We have arrived

We left for China on Friday, August 3, 2012 and returned Tuesday, August 14, 2012. Unfortunately my blog site was blocked while in China so I could not post the information until I returned home. We were able to use a different blog which the students posted information to daily. That site is http://chinabryant.tumblr.com

We met up with our group at 4:30 am at Logan. After checking in it was camera time—this, I think, is going to be a bit of a theme.

Good-bye Boston

 The flight to Beijing was a long one. I had a 4 year old ‘kicker’ behind me who didn’t realize he was supposed to sleep on a long flight; so I watched movies for about 12 hours---more than I usually watch in a year! Saw the old classics like Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Casablanca.

Hello Beijing

We arrived in China at about 2:00 pm (2:00 am eastern time). Jane, our tour guide, greeted us at the airport and then we went off to catch the bus. She pointed out the features of the capital of China and gave a bit of history. Beijing, which means northern capital, was previously called Peking. When China became the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 1949 the capital name was changed. After checking in at the Xiang Da Hotel in downtown we went to eat at a nearby restaurant. Most of the meals we eat here will be Chinese food served in a family style. The many dishes, a variety of 15-20, are put in the center of the table on a Lazy Susan. So the question becomes which is more challenging---stopping the Lazy Susan when you see something you want or eating with chopsticks. After dinner everyone was eager to climb into bed.