Above: Why are we awake? Early morning Monday, in Hartford waiting for the Chicago flight:L-R: Maisie, Brandy and Cailie.

Right: Maisie, our writer for today, on the second flight of her life, from Chicago to Beijing, China. See below for Maisie's diary of the flight and arrival.

Gary Blomgren writes:
Beijing is wonderful. It is akin to Rome, Paris, and Athens and likely all old world major population centers. One moment you see the expanse of concrete and steel, the next an older worker with straw and stick broom sweeping the sidewalk. I’ve always thought to really be a successful business person in old cities one needs only own all the scaffolding, for truly there is an abundance of restoration being done constantly. Beijing and China are no exception in this. Yet China is also about new construction and at a rate greater than anywhere I’ve traveled before, change truly is the constant with growth as its partner.

For me I see Beijing in relation to other places in the world I’ve traveled and often my focus is on the similarities. That is not to say I don’t find the differences at times staggering, be it the language or natural landscape which fill ones senses with new sight, sound, smell and taste.
Ready to eat? Our first meal in China (top and right)

Greetings from Beijing, by Maisie
Nihao everyone! Today was our first day traveling and it was my first time flying. We all woke up around 4:00 am, but Brandy and I had been up since 3:00 - we were so excited. By 4:50 we had eaten breakfast and were on the shuttle to Hartford Airport. I was amazed by the airport and the airplane and felt thankful we got through security.

Our first flight was short but I HATED it - especially the take-off and landing. I was so scared but thanks to Drummond I got through it. And just in time for a really big airport and an amazingly huge plane. Around 2:00 we caught our second flight and it was a two-story plane and the longest plane ride ever. We watched movies and played cards and they fed us five times. Finally we arrived in Beijing around 3:45 -very close to on schedule considering we left Chicago an hour late- and took a bus to our hotel.

We all were delighted with the cool, comfortable breeze after having been in the plane so long. Everyone got right into the spirit of being in a new place. The buses had tusks! Well I think they were rear-view mirrors, but I had never seen anything like it. I was amazed at the bikes and people walking around in the middle of the road. Bikes were going everywhere. We all wondered how it worked. After a quick change in our hotel, we went out to our first real Chinese dinner. That red peanut I popped in my mouth was actually a hot pepper, and my mouth was indescribably hot, but here I am laughing about it.

Tomorrow we'll explore The Great Wall and have our first high school visit. We are all excited and exhausted.
Maisie