Did you see the Beijing Opening Ceremonies last night? They were off the hook! I feel sorry for London because there is no way they will top what China pulled out last night. Over and over we would gasp at how amazing the artistic portion of the opening ceremonies were. We had a party to show off our China pics and watch China's big night... also I wanted an excuse to eat lots of dumplings and wear my I Love China T-shirt. Jia-yo! Jia-yo! (That's right, I can only count to seven, but somehow I learned how to cheer in Mandarin while I was there)
Awwwwwwwww... just typing Jia-yo makes me very nostalgic for China and for the days where my days were filled with walking and eating dumplings and kebabs. I think Arnold misses China too because he seems to be googling "Spanish teacher jobs in China" an awful lot lately. It's really hard to explain how easy it was to grow attached to China. In the US you hear a lot about the Chinese governement and all the stuff they are always doing, but just as I would prefer not to be judged by my governement's actions, the Chinese can't be judged solely by their governement. People in China were very kind and accomodating to us, which I haven't found to be the case in other countries that I've visited. I feel that usually as an American tourist the initial reaction that I get from people is either annoyance, indiffierence or sometimes outright hositility, but in China it's very different... because the Chinese don't hate us... they hate the Japanese! Yay!

No, but seriously, after we were left to our own devices without Emily to navigate for us, we were helped by many, many Chinese people who gave us directions, helped us out and shared food with us. Another favorite activity was when people would shove their kids at us and then whack them upside the head until the kids started practicing English with us. "Hello! Where are you from? I'm learning English!" As the kids would sheepishly try out their phrases, their parents would stand behind them beaming with pride. Just one of the many reasons that I love China.... Jia-yo!