THE FIRST TWO WEEKS (IN SUMMATION)

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So as to get everyone up to speed with my trip...I am going to summarize my last two weeks, and hit on the important parts.

We stayed with a host family Friday and Saturday night in the Shiz. My hostess (who had just graduated high school and was preparing to go study English in Nanjing) called herself Shane. Her mother's name was Sun Lili. We had a great time just hanging out. Saturday afternoon I helped Lili make dumplings - which were absolutely delicious. The two days went by quickly, and on Sunday morning, they brought us back to the dormitory we were staying in. Our group traveled to a city called Xiebaipo. It was where Mao organized with other members of his Communist party before taking over China. We got a tour of Mao's stomping grounds, and had a big lunch.

The following day, Monday, was our last day of training. The two Chinese teachers took me out to a really nice Sichuan restaurant and we talked about my lessons over the summer with their colleague - Liang Lanfang. Later that night we had a banquet, where we drank copious ammounts of bai jiu (Chinese rice wine). Around 9, we decided to find a KTV to sing karaoke. A group of over 20 of us aimlessly wandered the streets of the Shiz for 20 minutes until we stumbled upon a KTV bellow ground. The entrance looked like a stairway to a subway...but it led to two bars. We had a blast listening to Kirk sing in Chinese, while the rest of us belted hits from the early 90s and recalled our youth.

We caught the train to Guilin at 12:30 on Tuesday...and after 26 hours in a cramped, uncomfortable bunk...we made it. It was truely an unforgettable ride.

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