Flight 1645 Departing: Raleigh, NC. Destination: UNKNOWN1645班机，来源：Raleigh，NC。目的地：不明

No, this isn’t one of those planes that’s going to crash on a mysterious deserted island or accidentally fly into a time vortex. Actually, the flight coordinates are clearly mapped out:

40° 4′ 48″ N, 116° 35′ 4″ E 40.08, 116.584444. If reading those coordinates was like reading Chinese to you, well, you’re getting warm. In four days, this flight is headed to Beijing Capital International Airport and I’ll be a passenger on it. The emotions inside of me are a strange concoction of excitement and apprehension. My apprehension doesn’t stem from unease about traveling to the expansive country that boasts a population of over 1.3 billion people. I actually took my first trip to China when I was nineteen years old and it has been my second home ever since. I’m so accustomed to Chinese life that I answer just as readily to my Chinese name, Wu Chen Xi, as I do to the one given to me at birth.

My apprehension is due to the fact that when I step off the plane, I literally have no clue where I’m headed. Yes, I know that in September I’ll be attending Peking University. However, I won’t be living on campus or rooming with another student in my one-year language program. When I arrive in Beijing, I’m essentially homeless and friendless. Unlike the previous times in China, there will be no person to pick me up from the airport and safely deliver me from point A to point B. There are no known friends participating in the program. I don’t know the address of my residence. There are no contact names, no phone numbers. It’s just me, my hopes, my goals, and my Mandarin. Oh, and I almost forgot. I’ll have my two suitcases too. Packed in these two suitcases are the three essentials that I need for surviving in China. Essential #1: LSAT books. I’m taking the law school entrance exam in October, so these study aids are currently more important than clothes. Essential #2: gluten free food. During my teaching fellowship in the rural city of Bazhong, my intestines became paralyzed. It was determined that I’m allergic to gluten, so I had to bid farewell to two of China’s most beloved ingredients –soy sauce and MSG. For the record, I only miss the former, not the latter. And last, but certainly not least –Essential #3: Shoes. Finding a pair of size 9 (42) shoes in China is like searching for the ever elusive city of Atlantis. There are rumors that it exists, yet it can’t be found. When I tell shopkeepers my shoe size, they stare aghast at me as though Big Foot just walked in. So, yes, I’ve stuffed enough shoes in my suitcase to get me through any situation: snowstorms, rainstorms, gym class, dates, parties, you name it.

This upcoming year in Beijing is brimming with questions that can only be answered with the passage of time. Where will I live? Who will I be friends with? What new experiences will I have? But maybe flight 1645’s destination isn’t such an enigma after all. When my size 42 feet touch down in 40° 4′ 48″ N, 116° 35′ 4″ E 40.08, 116.584444, I know exactly what will be waiting for me outside the doors of the airport. An adventure. I also know where I’m headed. “Where?” you ask. The journey is the destination.别担心，这飞机不会无意中的飞进一个时间漩涡，或坠毁在一个神秘的海岛。其实目的地很清楚：40° 4′ 48″ N, 116° 35′ 4″ E 40.08, 116.584444。

如果读起来好像是外国语的话，那就挺接近我的意思了。四天后，这班机将会往北京国际机场，而我呢，会是它的一位乘客。我实在感慨万端，不知该怎样才好，一边兴奋，一边害怕。可是不是怕自己一个人单独地去一个已有十三亿人口的国家。我十九岁时去了中国第一次，而自从当时开始，它就像是我第二家。我的华语名字是吴陈西，我都把它当成我出生取的名字似的。

那为什么怕呢？怕是因为到达北京市，我根本就不懂自己会去哪儿。我知道，九月我将会在北大上课。可是我不会住宿舍，也不会和另外个一年长度项目的同学住。到了北京过后，我简直就是无家可归，一个朋友都没有。其他次，来到中国时总是会有人在机场等我，接我，可是这次。。。没有。我这项目之内什么人也不认识。我的地址：不懂。联络人：不认识。电话号码：根本不晓得。就只有我一个人，和我的希望，我的目标，和我的普通话。啊和，差点忘了：还有两箱行李。这两箱之内是我在中国的基本需要。第一：LSAT课本。十月时我将会考法学院，所以这两本比衣服还重要。第二：无面筋的食物。我在巴中教书时，发现到自己对面筋敏感，所以中国两个最喜爱的食物我吃不了：味精和酱油。可是我只想念酱油，味精与我不是朋友。最后，第三：鞋子。在中国找一双四十二号的鞋子就好像海底捞针一样。听说有人见过，可是我倒没有。当我与店主说我的脚的大小时，他们总是无话可说的瞪着我。因此没办法，行李箱里得塞满所有可能会需要的鞋子：下雪，下雨，运动，约会，排队，什么都得带。

在北京即将到来的这一年的问题可多了。住在哪儿？和谁当朋友？会有什么新经验？可能1645班机的目的地没那么神秘吧。我的42号鞋子碰到北京（40° 4′ 48″ N, 116° 35′ 4″ E 40.08, 116.584444）时，我知道在外面等待我的东西是什么。冒险！也知道往哪去。哪儿呢？迈步就是我的目的。