Greetings from China!

    We're not in Kansas anymore Toto!  We made it through our first day in China.  After an EXCRUTIATING all night flight, we arrived at 5:30 in the morning to what looked like a beautifully serene foggy morning in Beijing, just barely making out the silhouettes of tall buildings in the distance.  It was like walking out of the airport into a misty dream.  But then we found out the misty fog was really a thick smog that rarely lets in any sunlight, no matter what time of day,  and it wasn't so dreamlike anymore.  But, besides the smog, Beijing is a beautiful city, they planted thousands of trees and flowers just for the Olympics and it's made everything so green.  

     We made our first foray into the city just after 11:00 this morning - what a riot that was!  The cab driver couldn't speak any English of course, so trying to tell him we wanted to go to the Olympic Village was a task in itself.   We were supposed to meet Rachel's husband Eric (he's my friend that is competing in the Paralympics) at a particular place in the Olympic Village, but it was gated off all the way around.  So the cab driver just dropped us off at a corner and we were going to find our way in.  As soon as we got out of the cab several Chinese people came up to me, holding out a notebook and a pen.  I was confused for a moment.  Then I realized  - they wanted my autograph!  They though I was an athlete!  

How funny is that!  I just smiled and signed their notebooks........what else could I do?   We then tried to find our way into the gated Olympic Village and discovered it's not so easy trying to fake your way in.  We found one entrance but we had to have a pass to get in so they told us to go around the corner to the next gate.  "Around the next corner" turned out to be a half hour hike around a soldier-guarded-security-camera fence until we came to the next gate, complete with gun-toting guards, with an itty-bitty sign that said "Guest passes".  Our athletes are well guarded, that's for sure!  I think Rachel was ready to shoot her husband at this point.   We spent the rest of the afternoon touring the Olympic Village with Eric introducing us to various athletes he knows from different countries.  It was way cool!   

     We tried to get over to the Bird's Nest and Water Cube about twenty minutes away but there were just too many people.  We'll have to try again another day.  

     Our trip back to the hotel was another driving adventure!  We barely made it back alive - the drivers here are CRAZY!!!!!!  Traffic itself is crazy.  When the light turns green everyone goes - cars, bicycles, and pedestrians all scramble into the intersection trying to see who can get through first.  I'm actually surprised that we didn't hit anyone - maybe just barely nicked a few.   But all in all it was a good day.  Can't wait to see what other adventures will come our way!