A word before we begin

We are safe and sound in a lovely hotel, very comfortable. Beijing is an enormous city (20 million souls), very vibrant. We move around freely, though there is not much English available. Without Zheng, Ellen's student from last year, we would have a much harder time.
If the blog is less coherent than we would like, it is because I cannot read it back. Blogger is blocked by China, part of the ongoing feud between the government and Google, which owns Blogger. I am posting these updates via a special email address provided for that purpose. We are relying on wi-fi in the hotel lobby.
Naturally, there are other things about traveling here that make it different from staying in Dallas, for instance, the global phone we obtained from Verizon does not work. But the trade is worth it.
It is cold here but no snow at this time.