I'm sure that some of you are wondering what my first impression of China is…I don't think that I am able to answer that fully at this time since all of it is so new. But I think the thing that sticks out in my mind is how much more Western it is than I thought it was going to be. Now, keep in mind that the previous response is based on my limited contact with China at this point…I've only been here a few days. :) And we have been to some fairly "Western" places like Walmart and KFC. But you do see Hondas, Audis and Jeeps. I think once I scratch beneath the surface and really get time to interact with the Chinese, I will see that it isn't Western at all; it just appears that way on the surface.
I arrived safely on Thursday morning. The airport is out in the rural area so there were a lot of corn fields surrounding the area. I figured it would be more crowded since 7 million people live here, but I was pleasantly surprised. Downtown will be a different story, I'm sure. I had my first true Chinese meal and the food was excellent!
Today, a group of us went on an excursion to Walmart…yes they have Walmart here too. It was very much like Walmart in the States but, of course, there are many Chinese brands. Although, I was quite surprised, there are many signs in 
English. And they have English brands as well like Oil of Olay, Vidal Sassoon, Lancome, etc. We were getting quite a few stares because our baskets were full of stuff. In China, it isn't considered rude to stare at people. I suspect that will take some getting used to. One thing that is different with the Walmarts here is how many people they have working. They have at least one person on every aisle. In the States, you struggle to find someone who can help you; that is not an issue here. Afterwards we went out to lunch at KFC. It was pretty tasty; a little different than what we are used to since there is more dark meat. The fries and the pop tasted the same though. 
This evening we met as a whole team. I am looking forward to being a part of this new team and seeing how I can fit in and help. The next two immediate weeks are going to be our training time, and then the two weeks after that will be camp.
*Deidra*