Chapter 238 Welcome to America
In this era, there are no direct flights from Yanjing to Iowa, so you have to go to New York first.
It took fifteen hours after taking off from Yanjing, passing through snowy Siberia, the vast Arctic Ocean and Alaska, and finally arrived at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport at two o'clock in the afternoon.
After a routine customs inspection and a beautiful girl stamping their passports, Fang Minghua and the others finally set foot on American soil.
When I arrived at the departure hall, I saw a young girl with blond hair and blue eyes wearing clothes with two holes in her knees, holding a sign with a line of Chinese characters written on it:
"Welcome Comrades Zhang Xianliang, Fang Minghua, and Zhang Ling, writers from the People's Republic of China!" was particularly eye-catching in the entire hall.
Fang Minghua has the highest English proficiency among the three. He took the initiative to say hello. Unexpectedly, the other person could speak Chinese, although he was not very fluent.
After introducing each other, I found out that her name was Lisa. She was a student in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Iowa and a volunteer for the "International Writing Project" project. She was specifically responsible for contacting this team of writers from China.
The three of them followed Lisa out of the terminal with their suitcases, got into a yellow Beetle in the parking lot, and drove straight to LaGuardi, the second largest airport in New York City. Airport, then take a flight to Iowa City.
"Welcome to the United States of America, this is a great country..." Lisa introduced everyone in Chinese in the car.
I don’t know if it was intentional, but the Beetle walked around a few streets and stopped near Times Square in Manhattan. Lisa indicated that everyone could get out of the car and browse for a while. Anyway, it was still early before the next flight.
“This is the most famous square in the world, known as the crossroads of the world.” Standing on the street, Lisa looked proud.
"Wow...it's so beautiful!" Zhang Ling looked at the surrounding skyscrapers, huge electronic screens, brightly colored neon lights and the endless flow of people, and couldn't help but exclaimed.
Lisa immediately pointed to her and gave her a warm introduction: "Dear Ling, the 33-story red building in front of you with a unique Spine-style architectural style is the New York Times Building. This side is Broadway Avenue. Every day There are various shows being performed. If you have time, you can come and see them.
“There are also a lot of shopping malls here, which are a paradise for shoppers.”
Zhang Xianliang and Fang Minghua stood together, with their hands in their trouser pockets, and said to Fang Minghua in a cold voice: "The most famous square? I don't think it's that good. It's just a slightly larger intersection, not as wide as Tiananmen Square. It’s similar to our Guangming Square in Yinchuan, but of course it has more tall buildings and cars.
Fang Minghua couldn’t help laughing. This Zhang Xianliang is really interesting.
But to be honest, it’s not as good as it was. Before this era, Shanghai World Trade International Plaza was prosperous and spectacular. Although it is still the mid-1980s, the buildings are similar to those thirty years later and some buildings are already showing their old state.
The three of them looked at it for a while. Seeing that it was almost time, I got in the car and headed straight to LaGuardia Airport. After more than two hours of flight, I arrived in Iowa City.
“We’re home. ”
Sitting in the taxi, Lisa couldn't help but cheer.
Iowa City is not big. According to Lisa, the permanent population is just over 60,000, which is not as large as a county in China. Most of them are teachers, students and employees of the University of Iowa. A great university town.
Fang Minghua sat in the taxi and looked out. There was no object called high-rise building in the city. Except for a few buildings on the campus of the University of Iowa, the rest were almost without exception. It is a small wooden detached house, but the street is very spacious and clean.
The taxi finally stopped at the Iowa House Hotel, a hotel where writers often stay, at the west end of Jefferson Street. To the south of the hotel is Harbor Park, and to the west is the Iowa River. The river passes through the city from north to south, and the scenery is very beautiful.
To the east of the hotel is the IMU (Iowa Memorial Union), which literally means Memorial Union. Later I learned that it is actually equivalent to the student activity center, which contains shopping malls, restaurants, medical offices, legal consultation rooms, and daily life. Very convenient.
"Mr. Fang, Mr. Zhang, you two share a room." Lisa completed the check-in procedures for us and gave us the room card, but said to Zhang Ling: "Ms. Zhang, we arranged for you to live with a lady in Xiangjiang. I don't know. Are you willing?"
As he was talking, a very graceful oriental woman came out of the west corridor. Lisa immediately stopped her: "Miss Yishu, Miss Yishu"
It turned out to be a writer from Xiangjiang. Also comfortable.
Yishu is a famous writer in Hong Kong. Her novel "The Story of Rose" was adapted into a movie by Hong Kong director Yang Fan. Her brother is also very awesome, his name is Ni Kuang.
Yishu heard Lisa calling her, walked over with a smile, and introduced each other.
Hearing that Zhang Ling is from Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, she immediately became friendly and said in broken Mandarin:
"You are from Ningbo, my hometown is in Wenzhou, and we are fellow villagers. "
"Really? I went to Wenzhou not long ago." The two started chatting.
Seeing this, Fang Minghua and Zhang Xianliang felt relieved.
This time the three of them came out to study, but Zhang Ling was the only girl and the youngest, so they had the obligation to take good care of her.
Everyone carried their suitcases and followed Lisa towards the west corridor. Minghua and Zhang Xianliang entered their rooms.
Fang Minghua took a glance and found that the furnishings inside were better than those of ordinary hotels in China, but in his eyes, it was at best a three-star hotel in the future, and the interior decoration was obviously old.
But in Zhang Xianliang’s eyes it was different.
Wooden floor, Simmons bed, color TV, air conditioner, and even a phone beside the bed!
I couldn't help but praise him.
“I wonder if this call can be made to China?” Zhang Xianliang asked.
"It should be possible. Hotel phones like this can usually make international long distance calls." Fang Minghua replied: "Brother Zhang, do you want to call your sister-in-law at home? It's eight o'clock in the evening. We should It’s past eight o’clock, I guess I’m at work.”
Zhang Xianliang was eager to try, but after struggling for a while, he found that he couldn’t get through at all because his wife’s work phone did not have international long-distance capabilities.
Fang Minghua also called Song Tangtang, and it was to Zhao Hongjun's company. Their company's two phones had this function enabled, and Fang Minghua reported to the other party that they were safe.
"Tangtang, please tell my parents, so that they won't worry about it."
"I'll go there tonight. Are you living well in Iowa?"
The two of them After chatting for a few words, we hung up the phone.
After resting in the room for half an hour, Lisa knocked on the door again and asked the two of them to go out for dinner.
The eating place is on the first floor, and it is also a McDonald's. It is basically fast food, including hamburgers, sandwiches, hot dogs, and salads.
Fortunately, during the 20-day training camp in China, Jiang Xue specifically talked about American fast food culture and took the three of them to Yili Fast Food Restaurant in Xidan to experience the feeling of eating fast food.
So no one was particularly surprised to see this foreign stuff this time. Zhang Ling ate it with gusto, and Fang Minghua ordered a hamburger, which felt more authentic than the ones eaten in Yanjing.
Zhang Xianliang was a little unaccustomed to eating. He chewed a hamburger and whispered to Fang Minghua: "This thing is not as delicious as the Roujiamo you have in Xijing."
"It's okay to eat. Well, I guess we have to eat well for a while." Fang Minghao said with a smile.
After dinner, Fang Minghua went out to see if there was any clothing store to buy a formal suit, but found that the store had already closed - it was not open at all at night, except for a few bars.
According to the arrangement, the three-month study and exchange will begin tomorrow, but Fang Minghua still has one thing he must do - go to Chicago to attend the "Nebula Award" award ceremony.
(End of this chapter)