The Chinese love “physical checks.”  Chris and I were required to have all sorts of medical tests done back in December in order to get our invitation letters from Tsinghua. These tests included EKGs, HIV tests, and lung x-rays, and our doctors had to verify that we weren’t suffering from such ailments as leprosy, black plague, or yellow fever.  A few days after our arrival, we were notified that we would need to have our physical checks verified by the Chinese government, so we were loaded into a van and carted across the city to a place where we were told we’d have to have new physical checks done.  Who knows why, but the good news is that we’re still HIV and plague-free.

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We finally have an internet connection in our apartment.  Our previous wireless thievery required us to check our email in places in the apartment where computers should never be used.  Case in point:

We have so much to report, but we’re off to buy bikes now.  Expect more soon.  Don’t worry.  All posts from this point on will be typed at an actual desk.  Good thing germs aren’t transmitted electronically…

We’re finally in our apartment and can tell already that this place it going to feel like home really quickly. P loves her new bedroom and is having a fantastic time setting it up to her specifications. She’s currently in the living room watching Dora the Explorer in Mandarin. The kid is in heaven!

While I’m on the topic of P, this morning, she brought me a piece of paper and asked me to write her name on it. She then went into her room and came out a few minutes later to show me this:

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Forgive the telegraphic nature of this post.  It’s 3:30 am and all four of us are wide awake.  P is in bed eating from a box of cereal proclaiming it to be the “bestest Chinese cereal in the world.”

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Three themes ruled our first day in China.

1)  Gratitude. We’ve been amazed at how incredibly helpful people have been to us since we arrived.  The Chinese love children, so I think we’re receiving VIP treatment thanks to the presence of P and Wee P.  Everywhere we go, people go out of their way to help us in various ways.

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