Ni Hao -- First day hello

It's been a great first day. Josh and I began with a 1 1/2 mile walk/run. We started at 5:45 am -- it was truly amazing to see at least 100 people on the track walking, running, playing tennis in the middle of the field and most amazing doing tai chi -- just out in the open, in groups and alone, so graceful. Then we did breakfast -- we are all trying very different foods -- there's no Fruit Loops or bagels here. Later in the day we went to another park -- KangJian Garden. Again, amazing. We stumbled upon so many interesting people doing very interesting activities. First we came upon two women working with spinning tops on heavy string attached to stick handles. I know I'm not describing it so well, but we all tried to do it, and Pamela and I got it right away. Very much a balancing act. I'll find the real name and put it up later. We came upon a floutist, who played beautifully -- and another musical group playing a kind of recorder instrument (looked like a recorder with a gourd on top), and maroccas. Next a chorus group singing in Chinese and into a big square where many people were dancing in the area. Very cool. People just stare at us, and Josh is like a rock star -- people love his curls and just want to touch his head. He's pretty shy about it. People are very quiet and nice. Went shopping to find an extension cord so we could use the outlets here, and that was interesting shopping not knowing much Chinese except three words. We were successful, though, using a bunch of hand signals. At dinner, we all tried sea cucumber -- just kind of slimy!!! But, the food has been very good. Looking forward to many adventures ahead.