It’s been a whirlwind at work and I haven’t had adequate time to really sink into the reality that I’m off to China today. But, nonetheless, here I go.

Got picked up at the house and driven to EWR by a driver, Tony Vendetta, who does all of Eisenhower’s driving. Great guy, even better name, and a very nice way to do it. I got an upgrade to Business Class, so checkin was a breeze, and my colleague Adam gave me a card for the President’s Club (thanks!), so I’m hanging out in style with wifi and power to write this, my first trip post.

A rush of activity over the last week got me to this point. My schedule looks great. I start with a dinner tonight, and I have 3-4 meetings a day in Beijing. I do have one morning to visit the Forbidden City, but otherwise it’s packed. Then I’ll fly to Lhasa on Saturday and tour Tibet. The NYT conveniently had an interesting article on TIbet this week - China Seizes on a Dark Chapter for Tibet. I fly to Shanghai on Tuesday for another (less-packed) three days of meetings. I’ll add to the 40 million visitors to the World Expo while I’m in Shanghai; reports are that it’s absolutely amazing. Then home on the 28th.

My plan is to blog daily with summaries of my meetings. I have no idea if that’s a realistic goal.

Finally, here (again, for future Fellows) are some notes on all of the logistics leading up to my departure:

• My schedule is probably 80% filled. I got lots of advice to leave a lot of open time for ad hoc meetings and just to relax, but every next meeting that came up was too good to pass up. I had been warned that I could end up with too many Government and Academic meetings, but I think I may have ended up with too few! Happily I can address any imbalance when I go back in November.
• About 10 days ago we found out that my coordinator in China, Ms. Liu Yibo was going to be in Taiwan while I was in China and so she was replaced by Ms. Claire Zhang. I was concerned initially, but Ms. Zhang jumped right in with perfect and proactive follow-up and communication.
• I will have an interpreter, Charles Jiang, who works with Eisenhower a lot, with me for most of the trip. And a driver, Bai Gang when necessary.
• One of the key elements of courtesy that is different in China is the exchange of gifts. Frequently, I’m told, people I meet with will present me with a small gift – a tin of tea or a paperweight for example. When they do, I need to reciprocate. I got nice pens because they were relatively light and small and affordable.
• I was up to date on the vaccinations I needed. I got a first aid kit list from a friend who travels to China often, and picked just a few things from it to bring. Everyone tells me to stay 100% clear of the water, even for teeth brushing.
• My prior post outlined my phone situation – not straightforward at all. It turns out I don’t have an Eisenhower China mobile, so I guess I’ll just use the one I got from that same fried (thank you Yili!!!)
• Finally, a staple topic of every Fellow conversation: packing. Everyone says to pack light, so I did. I have a suit, a jacket, a skirt, a pair of dress slacks, a bunch of blouses, and two black shoes (one of which are sandals – it’s going to be hot there!). Plus jeans and t-shirts. And I’m wearing sneakers and a jacket (for Tibet). That plus my Yoga mat and a crazy array of electronics and protein bars fit in my standard roll-aboard. I hope I have enough stuff. It’s sure nice not to have to check any luggage. I’ll buy a bag in China to check on the way home with whatever I pick up while I’m there.