Update from Jiang Jin!

I just talked to Phil on the Webcam. All is well. He sent the following post. He is having a hard time sending pictures, but here is the text...

"Great time at the Great wall
On Saturday it was good to sleep a little later after being sleep deprived on a long trip. We had a great breakfast at the Best Western with everything you could want (except for grits). At 9am we left on a bus to drive to the Badaling section of the Great Wall. This section is the most famous of the Great Wall. And also the most crowded. It is amazing to be driving on the highway and then to begin to see sections of the Great Wall winding through the mountains in the distance. We began our trek and were amazed at some of the very steep parts. It was unusually hazy and cool so the vision was limited. There is no feeling to describe actually being at one of the Great Wonders of the world. It was majestic.
On our way back from the Great Wall, we drove past many of the Olympic venues. China has done an unbelievable job in preparing to host the Olympics. We saw the main stadium, which the Chinese have named "The Bird Nest" due to its unusual architecture. We also saw the Aquatic center, the athletes village, and other sporting venues. The summer Olympics in Beijing should be spectacular.
We returned back to our hotel to get prepared for our flight to Chongqing which leaves early in the morning. The team is anticipating getting to Jiang jin and spending time with the children.

Dragon boats and Zongzi
Sunday June 8 in China is a national holiday. The Dragon Boat Festival is commemorated by dragon boat races and eating zongzi. Zongzi is a glutinous rice dumpling treat usually covered in bamboo leaves. The festival celebrates the death of the great poet Qu Yuan. He drowned himself because he felt the country was heading in the wrong direction. His followers hopped in their boats to retrieve his body. They threw zongzi in the river so that the fish and crabs would leave Qu Yuan's body alone. China's culture and history is amazing.
We flew for 2 hours to Chongqing and were able to spread out with extra space on the plane. Bummed that we didn't find a Starbucks on the way, we drank Chinese tea and coffee.
We arrived in Chongqing amid the rain. Chongqing is a HUGE and growing city in Southwest China. China is pouring a lot of resources into making Chongqing an important gateway city. After driving into the city, we decided that we wanted to truly experience the culture. So we ate lunch at Pizza Hut. Ok, we compromised by eating at an American establishment but we knew that we would only be eating Chinese food for the next 6 days. Right next to the Pizza Hut is a Starbucks so we looked the part of the typical American walking down the street with a Starbucks in hand. Then we visited the old city of Chongqing. It was a fascinating look at what the city looked like hundreds of years ago.
We boarded a bus headed for Jiang Jin and traveled for approximately one hour. During the ride we were entertained by the vocal talents of Tim Bennett as he led us in songs by the Doobie Brothers, Charlie Daniels, Jason Sears and the Bee Gees. We had a fun time singing on the bus.
We arrived in Jiang Jin about 4pm. It was good to get out of the big cities and to get a view of what typical Chinese cities are like. We definitely get stared at more here than Beijing or Chongqing. We ate dinner at the Shugou Garden Hotel and then went to the supermarket across the road. After that, we headed to bed as we awoke early this morning. Tomorrow morning the orphanage director will meet us at the hotel and we will spend time with the children. We are uncertain what to expect but are excited about our day.
Thanks to each of you for thinking about us and standing in the gap. We feel that we are not alone here."