Random Observations from Night One

Random Observations

• I am very very tired. So if I write anything on the blog that is all scrambled or poorly written, there's my excuse. :)
• The staring has started! We heard this would happen, but it's pretty strange to feel a little on display here. We started getting stares the minute we left the airport. As we drove our small bus from the hotel to the airport, people passing by would crane their necks to look into this bus full of white folks! At one point, a grown man on another bus waved at BJ and BJ waved back - the man jumped up with excitement to tell his friend what just happened. At our first dinner out in Beijing we caught two people sneaking photos of us (they tried not to be obvious, really they did). BJ said the table of teenage girls behind us were also imitating the way he was using his chop sticks and cracking up at us (his method was stabbing his food with one chop stick, and pinching with the other). We were laughing at ourselves too, we're pretty bad at it and will probably order our food based on what's easiest to eat with chopsticks! Hoping to better perfect our skills before the end. :)
• Our Beijing Holt guide (Lydia) is awesome and so sweet! I love hearing her perspective on things. She also tells us where to eat, and more importantly were NOT to eat. She is awesome! :)
• The beds here are about the same as sleeping on the floor, which is part of the reason why we're awake so early.  Hoping to maybe get another comforter to use underneath us tonight! :)
• The babies are so so cute and I want to scoop them all up and kiss their cheeks. but I won't. Because that would be weird. :)
• Today is a sunny day in Beijing, but we don't see blue sky or the sun. There are a few people wearing masks to protect themselves from the pollution, which we've heard is about the equivalent to second-hand smoke. It's a little like being in a bowling alley (that allows smoking) all day. My eyes are suffering a bit, but I'm hoping they adjust soon.

The view from our hotel window.