Ah, Beijing

My thoughts are of China today, as they have been ever since our trip was confirmed. It's been a life-long dream of mine to visit the People's Republic and it's come true! With this realization comes the business of preparation, so for the next few months I'll be busying (is that a word?) myself with such trivialites as learning the correct symbol for the men's bathroom and how to navigate in a world so different than ours. I'm excited yet, at the same time, really guarded for fear that this trip won't actually happen. I guess it's like that for all dreams that one secretly fears will never materialize. But, as of today, things are a go and I'm dreaming of all the exotic foods I'll have the opportunity to eat. Believe or not, I'm really stoked over the prospect of eating foods that most have only seen watching Fear Factor. You know, the disgusting, gross out stuff that reality TV contestants have to gag down to the delight of us American boob tube voyeurs. Stuff like coconut grubs, giant cockroaches, scorpions, worms, and other delightfully exotic fare. Thanks to folks like Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmern, I'm actually longing to treat my palette to things that Americans find disgusting. I found this picture today of a street vendor in Beijing, our first scheduled stop, selling scorpions on a stick. Can't wait to post of picture of me eating one. They are supposed to be very good for you. We'll see. Hopefully, I won't spend my whole trip searching for the men's room.