3/16/12, 07:30 EST; 3/16/12, 19:30 Beijing Time; 3/16/12, 11:30 GMT; Chengdu, China

I’m currently doing my best to stay awake as long as I can in an attempt to adjust to local time.  My three room mates seem to have succumbed and I’m not sure how long I can hold out.  Probably trying to write under the influence of jet-lag is about the dumbest thing on earth, but here I sit.  By the time the lines for getting the boarding passes opened in Beijing, we were running a little close to our departure time.  Then we had to switch lines a number of times before we got in “the right line”.  By this time we were getting a little concerned about making our flight, but were able to race through security and make it on the plane on time and with limited loss of property.  Once we were on we settled down and tried to eat some of the airline food provided.  I’m not sure which is more revolting, Chinese breakfast gruel or airplane food, but I do know that the combination of the two was not very appetizing (although I must allow that, due to its bland nature, it couldn’t really be called disgusting either).  Of course, things started to pick up after we landed and left the airport and actually got to see some of China.  (Dawn was just breaking when we left Beijing, and all of China seemed to be enveloped by a large cloud during our flight to Chengdu.)  One of the things that surprised me most about Chengdu initially is the amount of greenery.  Almost every roof is covered with bushes, small trees, and other plants.  After arriving at the private school that will serve as our base of operations for the duration of our time in Chengdu we went strait into rehearsing our music, taking a break in the afternoon for lunch.  After we finished practicing (maybe around 15:00) we were all connected with our hosts, and had the opportunity to take a shower for the first time since Wednesday mourning (about 45 hours and ____ miles ago) which most of us took advantage of.  After that, my room mates and I joined a different family for dinner, since our own host family had another engagement, where we are currently residing/sleeping. 

P. S. I managed to stay awake until we returned to our host family’s apartment at around 21:00.  My room mates slept through the night without much trouble despite their prolonged naps.