Oh yeah!

That was our constant refrain in Beijing, since it was one of the few
things Sally's hilarious Tibetan Monk-looking uncle could say in
English. That, and a mix of "Tian na!" and its English equivalent, "My
God!"

I ate duck brain. I arrived in Beijing and the first thing that
happened was that Sally's aunt and uncle whisked us off to a 600-year-
old Peking duck restaurant, where they cordially insisted that Sally
and I have the honor of splitting the duck's head. "It will strengthen
your brain, which you'll need in grad school! And you want to study
the brain, so, to eat is a way to study," Sally translated for me.

After much tooth-gnashing and muttering about prion diseases I finally
caved and ate about two cubic millimeters of cerebellum. It was ...
chewy, and gray-brown. At least it was very well-cooked.

That was the first adventure. Within the first day we also went to the
Great Wall (pictures later!), visited the Olympic Village (the complex
of buildings & open area where the 2008 Olympics were held), ate
dinner at a night market (highlights include: roast centipedes,
tentacles of unknown provenance, seahorses and testicles on sticks....
I ate eggs and lamb), and explored an expat enclave's bars and
restaurants.

I'm currently writing from my iPod in the lobby of our wonderful
hostel in Xi'an, waiting for our ride to show up, so I don't have time
to post pictures or go into detail. But I will, I promise! We just
arrived on an overnight train, which was great except for a bathroom
so horrific Sally didn't use it the whole 13-hour ride. I only did
once, and thereafter we both refused to drink any liquids except the
salty broth of our gourmet Ramen until we got to the hostel. 'Nuff said.

Now, Sally's uncle's boss's son, Tony, is due to pick us up to drive
us around the city! He's 19 and wants to practice his English.

Later tonight maybe I can finish up on Beijing. Miss you all a lot!!

Love, Beker