Ni Hao

That is the general greeting in China, and one of the few phrases I actually learned (and used) while in China. I also used Xie Xie (sounds like Shi Shi) which is Thank You. But the most important phrase I learned was pronounced Boo Shi, and was best used in an angry or annoyed tone. I don't know it's exact meaning, but when told to the local peddlers it got them to leave us alone. But more about that later.

Our trip to China was incredible and amazing. We left with one expectation of what it would be like, but came back with a whole different understanding of their life, culture and history. I am planning on posting our trip over the next few days, but you need to be patient with me as I don't think I have totally processed everything we saw yet.

We started off on Sunday morning. Since I had done most of the packing and prepping on Saturday, the morning went smoothly. We even had time to stop off for our favorite Okinawan beverage - Cold Coffee:

Then we all boarded our shuttle bus to Naha International Airport. The kids were excited to finally be on our way.We got to the airport with plenty of time to spare. Since the International gate is so small, the check in process can't be started until you are 1 hour from boarding, so we waited.We boarded our plane on time and were soon in the air, on our way to Shanghai. We were served lunch on the plane. From lower left corner, clockwise: Azuki bean dessert, cantaloupe, peanuts, water, fried tofu and chicken with rice and veggies.

Our first view of China was over the skies of Shanghai.

Once we landed we had to go through Swine Flu testing. First test was a thermal scan of our forehead (the black object in the first masked tester's hand). If you failed the scan (Steph did) then you got a digital thermometer in the mouth. If you failed that one (the guy with the back of his head showing failed) you got an old fashioned thermometer. After 5 minutes he passed that one, so I am not sure what step would have been next.

I learned something in the Swine Flu testing process - LIE. I marked the boxes truthfully on our health questionaire for Chris, Stephanie and I. We were pulled out of the immigration line and subjected to another round of temperature testing and questioning. At the end of our interrogation I was told to fill out new forms for all three of us and NOT to check ANY boxes.

After getting through the gates we were met by Fiona, our escort through the airport. I loved that her greeting flag said "Spring Tour" You might wonder why we needed a guide through the airport, as we did until we saw the actual terminalFiona guided us through the Domestic Check in procedure, then started walking us to our gate area. This is a hotel sandwiched between the International and Domestic terminalsAgain let me point out how huge this airport is:After we got to our gate area we took a moment to look around. We thought it was a little funny that the big Ping Pong tournament was being shown on EVERY tv:This is an indoor wall of water:

After a short look, Lyle located ice cream and got a couple scoops for everyone. This was our first purchase using our Chinese money, Yuan. After spending over 200 Yuan on 3 bowls of ice cream we did the math and found that we spent almost $30. Then we learned that ANYTHING with an American brand was going to cost you 3-5 times more than if you buy a Chinese brand. But it was REALLY good ice cream :)We spotted these in the snack bar, Dried Chicken Feet:There were also Duck bills, Chicken necks and other assorted poultry parts. We passed.

Another short flight took us to our destination for the night - Beijing. This is the International terminal building, built just for the olympics. It is shaped after a turtle, which promises Long Life and Longevity.

We boarded our bus and made it to our hotel. We were all tired, and there was a full day planned for us so we hit the beds. Stay tuned for Beijing, Day One!