luckiest of the lucky.

never have i ever....had a vacation start off this smoothly. duff and i safely arrived on hainan island last night, after a brief (2 hour flight) from wuhan. since then, everything has been going enormously well. the plane didn't crash. we immediately found a great hotel with bus from the airport. slept well. early morning bus to sanya. we flew into haikou, at the north end of the island, and easily got an express bus to sanya, the resort area, at the south end of the island. the drive was beautiful. it looked like southern india, palm trees dipping over canals and small waterways...lush hills....oh, and rice paddies. we very easily found an excellent hostel in sanya, a 100 kuai answer to the 600 kuai resorts surrounding us. the hostel has great services...towles, and straw hats and mats for the beach, balconies that overlook the ocean....and wireless internet. it is true. duff brought his computer so i could finish up the very little i have to write of my final exams (i am writing a different exam for every class to cut down on cheating, but that means i am writing 10 exams). i cannot believe our luck. it was going to be a lot of time at the internet cafe. it is hard to be away from internet while planning a huge trip, trying to find jobs, and moving away from somewhere we have lived for two years.

this afternoon we spent three hours on the beautiful beach. the waves are HUGE (like sri lanka huge) and fun to play in. i am all tuckered out. we are off to catch dinner and the sunset at an outdoor restaurant.

lindsey jackson: if you can make it down here this weekend, do.