Flight to Beijing booked

Today I made my planned trip to Beijing a reality. Today I booked my airline tickets there and back. I had hoped to take a non-stop flight, or if I had to stop somewhere it would be in Canada. The travel agent found a flight that stops in Chicago on the way out and San Francisco on the way back for about $800 less than either a non-stop or a stop in Vancouver. The Chicago stop is nearly three hours but it is about lunch time so eating will take some time. And I will have both my laptop and my Kobo (thank you Kyle and Lindsay) so I should not be too bored. I leave Toronto the morning of June 28 and arrive in Beijing the afternoon of June 29. That sort of makes sense. When I come back I leave at noon on July 14 and arrive in Toronto about supper time on July 14 even though I will be traveling for eighteen hours. The joy of time zones.
I thought at first I would send this news to family and friends by e-mail. The list of recipients of the e-mail kept getting longer and longer so I decided this method would make more sense. I started the blog this early not because I have a lot to say right now but because I am so excited. Going to China has been a dream of mine for many years. I never thought it would happen. I did a lot of overtime this past semester so there is "extra" money and I have almost-family (hello Bo) in Beijing this year. So I will have an almost-friendly tour guide who will try to make sure I don't get lost and who, I hope, will stop me from paying exorbitant prices for things.
I don't expect to write too much until I arrive in Beijing. I will try not to bore you too much with my preparations. I am going to use this blog not only to keep you informed but also as a record for myself. So you may hear about my travails at the Chinese Consulate (if any) or my reactions to any shots or other preventative medicine I have to get. And how does one prepare for a two week journey whose destination is half way around the world? I don't know -- I have never done this before. My passport is as pristine as the day it was issued.