We have arrived! Days 1 & 2

DAY 1

12 hour plane ride... was not fun. Still congested and not able to fully pop my ears. Not as painful as I thought it would be, but, pretty uncomfortable. Had to pretend I wasn't sick so I wouldn't be quarantined when passing through customs. Sickness is taken pretty seriously here after the Swine outbreak. Let's just say it's a REALLY good thing I didn't have a temperature!

The seats on the plane were not made for white people, as both of our knees were hitting the seat in front of us. I won't even mention the food.

Got in to Beijing in the early evening. It had just snowed, so our taxi ride to the hotel was beautiful. Not at all what I had expected. Large trees lined the streets dusted in snow, people still riding bikes in the slush, pulling in to the hotel with the large arching snow topped gates looked like something out of an old movie.

We arrived exhausted, ready for bed- only to realize it was just 7:00pm. I went to sleep anyways. And woke up at 3:00am wide eyed.

Below is our picture in our hotel room. This is how we felt. Me: exhausted and sick. David: super excited.

DAY 2

Flight to a city 3 hours South West of Beijing in the early a.m.. Dissapointed in the breakfast options... no Starbucks :( Met up with some friends and got a tour of the city. More of a homey feel than Beijing. Had my first REAL Chinese food. Suuuuper spicy, and very different from American Chinese. Mom- no Hot and Sour soup, but lot's of white rice. Buckets full! David and I went to a market similar to Walmart. Got some interesting candy. We are gettng ready to head out for some Hot Pot now! Tomorrow, we go to the Panda Reserve!

kinsey