Arrival

We've landed, gathered our belongings, met this year's guide (Theresa), and made to to our hotel in Beijing. All of us are settling into out rooms before we gather again around 5:30 for dinner nearby. The hotel is near the Forbidden City, a more central location it seems than last year's spot. We'll have more to share later. The flight is just long, but everyone seemed to manage well: lots of movies and games, some reading, some sleep, too much airline food. But we are all excited to get out and about this evening and begin our tour in earnest with Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City tomorrow.

So right now Kristen and I (Caitlin) are sitting in Mr. Dunne's room listening to the Bruins play by play. Don't worry- we don't have to leave until 9. So last night we walked about a block from our hotel to have a traditional Chinese meal. We sat at a round table, with a round piece of turning glass in the middle where they served us ten dishes that we all shared. As the token vegetarian on the trip- I was a little nervous about the food, but I had an easier time then a lot of other people! Although there were lots of meat products (the orange chicken was a favorite) such as pork meatballs, bamboo shoots with pork, variously prepared chicken, there was also hot cabbage with delicious sauce, spiced green beans, and my favorite, Chinese eggplant. Every meal was served with steamed rice. Although we had plenty of free time to explore Beijing after dinner, most of us were way to tired from the flight and resulting jet lag to do anything but go up to the rooms and sleep. I figured that if I got a good night's sleep then I would be up and ready to go for the rest of the week! My planned worked- I feel energized and pumped to be in China right now. This morning the hotel treated us to a buffet style breakfast, with both Chinese and American breakfast options. Although Kristen and I passed on the fried noodles, gluten, and various other questionable breakfast foods, we were satisfied by the toast, pastries, and coffee. I feel like by the end of this trip we will all be used to the food and hopefully have expanded our pallets! I can't wait to tour Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City today, expect lots of pictures.

