And so it begins

After a tearful goodbye to my husband, I arrived in Chengdu this afternoon, 22.5 hours after my departure. I was met at the airport by Jenny and Mr. Xie, who helped me check in to my hotel. We then met up with Prajna, one of my fellow Yo San grads who is also participating in the externship. Jenny and Mr. Xie took us on a walk to exchange money and show us the hospital where we'll be working. On our walk, the streets were filled with some expected sights (stands of fresh produce, people playing mah jong outside a storefront) and some unexpected ones (a cat on a leash watching the mah jong game).



I get the sense that Chengdu is not really prime a destination for foreign travelers (my first clue may have been when no one in America had ever heard of Chengdu). Prajna, who arrived a day ahead of me, had ordered dinner the night before by drawing a picture of a bowl of noodles. Hmmm, maybe I should have spent more time on the plane studying my Mandarin phrase book and less time watching Will Farrell movies.