We've arrived!

Hi everybody! Ni hao!!!
Just wanted to let you know that WE'RE STILL ALIVE!!!! Internet has been difficult to come by (it's only available from 9am-5:30pm) but we finally got Mel's laptop online.

This is our third day in China and it's been great so far. Here are a few details about our trip so far:

TRAVEL
Greg and Esther arrived on Sunday afternoon and Melody and I were able to greet them at the airport :) On Monday, we took a bus from Hong Kong and it took about an hour and a half. We arrived here on Monday just after lunch and started lesson planning immediately.

TEAM MEMBERS
Our team has grown quite considerably! YAY! Micky, from Vancouver, joined us in Hong Kong (He has signed up to serve in the factories for 8 weeks so he is with us while we are in China) and when we arrived on Monday, we found out that the factory had an American intern named Grady. When we met Grady, he seemed very relieved to have some people to speak English to :) He does administration work in the office during the day but he has graciously helped us out during English classes in the evening. Everybody is getting along very well and we already feel like family.

ENGLISH CLASSES
We taught our first class the day we arrived and our second class last night. The first night was a little tricky because we didn't know any of the workers or their English skill level yet but once that was established, planning became much easier. Esther, Micky and I are teaching the advanced level (less Mandarin required!) while Mel, Greg, and Grady are teaching the beginner level. The workers love playing silly games and are also willing to sing silly songs. We've only been here three days but we already feel like some good friendships have been made. Everybody has been extremely gracious to us and we get very excited during meal times and English classes because we get to interact with the workers.

LANGUAGE
Melody, Micky and Greg have been quite good at communicating in Mandarin while Esther and myself are less proficient :) However, we have not been afraid to try out the Mandarin that we do know and our mispronounced Mandarin phrases have actually served as a great conversation starter.

THINGS WE ARE THANKFUL FOR
- great weather - it has rained the past two days which means that the temperature has been considerably cooler than the first day we were here
- good friendships - all of us have met great people and try to sit with them during meals so that we can get to know them even more
- Micky and Grady - we wanted more male members back in February and we have been provided with much more than we had asked for! (threefold!)
- our health - I haven't died from any allergic reactions yet and none of us have fallen ill
- local support - there have been many locals and factory administration members who have been able to support us in our endeavours. Their hospitality and kindness has blown us away.

Alright, I think that's it for now! Hopefully we can update more frequently now that we've figured out the internet situation.

Zai Jian!