...so much fun!!

Hi guys! I'll try not to ramble... I have so much to say! I've experienced so much in the last two days that I feel as if there isn't enough room to share it all!Yesterday, we didn't celebrate 4th of July. No fireworks, no hot dogs, no beer.
Matt and I went to "English Corner" after dinner and taught English to some Beijingers. Some knew basic English, others were more advanced, but all appreciated our help. I honestly went there for selfish reasons, I wanted to learn Chinese...but that didn't work out so well. I didn't learn a single word! It poured rain and ruined the fun atmosphere, but a nice Chinese girl offered to walk me home with her umbrella (yeah, I know what you're thinking) but she just wanted to practice English. They are so eager to please Americans. I had a hard time explaining ''who'' I am. I'm a Canadian citizen, permanent resident of the United States and student at the University of Missouri in Columbia...not Columbia University in New York City :). I had a bunch of Chinese ask me to vote for Obama because they were unhappy with "Jog Buz." It only got more confusing when I told them I couldn't vote (I'm Canadian), but I am allowed to live permanently in the United States. I was told citizenship is a whole different ballgame here... you belong to the major city you live in. You apply for Beijing citizenship, Shanghai citizenship, etc... and your national citizenship comes second. I had a lot of fun there last night, and plan to go back next Friday night with more friends.
Today, we went to the Forbidden City. WOW! Mixed in with Tienanmen Square, its architecture is almost as amazing as Vatican City. I'm not kidding about the following statement... so please take it seriously. They just closed the Starbucks inside of the Forbidden City last month. Imagine having a Starbucks inside of Colonial Williamsburg or inside of the Colosseum in Rome??? It doesn't make sense?? But they had one, our tour book advertised it, but it was out of date!
Food here is good! I'm eating a lot of chicken....and tofu...and rice....and noodles. I really think I hit those four food staples at every meal. I did have Papa John's the other night, because some of us needed "American" food. It filled the void! We don't have a fridge in the room, so we don't keep food here...it's good and bad. Good because we don't overeat... bad, because we're always starving! The food on campus is good, but cheap. A huge portion of food with a large bowl of rice and a 600mL soda is $3.00. No joke...everything in this country is cheap--as long as you stay out of the touristy and "American" areas. We're headed out to a bar district in a few minutes, so it should be interesting what drinks cost. A beer on campus and in our neighborhood is about .38 cents.

Allison (the other Canadian on the trip from Mizzou) and I were asked to appear on a Chinese-language talk show a week Monday. It's supposedly the most popular talkshow in China, similar to Oprah, but hosted by a man, so sorta like Larry King. We decided our host's name would be Choprah, which is short for Chinese Oprah. We're going to be asked questions in Chinese, have them translated and respond back.... this should be interesting. Wish us luck :)

Language is still a problem, and won't likely be solved soon. Although many Chinese know basic "hello," "goodbye," "Richard Nixon," and "Michael Jackson," we have trouble getting around. We learn basic Chinese phrases in a "trial by fire" manner. I keep a notebook of quick phrases, but keep on forgetting to bring it with me...and of course, I always need it when I don't have it!
The group from Mizzou is having fun, and we're all getting along well. I haven't laughed so much in my life... we're all having fun here, although most of us can't believe we're here! It's crazy!

I'm going to post some video tomorrow of a traditional tea ceremony in Beijing and some pictures of our hotel room.

Oh, and there are a couple of kids arriving from UNC-Chapel Hill on Tuesday. I went through the roster and recognized some names from South Charlotte Middle and South Meck! What a small world!!!!

Take care, miss you all!

Now, off to the bars!

Mark