Well luckily, no fiery ball of flames...got here safe and sound. Customs was pretty easy and I was just glad to have my bags make it to Beijing. Yesterday, I took the afternoon to get myself settled and familiarize myself with the surroundings. I ate lunch at the hotel restaurant and had some of the best wonton soup I've ever had...communicating one word at a time is not nearly as easy as I thought it might be...

I am staying at an apartment hotel in the west central part of the city and it's more like Times Square than anything...lots of shopping (Nike, Addidas, KFC)...the locals have been very patient with my lack of Mandarin skills...

So, now the work begins...I'm meeting with a WOA official this am and hope to have the clinic set up by end of day today, inlcuding making sure that our UPS shipments arrive. One of my patients was VERY helpful in expiditing these packages through UPS and I really appreciate it.

Once the clinic is set up, I'll take pictures...speaking of pictures, my Rockville office team took a picture of the whiteboard they wrote on...I certainly appreciate everyone's support...