We're going to China! (and Japan)

After waiting for four years, suddenly, things are happening quickly! We received our consulate appointment two days ago, which meant we could go ahead and book tickets. It also meant that Andy & I needed to make up our minds about a quite-possibly-crazy idea we had: visiting Japan en route to China. This would be part-business, part-pleasure, the business part being that we need to do some research and interviews for the book we're writing.

To make a long story short, we're going to do it! Carlyn will be out of school for three weeks (not counting jet lag), but we hope her teacher and principal will agree that it's an important opportunity.

We'll leave on August 28th, spend nearly four days in Japan, then travel to Beijing on September 2nd. This puts us in Beijing a day and a half earlier than the other families in our travel group, to maximize our sightseeing possibilities. One priority is the Summer Palace; we didn't get a chance to take Carlyn to see it in 2007, and that needs to be remedied.

We will travel to Nanchang and meet Maryn either on Sunday, September 5th or Labor Day! Our littlest sweetheart has only 25 or 26 more nights at the Zhangshu Social Welfare Institute.

We'll be in Nanchang and Guangzhou until the 17th, and will fly out of Hong Kong on the 18th. There is a lot to do, but the 28th can't come soon enough!