Getting "tea"sed in Beijing!

Hello, everyone!

We made it to Beijing, just fine. Flight was *great.* It was also a breeze to get through customs, and we were greeted by Ellen's former student Zhong, who is a Beijing resident and native-born! We had a slight difficulty with the taxi, as we learned that most taxis are equipped to take people with less luggage and no instruments. So we had to take two taxis AND - since Zhong went with Ellen and Bob, I was given the immediate task of getting my taxi driver (alone) to our hotel in the Forbidden City. I did it, and apparently this really impressed the other taxi and its inhabitants (what option did I have? Stay at the Beijing Airport?) ...

This morning I woke up early (5:00AM!) and read for a while, then did yoga and took my first walk around our neighborhood at sunrise. I was greeted by street-food-carts, people doing their walking or tai'chi early in the morning. I found a beautiful park (pictures are attached) which I shared with Ellen and Bob after breakfast.

Later this morning, I found a *beautiful* tea shop that gives a "free sample" of tea. In the United States, if you get a "free sample" (think Teavana or Wegmans), you are given a paper cup, you are expected to consume it immediately and then you are expected to leave the vendor alone. Not in China! I was treated to (and made two new friends immediately) my first native Chinese White Tea! I learned so much about it:

White tea is prepared with the water at 85° C.

The tea must be picked about 3-4 years before being consumed.

When you make an infusion of tea, you first fill the pot once, and dump all of the water out. Then you start serving it, including diffusing the tea and then pouring it into tiny cups.

You also do not pour new tea into a cup with old tea in it. In order to get new tea, you must either drink it or dump it out. When you dump it, it is best to dump it onto a smiling Buddha.

Today also marks a great day for China - there are a lot of new policy-and-politcal things happening here, and basically, we are three blocks from Tianamen Square, where the "inauguration" is happening -- today!