Ni Hao from Beijing, city of 15 million. We're here and can hardly believe it. The plane ride was rough but Darrin was able to sleep about 7 hours (he worked the night before and didn't sleep). We got in at 3 p.m. Beijing time and had time to unpack, go to the Walmart-type store next door for water and a videtape (which we somehow forgot to pack and thanks to a translation book were able to locate in the mega store where we were the only westerners) and had a Chinese dinner with some other families who arrived early. We hit the sack at 9:30 and slept until 5:30--no complaints about that. We have some friends who only slept a couple of hours and then woke up making for a painful day of sightseeing. We have learned so much Chinese history by touring Tienanmen Square, the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace. What an amazing time to mingle with the Chinese. Most have been very friendly turning smiles and waves and overall making us feel at ease in our new surroundings. We also did some shopping at the Pearl and Silk Factories, both government owned factories. We bought a high quality necklace and earrings for Caroline for about $140 US dollars and were told that in the US the necklace alone would be over $300. Still looking for a bargain even in China. We've both had several squatty potty experiences. They actually given their restrooms a starring system. They recommended that we only go into the 4 stars but even then there's no toilet paper and the smells....Makes me wonder what the 3 stars were like. Our hotel is great--it's the Radisson and very modern with bathrooms that we're used to, minus the water that you can't drink or brush your teeth with. Darrins's aleady had to throw away his toothbrush from home because he forgot. We are loving this place and the new friends we've made. Tomorrow we head to a Christian church for westerners and the Great Wall and more shopping at the jade factory. And in two days we head ti Hubei to get Caroline Bei. We are so anxious to get her. We are having a great time and have thought often that we wish some of you were here with us to enjoy it with. For now, we'll just post pictures.