The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
11.09.2015 | Men's Basketball
Sophomore forward recaps the travel days from Austin to Shanghai.
Diary entry for Saturday, November 7 & Sunday, November 8
(Travel from Austin to Shanghai)
Sophomore Forward Jordan Barnett
"I didn't go to bed following Friday night's game (exhibition win vs. Tarleton State). I just stayed up on the advice of our staff and that was the best plan of action. However, I didn't have a ride over to Cooley, so I walked from the dorms over in the rain carrying my bags and backpack. We all met at Cooley at 3 a.m. in the locker room, loaded up the bus and headed to Dallas at 3:30.
I slept the entire way on the bus to the airport in Dallas. I didn't even realize it until the lights came on in the bus and everyone started getting off. After we checked in, I looked for some food – knowing it would probably be my last American food experience for the coming week. I grabbed a couple sausage-and-egg biscuits and an orange juice from McDonald's. I also picked up two apple pies to save for the plane ride, and those came in clutch halfway through the flight.
When we got on the plane, we realized we had business-class seats (private seating areas for each individual). I thought 'this flight might not be so bad after all.' Upon finding out the seats turned into beds, it really helped our attitudes. Although it was an extremely long flight (almost 15 hours), the seats were great. They had a ton of movies you could choose from. Honestly, I slept and watched a lot of Kevin Hart stand-up and that's about it.
After we arrived in Shanghai and got through customs, we loaded up our luggage on a bus and headed to our hotel for the night. I'm honestly at a loss for words. We flew half way across the world, and it's truly an amazing experience to be here. On the bus ride from the airport to the hotel, we got to see a little bit of the city. We passed a ton of big buildings along with a lot of Chinese and American signs. It's crazy to see how much American culture is accepted here. The hotel was nice, the bed was a little small and there wasn't a lot to watch on TV (laughter), but it is great being here and we're definitely looking forward to the week ahead.
