to lug your carry-on with you. (Admittedly, it was my fault for getting such a big laptop bag.) You want to go to sleep, but you can’t really count on the flight being delayed every time.

On the plane, I finally got to sleep fitfully. I had left the vent on. When I woke up after only two or three hours, I realized I now had a cold to accompany my sleep deprivation. With my nose stuffed (and you know how hard it already is to breathe in a tube of steel and sharing oxygen with hundreds of other individuals) and my head still hurting, I couldn’t fall asleep for the rest of the trans-Pacific flight.

I arrived home Saturday afternoon, same day as I left. Anyone who’s flown from East to West should know what I’m talking about. That night, I got to sleep peacefully, albeit still ill. However, I was still tired the next morning. One night of rest while still being sick isn’t enough for anyone to recover from four nights of sleeplessness. Anyone who’s been sick and didn’t feel 100% the next morning should know what I’m talking about.

After packing for my Costa Rica volunteer trip the next day, I went to meet up with my program group at a nearby Holiday Inn. That night, we went on a short cruise. It was a cold night. I had a cold. I didn’t bring a jacket. Very smart, Terry.

Costa Rica is two hours ahead of the US West Coast. My roommate and I set the alarm to wake us up at seven in the morning. Except somehow we had already set the clock to Costa Rica time. We woke up at five and naturally couldn’t fall back asleep. I was quite miserable.

The reason we needed to wake up so early was the pre-departure orientation followed by being kicked out by the hotel staff and thereby having no place to sleep for the rest of the day.

That night (Monday), we had a red-eye flight to Costa Rica. Did it really have to be a red-eye? I was bobbing off to sleep at around 11:00 PM already but had to force myself to stay awake. Sure, one of the other volunteers would’ve woken me up, but I wasn’t sure if I could’ve prevented myself from seriously hurting anyone who disturbed my sleep that night.

Flying to Costa Rica takes between five and six hours, not enough time to really sleep. The sandwich I ate onboard was too hard and ended up scraping my gums. I definitely couldn’t fall asleep after that.

Once we landed on Tuesday, we had to go to our on-site orientation. I was so close, so close to getting some sleep. My bleeding gums still hurt, but I was finally getting over my cold. I just wanted to go to sleep.

Till this day, I clearly remember the level of burning hatred toward the program coordinator who was giving us the typical spiel of what to do in Costa Rica, and all I could think about was that this man was the only person standing between me and some quality time with a warm, soft bed and a fluffy pillow under my head in a quiet, dark room. I really wanted to kill him. It was an intense orientation.

After my nap, all was well. And there were more adventures to be had. But my hell week was over.

My study abroad trip in Shanghai was the first international trip I ever took alone, so equipped with hindsight, I now can see lots of things I could’ve done better to reduce my misery level, but we live and learn, right?

So, how was your week?