Zero Degrees and I'm Feelin' Fine

That's right, when we arrived at Midnight last night it was just about 0 Fahrenheit. I loved it. Wei's parents whisked us away into a family member's waiting car very quickly. They are very concerned that we're freezing, still, even in the apartment. It's nice of them to worry. If you're wondering why it is so cold, take a look at the map above. It is a map of all the places in China that are serviced by China Eastern Airlines. Now look in the upper right, way up, keep going, see that Northern-most city? The one that's practically Siberia? That might explain the temperature. But like I've told Wei, the temp is really not much different than State College, PA.

It was maybe an hour drive from the airport back to the city, which I'll probably talk more about later. Let's just say that even during the day the traffic lights are generally optional.

We lugged our suitcases, include the 70 lbs of gifts, up 5 flights of stairs to Wei's parents' beautiful little apartment, and we treated to a full meal. I only picked a bit, just because I had generally stayed up for the entire 28 hours of flying and such, making my stomach a little uneasy. So what with all the new smells to get used to, I mostly ate a nice helping of rice porridge and called it a night to get my internal clock set right. Woke up like any other morning, so it seems to have worked.

Anyway just a quick note since we just got the Broadband working. We're headed out for Wei to get a haircut and for me to experience some more local culture. More to say about the flights and such later.