May 6-7

Greetings from Shanghai, the second largest city in China at 25 million people!  Our trip started out at either 6 am in Minneapolis or 7 am in Sioux Falls, and then a quick two hour flight to Dallas.  We had an hour layover, just enough to stretch our legs, and indulge in Starbucks and McDonalds!  15 hours later we arrived in Shanghai, and learned the lesson of patience by going through multiple lines in the Pudong airport.  Everyone’s luggage arrived, too, and then we met our guide Nancy (she chose the name after Nancy Reagan), and the in-country journey began.  We drove about an hour to a restaurant and Nancy told us that 30 years ago that whole area was farm ground and water, and now there are buildings EVERYWHERE.  We got to enjoy a wide variety of Chinese food and are trying new things.  Everyone did fairly well with their chopsticks, and that will only get better.  Another 45 minute drive to our Ramada, and then we checked into our rooms.  Tomorrow we have a great first full day by going to the US Consulate and meeting with our Ag Attache’, and representatives from the US Meat Export Federation and Tysons.  After a tour of a Dakotronics factory, we will see a lot more things.  However, more details will follow with tomorrow’s bloggers.

Thank you all for your support in making this extraordinary experience possible, and we hope you get to enjoy at least some of the things we see, learn, and do through this blog.