First day in China (kind of)

Well, this is one day late, but I was really tired last night by the time we got back to the hotel. The flight actually seemed to go suprisingly fast for a 14hr flight. We took off on time and actually arrived slightly early, which was good to try to account for the H1N1 flu check that China does. Health inspectors board the plane upon arrival and take everyone's temperature with a laser thermometer (on the forehead). I had heard that originally they would quarantine the entire plane if anyone had a temperature, but thought it had changed that it was now only the three rows surrounding an at risk person...I wasn't really sure though. So everything seemed to be okay, they checked everyone in about 15 minutes and left the plane. We were waiting a few minutes for the all-clear, but they then reboarded the plane and targeted a select person that was at risk. At least half-a-dozen inspectors, clothed in white haz-mat suits started doing further tests, not sure what, to collect more info. After about another 30-45 minutes, they finally let everyone except the 7 rows around the individual, which was luckily 7 rows behind where I was. I'm not sure how long they had to remain on the plane...I'm just happy we didn't have to go through that.

Anyway, after another 30minute wait for my co-workers baggage to arrive (not sure why it took longer than mine), we found our driver to take us the two hours to the hotel. The hotel is great! It is and extended stay/apartment type of hotel with a living room, dining area, kitchen, bedroom, bath, and balcony. It is in a very nice area of Suzhou which has numerous hotels and restaurants within walking distance. Right after checking into our rooms, our main contact at the facility contacted us to make plans for dinner. He sent a driver to pick us up and we met at a nearby restaurant. It appears that most of the restaurants are very westernized to cater to all the Americans/Europeans that visit the area. I had steak which was pretty good. We talked for awhile, but called it a night right after dinner. I was wide awake up until that point and then almost feel asleep when I sat down on the couch. I slept really well last night.

We had breakfast this morning at the hotel; they have a buffet in the restaurant. You can choose from a lot of different things from what we are used to (eggs, bacon, fruit) to fish, tofu, ... We have a driver that picks us up every morning for the 20min ride to the Cat facility. It is a very nice facility; most of it is completed, but there is still some construction going on. Work was good today, we still have a long way to go though. We worked from ~7:45 to 5:45, stopped in at the hotel, and then a few of us met up for another local dinner. Tonight was pizza at a small restaurant within walking distance. We were all pretty tired, so called it a night after that.

Well, that's about it right now. I'm pretty tired again, so I think I'm going to call it a night.