Welcome To China

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So...this was too funny...
Yesterday after my Italian class my friend Esther invited me to go with her to meet up with some girls doing mission work/studying in spain. She met them on a weekend trip up there to visit friends, and we were going to meet them and show them around since there here for a visit. We got to the Pantheon a little early so we decided to just sit on the corners of the pillars at the front to wait. There's always a ton of people in that area in the evenings, and that night was no exception.
We noticed a group of oriental people taking pictures one pillar down, every time I looked over they grinned broadly at us...a little different, but hey, they're excited about being in Rome or something... Finally, after much grinning and nodding, which they seem to like to do a lot, they come over and ask Esther to take pictures of the group so they can all be in the picture. While Esther is taking pictures they decide that I should be in the picture with them, then more pictures, then they motion for me to take pictures and Esther to get in with them, then pretty soon one of their group takes over so that we're both in the pictures with them. After who-knows-how-many pictures, they ask our names and where we're from, and are completely excited to find out that we're from the States. They ask for our e-mails so they can send us the pictures, and while we write and talk they continue to snap off pictures and talk excitedly in chinese, all the while saying over and over in english "Welcome to China!!" After awhile they headed out smiling and all excited, it was such an odd meeting. So if I get an e-mail of our pictures I'll post them so you can all see. Never know what you're going to see/be a part of in Rome.

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