Hey! As promised, here come by updates and blog entries during my trip overseas for the Beijing Paralympics. We arrived at Kadena Air Force Base in Okinawa, Japan, yesterday and have now had one day to take in the sights and sounds of...little America, just not in America. :)

After leaving California, I flew to Colorado Springs to meet the team for our official processing. Some highlights...let's see...how about entering a large room and being given a shopping cart to take around to different stations, with staff and volunteers tossing t-shirts, shoes, jackets, what have you into the shopping cart. Trying on different sizes..."XS? S? Bunching too much here, there?" Getting the Ralph Lauren jacket and pants tailored. Opening ceremonies outfit. Closing ceremonies outfit. Just SEEING everyone from the team again and knowing there is a month of adventure to come. The Olympic Training Center is a pretty electric place to be during the Olympics.

On Saturday morning, we loaded up a DC-10 at Colorado Springs airport and said hasta luego to American soil. The Department of Defense has offered to host us for a week at Kadena Air Force Base, including the flight there and then onward to Beijing. So - a military plane it was....which was really about the same as a commercial jet, just with fewer annoying announcements and cleaner carpet. We each had 2-3 seats to ourselves - that was huge. The first leg was 5 hours to Anchorage, then a refuel and 8 more hours to Okinawa. Upon arrival we were greeted by handsome men (and pretty ladies, of course) in fatigues...the colonel...an amazing efficient unloading process...and then a dinner at the officer's club. I slept in this morning, then enjoyed a splendid breakfast - each meal is a huge buffet of pretty much anything you'd want (all planned by the USOC dietitian, so tastily healthy). After that a few hours of assembling my chair and checking the alignment, then a bit of lunch, then a took a little trip to the commissary (a.k.a. grocery store to civilians...look sharp, people).

My "sponsor" - or host - is an awesome lady named Marsha who is from Virginia. She is so, so sweet and drove me over to the commissary. I love checking out a new place in the world by scoping how they stock the shelves at the grocery store - totally interesting. As you'd expect, this place was pretty much just like Safeway but with more expensive fruit (REALLY expensive) and a few Japanese brands of some of your major products. I got my goods and we headed back....quick massage/stretch and then out for afternoon training! It's about 85 here with 90% humidity, so you pretty much feel like you're in the shower the moment you step outside. I felt a bit heavy in training, but, I think to be expected after that much travel.

With that, I need to retire, it's 22:00 here and Private Blauwet needs her rest. Talk soon! Love, cheri