Technical Difficulties

Not exactly, more like packing difficulties. Upon arriving in China we took out our laptop and found that in the rush to pack I (Mark) had somehow brought only one-half of the cord to plug in the computer. Only once in two years has the cord come apart—why now? After trying all the cords of the rest of our group (who knew Dell had some many different adaptors) we finally went to a computer store in search of a new cord. The computer store was a four-story electronics mall with every conceivable electronic device on the planet in exhibition booth style. Finding the Dell store on the corner of the third floor we discovered it was the only store in the place that was closed. Inquiring of the guys in the non-descript store next door led the man to walk in the back room and come out with the perfect cord for our computer. A miracle in Beijing. And only 30 yuan (about $4). The cab ride to the store took about 20 minutes and it cost 13 yuan (about $1.50). Thanks to the 7.75-1 exchange most things here are quite inexpensive for tourists. Now we can try to be bloggers. Wish us luck.