What a day! After arriving at the hotel and being left at the door I definitely felt all the thousands of miles between me and home.. (7358 apparently, think they got lost somewhere for an extra 1000 miles?!). After checking in and getting to my room I hunted down the wifi password just so I could talk English to someone, anyone! Once everyone knew I was safe I gave in, went to sleep for only maybe 11 hours to a knock on the door!

After meeting Aida, my new roomie, we didn't waste anytime in going out and exploring the hutong (or old town to you less cultured individuals!). After getting to know Aida in the few hours that followed I was so excited to finally meet the rest of the group and I wasn't disappointed! Before the introductions took place, we went to a local restaurant and went around the table saying your name and where you come from.. all very gameshow like! Definitely got very lucky with the group! 14 girls and 2 guys! Fortunately they all speak English or very good English at least and we all just clicked straight away!

Now come the fun part. Dinner. It has come to my attention that left handed people are not designed to use chopsticks. Ever. However the distribution of rice and sauce around my bowl was even which was a positive to take from this situation. Consistency is key..

After all the excitement of being in China and making all these new buddies I needed to sleep. Tomorrow there was a mission to complete!