Day One (and sort of two)

Well we've been doing the planes, trains, and automobiles thing. Actually over the last 24 hours we've done all three. I'm sitting on our final flight right now and very much looking forward to being there in another hour. Lindsey has been a trooper though. I thought I was going to lose her to jet lag last night on the subway, but she hung in until we made it to the hotel. Here's a rundown of where we've been and what we've done over the past day or so (it is hard to keep time straight with that pesky international date line).

-flew to Vancouver: 4 hours plus a 2 hour layover
-flew to shanghai: 12 hours plus a 2 hour subway ride to our hotel and spent the night
-flew to LJ 4 more hours (and swearing I'm not getting on a plane again for another 2 weeks).

China has this amazing tension of beauty and chaos all at the same time. Admittedly, I usually remember the beauty a lot more than I remember the chaos. Three things about the chaos I've remembered since we got here:

1) There are a lot of bad Chinese parents out there. And I know the same can be true for Americans, and I know I shouldn't criticize when I don't have kids, but there was this kid on our long flight next to us that was nuts. I'm talking screaming, kicking, rolling in the floor because he didn't get a window seat - nuts. And mom was just like 'please don't do that' and then she changed to another set on a different row for the rest of the flight. I'm not gong to lie though, I did laugh when he got his head stuck in between the seats in front of him. He had it coming. All I know is that the girl sitting next to him had the patience of Job. Every time I looked over he was hitting her or screaming in her ear.
2) There is a lot of garbage in China. It is one of the details that gets lost after you live here. I guess I got so used to it I didn't notice it anymore. All I know is that there is a lot of garbage in Shanghai.
3) The economy of things here is crazy. For instance: we had steamed dumplings last nights for dinner and coffee before we flew out. Dinner for 2 cost just under $1. Coffee for two, just under $10. I now remember why I avoided Western hangout spots.

Like I said before, Lindsey has been a complete trooper. This has definitely been the smoothest trip here yet, but it is still a long one. She has been adventurous enough to eat off the street and wanted to take the subway instead of a taxi when we landed. And she insists on carrying her own backpack, which is also a plus (she keeps talking about having to haul a backpack through Italy with a broken elbow and saying this is nothing compared to that). I'm looking forward to ditching those big packs once we land though.