Greetings from Asia!
We arrived safely in Beijing, 8 hours later than scheduled, but we were happy to be here. We had only a couple of hours Friday morning to explore near our hotel, so we did the 10 minute walk to Tiananmen Square. In spite of the intense heat, we strolled part way up the square - far enough to see the long line waiting to get into to see the remains of Mao. Below is a picture of a typical family from here.
As we walked up the other side of the square we saw an art museum with a clock counting down the years, months, days, etc. until the opening of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
Then in a shop window on the way back to the hotel, we saw a display of the mascots for the upcoming games. They're called the "Friendlies."
We arrived here on Hainan Island under a downpour Friday evening and friends took us to our apartment. We spent the weekend getting better settled in and trying to get our bodies acclimated to this time zone and tropical conditions. Our classes began this morning and all four of us feel as if things went well. I will update the blog later this week with a few pictures from our classes. Good-bye for now.
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