Hello from China!

Each of our camp teams are still doing well. Some of our people are struggling with tiredness and some stomach problems, so you might be thinking about them. Nothing too serious though!

The Fuzhou team left on Thursday to make their way by train down to Fuzhou. They will be starting their camp in a couple of days. The Zheng Zhou team is doing well. They have 46 students, and things are running smoothly. The Fang Shan team is also working with about 45 students, and having a great time. The Hohhot team is working with about 240 students, and things are running pretty smoothly there too!

Here is a post from Tony, one of the teachers at the Hohhot camp:

So much has happened since our last blog and its only Wednesday day six! So here’s the scoop. We stay in two hotels, one we’ve labeled the “Palace” and the other we’ve lovingly labeled the Ghetto (better pronounced with a slight British accent). I will speak for the Ghetto as it is where I currently reside. The accommodations carry the deepest essence of the Hohhot Culture. The rooms are quaint and small. When we take showers we stand beside the toilet as the entire bathroom becomes the shower (yes we took pictures). After Gary and I fixed our shower and got our toilet working we settled in quite nicely. One thing we do know, is that we would most certainly not trade it for a room at the “Palace” as we are only two blocks from our English Camp and enjoy giving the others a bad time about their posh environment.

As I write I’m listening to the screams of over 200 children in the court yard doing games and activities led by Gary and the other leaders. It is quite a site! Words can hardly express the joy in our hearts as we interact with these beautiful people. Classes are fun. Many students in my class speak English very well so I feel like I am helping them improve their speaking skills. They struggle with "TH", "W", "V", and "R" sounds in our words. I have them teach me some Chinese words in class so they can laugh at my pronunciation. Chinese is very difficult to speak.

Now for some culinary insight, last night a few of us braved the street vendor scene searching for more “cultural” experiences. We ordered what looked like meat on a BBQ for three of us which came to nine quai (Chinese dollars), about $1.28 in American money according to Bob (who else would know). At any rate, it tasted quite good with a slight Cajun flair so we decided to bravely ask what it was (the cook spoke a little English). By then we had decided that it was likely some kind of poultry. The cook informed us that it was chicken heads which explained the funny hooked bones otherwise known as beaks. And the tiny little mushrooms we kept finding… yeah, those were eyes. Pretty cool huh?! We were hoping it was a little more exotic than chicken but we had fun making them talk at the table and there’s always tomorrow.

Attitudes remain great as tiredness sets in (long days short nights). Many are longing at this time for the wonderful call of nature (typical symptom when traveling, glad I missed that one!) maybe nature is speaking Chinese?

Though all are going above and beyond, I am quite proud of our young people who continue to work hard with great attitudes. Parents you can all be proud. I wish you could see this, your kids are amazing! Living together we do find out things about each other that we may never fully share back home. I can say that Bob is still a math wiz in China, Elena has found her inner Mongolian (Funny Eric didn’t mention that), and I’m not so sure Curt should be wearing shorts.

We visited a Budhist temple yesterday afternoon. Amazingly ornate and so many idols! Watching people bow down brought tears to our eyes. I had an exciting conversation today with one of the Chinese teachers. We all send our love.

Tony