Introduction and Getting Prepared

Ni hao ma!

I figure to get this post started, I'll give you more information about our departure. We are flying out from Houston on August 13th in the morning to Newark and then onward to Beijing. I didn't really think of New Jersey as an international jumping point, but I suppose it makes sense.

This weekend Lauren and I move most of our belongings to San Antonio with Tim and Stephanie. For those of you who don't know, Tim is my friend and ex-roommate who is moving into an apartment in Houston with Stephanie, Lauren's sister. We are taking much to Lauren and Stephanie's dad's house and helping them move to Houston from there. When we return, we will pack the rest of our stuff to take to San Antonio and spend much time saying goodbye to friends before we go to Houston to catch our flight.

Preparing for a long international trip is mostly freezing accounts, getting shots (luckily none are advised fro Bejing), and making sure finances are good (student loans and costs of living abroad.) Lauren and I still need to get dental check ups before we leave, but other than that we only need to finish packing. The only hang-up I have found so far is that Verizon does not offer any year-long account freezes, so we have to cancel our accounts and pay the fees required. I am not happy with that, and will not be a returning customer when we get back.

In preparation, friends should add either gregwebster or lauren.neal to Skype so we can talk to you in person from China!

Lauren and I are definitely nervous but excited. This will be fantastic, and we are going to enjoy this so much. Thanks for coming along for the ride with us!