Across the Pacific

  Phoenix, Arizona, United States
Tuesday, September 4, 2007

This morning something unique and very enjoyable took place, even before we got Starbucks coffee. We made video calls to home using Skype on Monte's laptop. First, Susie, Katie, Nicky, Zarek and Broen called and everyone enjoyed talking while seeing each other. Merrie called right afterwards and since Monte wasn't quite ready to be on video, we said goodbye to Susie and talked with Merrie. It was so nice to both see and hear each other and catch up on things. Aiming the webcam out the window share our window view of Beijing with callers. Then Monte and his family got to talk with us again and it was great seeing the grandsons. When they finished talking we received other call from Rheo, John, Sasha, Joe, Antonia, and Caleb in Tucson. Everyone appreciated the techlology that allows this high level of communication, all free of charge.

Monte and I taxied to the airport and caught the China Eastern flight to Los Angeles via Shanghai where we picked up a few more gifts for family.

Olympics

The westward winds are behind us on this flight across the Pacific making the duration about 12 hours. We have regular economy seating this time but were each able to have an empty seat beside us. The long flight afforded time to listen to some of the Women's Weekend speeches which showed me how valuable those opportunities are for the ladies.

Let's talk about time for a moment. Today is Tuesday and we left Beijing around noon, and are flying eastward across the Pacific to California. On this flight the sun is setting behind us. At midnight tonight we will cross the International Date Line. At that moment, Tuesday will both end, and begin again and progress during our flight. Again at noon on Tuesday we will arrive at Los Angeles: at the same time on the same day as when we left Beijing.

Now, let's think about time for a minute. If you were to fly the opposite direction leaving LA at noon on the Day of Atonement and flew to China you would start your trip 3/4 of the way through your fast. Travelling underneath the sun for the entire trip. Several hours later at what would be 2pm local time you would cross the International Date line and it would suddenly be the day after Atonement. Would you stop your fast at 2pm? Or, keep fasting until the sun finally set? (Answer: holy time would stop at the Date Line.)

Okay, you would think, "I will keep fasting until sunset, since I want to finish the day." Sounds logical. But let's examine that logic. Let's say your plane kept on flying at the same pace as the sun so that it remained overhead of you for say 72 hours (3 laps around the earth). Would it continue to be the Day of Atonement lap after lap around the earth as you stayed under the noontime sun? (No, it would still feel like the same day to you, but on the ground holy time begins and ends at sunset locally. You would need to determine what day it is locally down below you.)

Conversely, if you left China at noon on the Day of Atonement, Atonement would end and then repeat itself once you crossed the Int'l Date Line. Would you only keep it only once, or both days? (It is holy time on "both" days since it would be Atonement locally below you.)

Here's one more: If you flew eastbound indefinitly, going against the sun yet at it's same speed, you would see a new sunrise every 12 hours. Wouldn't you therefore experience a new week every 3.5 days? Would time speed up and age you twice as fast? (Answer: No, because you would be making only one lap around the earth per day. But since the sun is travelling in the opposite direction, you would see two sunrises and two sunsets every 24 hours. Go figure. Plus, everytime you crossed the Date Line going east, the date would reset to the previous day's date.)

As you can see, when you have 12 hours on a plane and can't sleep, you can ponder things you ordinarily don't take time to.

Pacific

We were hungry when the flight began on Tuesday afternoon. The staff presented us with choices of "seafoo o pok." We declined and spent a night without dinner. The next day, Tuesday (i.e., see film, "Groundhog Day") lunch was finally served and we were pretty hungry. "Chinese food or Western food?" was offered as the entree. Now, which do you think I requested (take your time)? Unwrapping the foil on the Western entree revealed: seafood AND pork. Once at the L.A. airport we stopped at a restaurant and ordered pizza.

Looking back, we both had an excellent trip and came away with a new concept of life in Asia. These were my initial thoughts about the country and I realize that the observations are shallow having been there only for one week. That said, I really enjoyed China and would like to go back anytime!

JE & Monte

But for all its uniqueness and beauty, there is just "no place like home." And like Anne Elliott said in her Women's Weekend speech, "'Home' to a man is where his wife is." We therefore arrived "home" at 5PM when our wives met us at the Phoenix airport.

Thanks for reading. If you ever get a chance to go to China, jump at it!