On Friday, September 12th 9:30 I arrived in the Chengdu, international ariport. It was an easy trip; only about eighteen hours travel time. The eleven hour flight from Vancouver BC to Beijing was especially nice because the flight was so underbooked that I had the whole middle row of five seats to myself! Saxophone teachers Guo Yang, Lin Yi and my student Li Peiyu were waiting for me at the terminal. It was really great to see them again. Especially Li Peiyu, as he had travelled to Athens, GA this summer to audition at UGA. As we exited the airport, my senses were overwhelmed and memories began to return. It' great to be back!
I hadn't yet found an apartment in Chengdu, so I was planning to either find a hotel or bunk with Peiyu's family. The first hotel we tried was very small and inexpensive (about $16 a night). Unfortunately I was turned down due to some new law requiring foreigners to stay in 3 star hotels or higher...I didn't buy it. However, as we went to three other similar hotels, all turned me down to the same reason. Luckily the conservatory had an affiliated 3 star hotel, the Philharmonic. It was only a little more pricey, but the rooms were much nicer and I was too tired to go anywhere else (it was around 11:30pm by then). After i got a room, I settled in, bought a SIM recharge card, and contacted some students to take me around to find an apartment the next day. It must have been around 12:30pm before I actually laid down. What a day!
Next part...
Finding an Apartment in Chengdu
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