Nanjing day 1: Our group arrived in Nanjing by overnite train last Friday morning. The sleeper car was set up six persons to a compartment, but because the bottom-rung beds in all the compartments had been reserved for our group, we had to share our cabins with other Chinese people who occupied the upper bunks of each compartment. (Bottom-rung beds are considered more desirable because they also serve as seats at the window level, whereas persons who occupy higher bunks have to sit on fold-out seats built into the side of the train car if they want to sit down for tea or to look out the window). So we had to trade privacy for some convenience which some members of our group considered a bad trade. On the whole, I'd say that that deal is pretty typical of the China experience. More on our new life at Nanjing Normal University in my next entry...!