Thanks for offering to wait up for me at the airport, I realize I land almost an hour after Callie, but if it's not too much trouble for us to get the same ride that'd be great. : )

Don't worry Ysabelle, I haven't started packing yet either! When I went to Beijing last summer for 3 months I brought enough clothing to last me about a week and a half to 2 before I had to do laundry. Speaking of which, another for you Joan: are there laundry facilities nearby and should we bring our own detergent?

Another thing I was wondering was if everyone plans on bringing items from the needs list. Room in my backpack may be sparing but I can always pack my carry on nice and tightly! Some good family friends of ours work closely with the Johnson & Johnson company so I'll try to get in touch with them to see if I can get baby diapers en masse or anything else that may be needed. Said family friend is very excited about my trip to China and super interested in the work we'll be doing, so I'm sure she'd be willing to help out. Any thoughts? I'll also see if there are any old movies I have lying around.

One more thing! I met a friend of my brother's last night who's been living in Shanghai for about 10 months working for an advertising company. He's from Montreal like myself and speaks fluent Chinese so it was great getting a bit of a refresher (and talking in code in front of everyone else... heh heh). It made me really really excited to practice my Chinese when I arrive!

Take care everyone and see you all soon! : )
-lb.