Day 1 - Beijing

Well, day one is in the books!

Today we went to the great wall, a pearl shop and to rehearsal at Renmin University.

We woke around 6:30 and ate breakfast at the hotel and drove out to the great wall which was about an hour away. The temperature was around 30 degrees and the wind was blowing, HARD! So, the wind chill was somewhere in the low 20's. (Sarcasm switch mode on) So it was a perfect day to go to the mountains and climb a wall!(Sarcasm switch mode off)
Now when I say climb the wall I mean walk up steps! More than a thousand steps at a very steep angle! Last year when I was there I gave a a shot but didn't even get close. My goal is to make it to the top when I return in the fall.

From there we visited a pearl shop and ate lunch at the restaurant next door. The food is very good here and so far mostly enjoyable. We'll see by the end of the week how much I am enjoying it after eating it for 7+ days.

Then we went to Renmin University for rehearsal and stage blocking for the dancers. We got through it OK but not without some major difficulty from the staff at the university. I was told that I cannot play my guitar through the sound system and if that's the case I won't be playing on the Saturday night performance. They actually spelled my name right on the poster so I have to return the favor and perform. We'll see!

We ate dinner at the university and discovered that the same people that cook for ALL school cafeterias back the the states must cater over here, or visa versa. Because it all tasted the same!

We also had our first schedule change of many more sure to come. We were supposed to fly to Guiyang but it looks as though that has been canceled and we are flying out to Chengdu Sunday evening and have another day here in Beijing.

Tomorrow we are visiting the Forbiden City and have a performance that evening.

Today's Pictures

Thanks for the prayers,

Daniel