Happy New Year's from Beijing

Hello all,

We have had an absolutely fantastic time in Beijing. The attached pictures are from our trips to the Great Wall and some of the other areas around the City. You will see we also enjoyed snow while we were there, although this Florida family was not really prepared for the wind and wind chill.

While in Beijing, we toured the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, and many neat areas in the city. Several neighborhoods had extremely narrow alleys where street vendors were set up on both sides. The ambiance and settings against a snowy backdrop will be truly memorable for years to come.

We also enjoyed an interesting experience where we received a private tour into a side door of the Beijing museum. It was closed in preparation for the Olympics, yet we met two student artists who worked there and volunteered to show us some of the work. While part of it was a scam, "they were selling select pieces from the private collection" we enjoyed tea, and the various works being displayed.

One evening, we also met with Pam and her family, to attend a Chinese Acrobatics show. Pam is the other individual from UPS who is currently on special assignment in China. She is assigned to Beijing, and she gave many tips for Curt on the area including hooking us up with a driver for the day on our excursions to the Great Wall. We had many great experiences including shopping for DVD's and CD's in a car trip. "The driver had a full assortment for sale and so we were able to multi-task on a several hour car ride. Many more people speak English in Beijing, than anywhere else we have been with the exception of Hong Kong. The traffic is unbelievably congested in Beijing easily competing with LA or NY for top honors. On several trips that should have been a few minutes, we were in the car for almost an hour.

Communications with the outside world have also been a challenge. There was an earthquake off Taiwan several days ago, and communications are still in disarray due to severed cable lines. Curt's e-mail and most of our web-access has been cut off.

We arrived back in South China yesterday, and are preparing to leave this week. The time in China has been an incredible experience for the 4 of us as a family. The time and experiences have been priceless.

While Curt will not be back for a visit until mid-February, the kids and I look forward to seeing you all soon.