Arrived!

 Hi all!

I've landed in Shanghai, after a very long and enjoyable flight! It's officially Thursday afternoon here, which is super-weird and my body is very confused. Every time someone opened a shade on the plane, light poured into the whole cabin--I've never had that happen for so long before. But the food was amazing! They had choices of shrimp pasta and steak with red wine sauce, and chicken and rice. The airport is very nice and open, almost all windowsm and has lots of beautiful shops. So, so far so good. I actually got picked up by a China Eastern Airlines representative at the gate, and he escorted me through immigration, baggage claim, customs, and checking in again for my flight to Xiamen, all because they were afraid I would get lost on the way to the terminal. Probably accurate--this place is huge! And he even helped me haul my stuff. It was great.And now I've got a few hours to kill before my next flight takes off, so I'll probably go wander around and take pictures.I'm dreading going outside, though. A door opened as I walked past on my way to the check-in desk, and it was so hot; 95 degrees, I think. Have you ever had a really big dog breathe on you? That's what it felt like, except over your entire body. Oh, and just checked the weather. Actually 99 degrees, but it feels like 110. Ooof.

Also, I can't access the site proper at least right now, so I'm emailing my post in. If this continues, posts might be lacking all the pretty pictures I was excited about putting up. I'll look into it; I'm pretty sure it's just the computer I'm on. Oh, well.

Just wanted to give you guys an update! Students start arriving on Sunday morning--so excited!

--a.