We've only been here for 2 days and already done so much: we've tried a lot of bizzare food (baby pigeon and duck being my favorite so far, kidney and cow stomach being my least favorite), done some shopping at the extremely crowded Wufujiang district, climbed the Great Wall, and had foot/ full body massages. Dave's parents have been absolutely incredible hosts. We ate lunch yesterday at the clubhouse and had dinner again with them at a very nice restaurant downtown. Dinner included more bizarre food and lots of good food as well as a performance called "Change Face" or something like that. A masked woman would do a traditional dance while waving her arm across her face every minute or so. Each time she did, her mask would change (she did this about 7 or 8 times, meaning she was somehow concealing 8 different masks on her.)
The Chinese are taking security at the games as well as the issue of smog- "haze"- very seriously. The Olympic area is completely blocked off (probably an entire square mile). The only way to get in on a certain day is if you have Olympic event tickets on the same day you want to enter the area. Cars can only drive on odd or even numbered days depending on if their license plate is odd or even. The Chans have a driver which is awesome and extremely convienient even if we can only be driven every other day. Still, taxis are extremely cheap (5$ per ride) and the subway system is easy to navigate.
My chinese is slowly getting better and we're all extremely excited for the opening ceremony tonight. We're not going, but we are partying with the Singaporians (Else, her husband, and their daughter Alyssa) in their condo downtown, which should be a lot of fun.
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