Nin hao from China!

We are safe and sound in Beijing! We arrived on Friday night after an uneventful trip from Chicago to Seoul to Beijing on Korean Air (best airline ever). A nice man who knew not one word of English picked us up and took us to our apartment in Chouyang. We are on the third floor in a complex of highrises that surround a courtyard with gardens, a playground, basketball courts and decorative pools of water! Across the street are shopping malls that include a McDonalds, a NikeTown and a Wal-Mart type department store.

As for our accomodations, we are living in an IKEA commercial. I am sitting on one of our red leather couches in front of our black entertainment center that hosts our large HD tv. Our dining area is yellow and orange with a nice fridge. The two bedrooms have large beds and wall-length closets with sliding doors and shelving and such. Then theres the bathroom and kitchen that are fine. Thats all I have to say about them...

Over the weekend we did a lot of wandering and shopping and hung out with some fellow teachers. It just so happens that all of the Real Life English teachers were having their monthly outing on Saturday night. Since the company was paying, we went to one of the nicest restaurants around--South Beauty--and had amazing food. Some of the more exciting dishes were duck's blood (in a jerky form) and pig's blood (more of a gelatin). We were out with about 20 teachers who were very nice and welcoming.

Work has begun and after two days of training, we are jumping into teaching tomorrow! Honestly, we are just glad Worldlink Education is legit and in existence. Turns out, it is a very professional and successful organization. In fact, Al Roker will be doing a segment on this company and its classes next week at the beginning of the Olympics! Watch for that!

Overall, things are going really well. Things are a little shaky in some areas--like how there is less English than we anticipated--like NONE, and how work is a little overwhelming. Elliott is really rising to the occasion. He is in overdrive finding activities, exploring, trying new food and most importantly, looking after Emily who is an emotional wreck (she'll be fine). Jetlag has done a number on her and she is in her glory while shopping one moment and crashing at work the next. Things here are constantly changing (the one constant of Beijing), and getting used to that will be the biggest adjustment.

Our best wishes from the land of the Olympics! Photos to come soon! Know we are happy, doing well, excited, tired and missing you!