Beijing!

Walking in from customs was an experience in itself. I really felt as though I was stepping foot in a completely different world. Hundreds of people were crowded up against the rail holding signs and hollering out people's names in Chinese. It was a wild scene. Finally I found the sign for my program and went off in a taxi bus with the other kids in the program. I was a little bit shocked when I found that there were no seatbelts, especially because of all of the stories I heard about people's driving skills in China. Let me tell you, it was an adventure weaving between lanes and squeezing into spaces that looked to be closed off by the giant wave of cars converging from all directions. On the way to Beida we saw the National Stadium, which will be used for the Opening Ceremonies for the Olympics. It was incredible seeing the "Bird's Nest" up close with all of its twisting steel structures. Everyone (of the kids who arrived that afternoon) went to the Canting (cafeteria) for dinner. The food was great and it was nice to get to know some people on the program.

So later the real adventure started. After everyone went to bed, my roommate arrived after his 5 hour delayed flight and we decided to get internet access. The problem was we did not know the word for internet and how to explain very well what we wanted. The women at the front desk knew absolutely no English! Both of us were dead, but we we finally got her to understand (through lots of hand motions and other means). When we got back to the room we just laughed it off. It was an interesting experience and we both realized how little we actually know. Tomorrow will be our first full day and we will be able to see all of the campus. Wanan! (Good Night!)

***I will put up pictures soon when I have the chance...I am having trouble viewing the blog because it is being blocked by the firewall here. Hopefully you will be able to read my posts.