Email from Nate and Mrs. Lim

This morning we have received two email messages from China. One is from Nate and the other from Mrs. Lim, his Chinese teacher.

From Nate:

hey guys! so now were in Xi'an. and ill try and recap the whole trip so far.

so, i dont remember what happened when i last emailed you, but ill start from tieniman square.

when we first saw it it just looked like a huge building. but as we got closer, it looked enourmous. and when we went inside, i thought about glutany. there were so many "gates". really, there were just excuses for more buildings. that day was hot. i think it gave elizabeth heat exaustion. but dont worry, shes the only one that was sick.

we saw a chinese actobat show. it was so much better than the one at proctors. but i dont know why.

when we went to see the summer palace, we just really went to go see a huge building. that was nice?

one of my favorite parts of the trip, and i dont know why id tell you this, but the foot massage. and it was really great because the masuse for me zac and joe (so, the 3 masi), didnt, or at least we think didnt, speak a word of chinese. so the whole time, they called me stupid. cute, but stupid. i enjoyed myself.

that was the first thing that made me hate this country. the second was barganing. because, in order to bring moms precious tea set home, i had to get luggage. i didnt want to pay 250 yuan for a bag i thought would be to small, so i TRIED to walk away. this woman grabbed me and dragged me back. 3 times.

i was scared.

pictures dont work, so ill use facebook.

and im tired, so im gonna go. but i love you guys, and miss you a lot! and i promise that when i get home, you"ll still have the same grumpy teenager.

bye guys!

From Mrs. Lim

Dear Parents,

Sorry for not blogging regularly. We have very slow computers and network problems in the hotel. And most days, we came back really late and the kids are tired.

I have problem with the blog too so I will update everyone on what happened the past few days:

The 4 days in Beijing was magical. The kids got to see the tourist spots and of course, many climbed the Great Wall. The heat was unbearable but I got everyone drinking water every few minutes so it was OK. The kids tried all types of Chinese authentic food - I think we have visited a total of 8 restaurants so far. Don't worry - no monkey brains. They were all delicious food and not just simply Sesame Chicken or General Tso's Chicken.

Some of us went for a foot massage. It was so comfortable that the kids felt asleep on the massage bed. I was with them and they had so much fun talking to the locals.

The best part of the trip so far was the shoping at Hong Qiu Shopping district. They get to bargain and some storekeepers gave them really good prices because they speak Chinese. Many kids asked me what they should get for their parents and families. (Aren't they sweet? Thinking about their parents all the time). I hope I have given them good advice. We have a great tour guide which the kids love. In addition, we have 2 other teachers that accompanied us. The hotel was 5 star and everything was very comfortable.

We visited the Hanban on Wednesday and that opened our eyes to many opportunities they offer to American students. One of them was the full scholarship they offered for students to study Chinese in Beijing, all expenses paid. Zach, Kate, Joe are already talking to them on the application procedure. On the whole, we were treated very well by everyone.

At first some students were hesitant to speak Chinese to the locals, worried that they may laugh at them. But now

everyone is talking, even Mally, Isabel and ELizabeht. Oh, I have to tell you about Nate - Chinese just love his ginger hair. He was asked to take photos with many locals. I think he felt like a celebrity.

Halle was our Public Relations officer who made the effort to talk to the kids from other schools. They made a lot of good friends from schools in Buffalo, Montana and Rhode Island.

We arrived Xian last night and everyone was tired because of a 2-hour flight delay. But the school has arranged a welcome dinner for all of us. We went to a really nice restaurant and guess what, they served us dishes after dishes. We counted - there were a total of 18 dishes! I don't know how they expect us to finish all those food. But we appreciate what they have prepared for us.

The Bo-Ai school principal was very nice. He kept asking the students what they want to eat for their meals so that he can change the menu for us. All the staff was very nice to us. Though the dorms are not as grand as the hotel in Beijing but we are thankful for their hosptiality.

All the teachers have a meeting with them this morning and I requested for more sightseeing instead of just swimming because Xian is a very old city with a lot of history. I think the students will enjoy this ancient city.

All the nine kids are in the Intermediate class. You know - I am so proud of them. I may be biased but I think my students have the best manners, they are funny, friendly and have such a strong desire to learn. I just love them!

Ok - talk to you all again.

Everyone is fine and

Diana Lim

Chinese Teacher