A Bump In The Road

On day two of our arrival to China, our video camera went kerplunk. After 4 ½ months of over use and abuse, bouncing around in a backpack through 5 different countries, it has gone to video heaven. Cannon HV10, you've been good to us until now....R.I.P.

So now we are in a jam. dam. The formatting system in China is different from U.S., so buying a new camera here is no easy option. And having one sent to us from home isn’t easy either...We have heard story after story of mail never arriving, or being tampered with, or just sitting in the post office for weeks because the postal workers were unable to read mailing addresses written in English, only Chinese characters.

DO-DO!? We have spent our first 3 days in China, talking with sketchy local electronics dealers, trying to find a solution. We've spent loads of time on SKYPE with with friends, family, and our sponsor Rowe Photo at midnight (b/c of the time difference) to get a new video camera. We are now trying our luck to find someone traveling from the US to China in the next 30 days before our visas expire to deliver a new video camera. Any volunteers?! (smiles)

In the next few weeks, we will be visiting deaf schools/organizations, connecting with the deaf community in Beijing, Changchun, Xi’an, Wuhan, etc. Unfortunately, filming may not be an option for this leg of our trip. But we will continue to document what we learn through our newsletter, pictures, blogs, etc.

Keep us in mind and send some wishful thinking that our tech problems will be solved soon.