Safe arrival and a fish story

Greetings from China.  We arrived yesterday after an uneventful flight.  We were one of the lucky planes when we landed because they did not have health officials come on the plane before we could get off.  We did go through checkpoints where they checked our temperatures and then again to make a statement of health.  All went smoothly.  The team that is here met us at the airport and soon we were on our way to the hotel.  It has been really interesting to see the vast difference in our cultures.  The Asian people are polite and very helpful.  Everywhere we go we definitely draw a crowd.  It is apparent that not many red-heads are in Beijing.  Yesterday I told my mom I feel a bit like a freak show because I get stared at whereever we go.  We have a young gal on our team that is blond and blue-eyed and they love her too.  Many of them come up and want pictures and to touch our hair.  I found it a bit awkward at first but I am beginning to see it as a way of getting to better know the people of china.
Yesterday after arriving, meeting the team here and showering my parents and I decided to venture out and have lunch.  We took no one with us which turned out to make for an interesting lunch.  We have team members here that speak fluent Chinese and also studentguides that help us with translation, but none were around at the time.  We went to a noodle house that was known for it's great food.  It was really fun walking in and being the only Americans in the place, I felt a bit like royality.  When we entered the workers at the entrance started shouting toward the back of the restaurant to the workers in the back.  It was really funny to hear them yelling back and forth at each other.   We sat at the table and were given our menu.  This is where it got interesting because we had no idea what we were ordering other than what looked good in the pictures.  We decided on two items and waited eagerly with our tummys growling.  As the food came out and they set it down, it smelled delicious.  We dove into it and soon realized that the entree we had ordered was minnows, thats right, little tiny fish.  They came with the heads on and complete bodies. My parents were laughing at me because the only eating utinsel I had was chopsticks.  A little tough when I am trying to pull the meat off of a tiny little fish.  I finally just used my fingers because I knew I would starve if I didn't.  Believe it or not the minnows were not too bad.  Of course you had to eat about 10 of them to fill up, but a least I can say I tried something new.
We meet our student guides later this morning and will travel to the shops to pick up supplies this afternoon.  We have definitely felt the thoughts off all you and appreciate the good thoughts you have sent our way.  I am excited to meet the kids and families tomorrow and continue the work that has been set before us.
Love and miss you all!
Lisa