Live from Nanjing.

Last February Brad woke me up with the question, "Do you want to go to China?"  Why not?  And so began our journey to Nanjing, China.  Brad has a sabbatical from the University of Michigan this year, and we decided to do something totally different.  The BYU China Teachers program was it.  We applied, were accepted, received training and have been placed at Nanjing University, located a couple of hours west by bullet train from Shanghai. 

Nanjing means southern capital (Beijing mean northern capital), and has served as the capital of China at different times over China's long history, most recently in the early 20th century.  It is a city of stark contrasts between old and new, clearly evident by the picture I'm including in this post.

We arrived this week and have spent the last three days fulfilling all the government's requirements to work legally in the China.  My favorite sign appeared in the Health Department this morning -- "form filling station" -- the perfect description of how we've spent our first days in the country.  Our hosts are wonderful and patiently move us from place to place, interpreting and easing our way through it all.

I can tell there will be many stories to tell, and I look forward to sharing this journey with my family and friends.

The Nanjing University administration building in the shadow of Nanjing's tallest building, the Zifeng Tower.