Day 1

We arrived at the Beijing airport at about one o-lock China time. The plane ride seemed a lot longer than I expected. On the plane I watched Nanny Diaries, Rescue Dawn, A Day After Tomorrow and Rush Hour 3. Unfortunately, I was only able to sleep on the plane for an hour or so. The food was pretty good except for the salad. I was really encouraged by the wonderful letters from friends and family. At the airport we were greeted by our friends Carmen and Karma who live in Beijing and their dog named poo-poo. From the airport we headed to our apartment. On the way I experienced the potency of Beijing pollution and smoke. It really makes me appreciated the clean air and environment in Canada. We live on the top floor of what would be considered an up scale Beijing apartment. There are two rooms, a bathroom, kitchen and a living space. Grace and Gen each have their own rooms and Mike and I sleep on bunks in the common room. We also have a balcony which we can look out over the city. At night the lights are so beautiful. In the evening we went out for dinner with Carmen, Karma and poo-poo. I can already sense how meals are both more collective and hospitable. All of the dishes I had were really good, especially this spicy chicken. I can no officially say my new best friend for the next few months are my chopsticks. After dinner we were noticeably tired and experiencing jet lag. We were up for close to 24 hours. After a quick trip to the supermarket we headed to bed. Looking to Him.