Ni Hao from Beijing!!!

Sorry it's been a while since we updated! We are in the hotel's internet cafe, since we are having problems with our laptop here!

Well, where to begin? Our first flight from Pittsburgh was uneventful and quick, only 50 minutes. We then were to have a 2 hour layover in Newark, but it ended up being 4 hours since the plane was having mechanical problems, not what we wanted to hear before a 13 hour flight.

We finally took off, and let me tell you honestly, that flight was brutal-B-R-U-T-A-L! BUT, you would not believe what we encountered when we finally landed in Beijing around 3pm. We were told to stay seated becasue Chinese health officials were coming aboard. Everyone had to fill out a health evaulation form, stating if they've been around pigs or people with the flu, and etc. What happened next was like out of a movie, a handful of officials came onto the plane, dressed in head to toe white jumpsuits, goggles, and masks. You could only see their eyes. It was surreal. People were standing up taking pictures of them left and right- not sure if they apprecited that or not. We did get some shots when we finally, an hour later,we were allowed to deboard. 2 other health officials were waiting at the plane door when we stepped out, with some sort of infared temperature taker they aimed at your head. More officials were standing at the bottom armed with tanks and sprayers of chemicals. Again-unforgettable and unreal!

So, we then had to go through quarantine inspection, immigration, baggage, and customs-what a long day! We finally finished at the airport and arrived at our hotel around 7 pm. We had been awake since 2 am the previous morning-I was jetlagging hard, although we managed to go to bed around 9 and got up around 5, so that was pretty good. We then had breakfast in the lobby, and are to meet our guide at 2 pm to take us to the airport to fly to Taiyuan, where we should land at 6:20.

We are hoping to have better internet there, and hopefully better luck with the adapters. Danny ended up blowing a fuse in our room, and succeeded in frying my hair straightener-so, no laughing at my hair while we are over here!

Well, we need to go look over some paperwork and finish up our packing. We hope to post some more once we get Chloe!