On the ground, but unplugged . . .

I’m still on the plane, but I thought I’d get a few sentences done before we land. We went over the polar region and then Russia before entering Mongolia and China. Though I watched four movies I also had a window seat to see unbelievable differences in terrain; snow and ice covered flat lands, mountain ranges, lowlands, deserts, forests, and lush farmlands. There were multiple sources of water including oceans, rivers, lakes, and also vast expanses with no sign of human habitation. We live in a truly diverse and beautiful world and I am about to experience even more when I land.

I just completed the paper work about my health and any exposure to the flu in the last seven days. After departing the plane we go through a machine that takes your temperature. If you have any sign of fever they quarantine you and the people in the three rows around you. Though I don’t feel sick, thinking about causing this kind of trouble for those around me is making me nervous.

I don’t want this to read like a diary entry (WOW, there is the Great Wall!) or documentary of my experiences so I think I’ll wait for something of more importance.

We are at the Beijing Hotel, the place where the Olympic Committee and their families stayed. Our guide wanted to make sure that we knew it was a five star hotel. Really nice except that the beds are a little hard and short, obviously that won’t be a problem for me. It’s about 5:00 pm on the 23rd here with dinner at 6. At home it is about 2:00 am. I’ve been up now for about 22 hours since I slept very little on the plane. As soon as I figure out how to get Internet access I hope to send this, eat, and try to sleep.

We start the day tomorrow with a visit to the Forbidden City followed by a conference on Chinese teaching and language instruction. I get to suit up for the conference because it is followed by the welcoming banquet in the Great Hall of the People.

Note: Blogger must be blocked from use in English in China – a technician tried to help me to no avail for an hour. I am e-mailing and asking Kevin to post for me.