I updated my blog account today and now all the text on the home page is Chinese.....I'm sure I will figure out how to change this later, but it is frustrating at the moment.

We were told that our household goods shipped yesterday so our boxes will be delivered next Friday or Saturday. Yippee!!! Then we can move into our permanent residence and get settled.

I took a city tour on Friday and I was the only person on the tour. So the good news is .....I got a private tour......the bad news is.....I did not meet anyone on the tour and I had to eat lunch by myself while the guide and bus driver eat lunch in a different room (this was a cultural thing that I don't understand yet).

The silk factory was very interesting and I climbed to the top of the LuPu bridge. This is one of the bridges that we can see from our window. It has 363 steps to the top...not that I was counting :) The guide shared this little fact with me about mid way up the arch.

Here are some more random thoughts about our first week in China... My brain has gone into hibernation and I can not write a comprehensive sentence

• I would really enjoy an icy diet Pepsi and a good pizza
• Having a driver while in the middle of a traffic jam is a good thing....
• You can play spider solitare on your computer while in the middle of a traffic jam
• I miss my Independence
• I am very happy we found the Community Center
• Our friend, Steve Sheild was right....this transition is going to be harder than I thought
• People we meet are friendly and curious about us
• We are a minority for the first time in our lives
• Cultural differences are very interesting and at times hard to understand
• I wish I could magically learn Chinese so I could communicate.....I have so many questions I would like to ask people I meet
• Living in a big city is exciting
• I miss Target
• Basic things take great effort and energy
• This is a very good opportunity for growth personal development