We are in China & doing well.

We are here! Adjusting well. Very much enjoying ourselves and our new circumstances. Now we will try to get the blog updated (seems like that is the most common blog tag line, isn’t it).

Hotel by apartment. Not where we are staying! Very "Chinese"

Travel Day(s)
For those who have not flown to Asia, it is a long process. We left our home in Plymouth Saturday, August 25^th at 3:30 PM and finally arrived at our new apartment on campus around noon on Monday.

Before we left Plymouth
Two days earlier we had mostly moved out of our home and were staying at a local Marriott, using a couple of expiring free night certificates. That was a nice start. From all appearances, we had properly allocated the right amount of time for packing, final details, and final good-byes so we would comfortably be ready for Paul to take us to the airport. (Actually without a lot of help from the kids over the last couple of days we never would have been ready).

Paul in apartment living room. Kitchen over shoulder.

But…..Murphy’s Law
Our time budgeting did not allow for the operation of Murphy’s Law. In as untimely a way as possible, Paul’s laptop got a nasty virus. Lots of unbudgeted time on his part, and most importantly on our son’s part, finally got things back together and reinstalled. But that really tightened up the timeline and had us worried about our timetable. It is also a continuing issue as we are having difficulties finding all our “indispensable” files.

Shout out to Delta
Packing was interesting. What do you bring for a year in China? How much does it weigh? Do you haul all your electronics over which your son has so graciously and expertly set up? Or do you trust the local marketplace and your limited technical abilities? How Spartan or how comfortably do you want to live for the year? We sorted through those questions and elected to bring the technology and be comfortable. We considered sending/mailing/shipping a couple of boxes ahead. Ultimately decided it was cheaper to simply pay the excess baggage charge at the airport.

The "shirt roll-up" is how men cool off 

on a hot day

So we trudged to the airport with 4 huge, heavy suitcases to check, two heavy carry-ons, and two overloaded backpacks. It was ridiculous (but so nice now we are here)! One carry-on was actually heavier than any suitcase we had previously travelled with. So what did Delta charge us? Oh, the potential was high. But the agents asked why our tickets were one way and what we were up to. When they heard, they said “Cool”, “No charge”, “Have a great year.” Very sweet. Go Delta!

Update From Seoul Korea
It is 6am Monday, August 27^th. We are sitting at the gate of the Seoul airport waiting for the final leg to Xi'an. The sun is just coming up and it looks beautiful here. Mary was right; the airport is gorgeous.

I am in a state of amazement that this day finally arrived. I hardly imagined really leaving and being on our way for this great adventure. With Paul's computer issues, and having them extend into Saturday, I was not sure we would actually make it to the airport. Saturday was kind of surreal. I have never spent so much time on the phone with Mom & all the kids.  Thank you again sooo much for all of your PowerPoints, computer help, errands, and just being there when we needed you. Now you might have just a taste of how Dad and I felt whenever we sent a missionary away.

We are not buying here yet! Scary..... This street market is
outside our campus a couple of blocks from our apartment. 

We have been through security 3 times so far. In Mpls it was a breeze. We got the line where you don't take off your shoes or take out your laptop, no questions and we were on our way. As we went through in LAX we had to dismantle our carry-on suitcases, ugh.... Mine wasn't too bad; they just wanted to see the refrigerator magnets I had. Paul’s however, was full of electronics and they kept running various items through and then he had to totally repack. Fun. Same when we arrived in Seoul although they weren't interested in me, just Paul again. He is getting really fast at repacking.

The flights so far have been good. We got upgraded from Mpls to LA which was nice. Not true for our ride to Seoul which was crowded and warm. The flight was almost all Asians. We sat next to a young Chinese girl who got her BA in Beijing and is now getting a PhD at the University of California San Diego in electrical engineering. Fun conversing.

We are traveling with several other BYU teachers. Everyone is a little nervous and super excited.