At long last the flight is done. We took a shuttle to the terminal and all I can say is "Wow!" That is one big building. I didn't realize this, but we were the last ones to arrive. We were met by a young man named Ming who shuttles us off to a mini van and we jump in and head into the city. The driver doesn't speak any English, but for his lack of conversation he makes up for with driving gusto. He loves to gives the van two second bursts of speed, followed by a couple seconds of coasting. This constant lurching makes me feel like we are in a washing machine before the spin cycle. Melissa is really tired and snoozes for a while; I guess the rocking back and forth of the van is soothing...or she is exhausted. As we make our way into the city, I am struck by how large it is. Modern, too.
Now I have driven in some wild places. In Serbia, for an example, I have riden on a bus with no seats and just my toes on the bottom step and hanging on for dear life out the door while the bus rambled through the streets and eventually broke down in the middle of the freeway. In Croatia, sidewalks are considered the slow lane. This is a different story. I have to give our driver some credit. He took it as a personal challenge to wedge that van into places a skateboard shouldn't fit and I'm fairly certain he thinks blinkers are for pansies.
Our guide, George, meets us at the hotel, gets us checked in and tells us to be ready by 9:00 for our tour tomorrow. I am looking forward to all the amazing things we will see. Speaking of amazing, I turn on the TV and find a basket ball game. I see Aaron Brooks playing for a Chinese team and think to myself, "Didn't the Suns trade Dragic and a draft pick for that guy?" Hmmm...I digress.
As I type this at almost 3:00 am, I remind myself to not get too caught up in the hustle and bustle. I really want to absorb the soul and personality of this place. We will have a big influence over Jade's perception of her birthplace and I want to have a personal connection to this great culture.
I can't help but think that WE are the Luky Ones.
Matt
Keep the reports coming. More pictures.
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