We arrive!

At various times over the course of Monday night, all of us arrived safe and sound at the hotel. Brack had the fun duty of single-handedly bringing the oars out of customs in Beijing to then travel through the airport with them and re-check-in for the flight to Chengdu.  As one team described, "Getting oars here is impossible.  If you guys pull it off... you'll be heroes."  Bracknell Baker.  Superhero.

Once in Chengdu, we began to be truly thrown back by the graciousness of our hosts. Flowers at the airport upon our arrive. Their driving to the hotel was greatly appreciated by all of us to say the least, due to the construction. Imagine driving down I-95 in the states only to encounter a great blue wall going across all your lanes of traffic. You would then have to drive across the grass (or dirt, here) median into oncoming traffic, making your way along and flashing your lights to people traveling the opposite direction. Then, once you passed the construction on the other side, do it all over again!

The hotel is extremely nice and comfortable. It seems as all the teams are staying here. We met a few of the Yaleies last night. It also seems that rowing is only going to be a small part of the trip. They have many other things planned for us (including a trip to the largest Budha in the world). A true sharing of cultures will be the name of the game...

~Ed