It is so very different here, and so wonderful.  The people are extremely
friendly and go out of their way to serve us.  It is really unbelievable.
We have been treated like royalty.  We took trip to the Great Wall
(incredible!!!), Pan Shan mountain (we hiked up a trail and came to a temple
where we witnessed a buddhist ceremony (it was a special day of some sort),
Ming tombs of emperors, we went to a seaside resort, and have explored some
parts of Tianjin city like culture street and antique street.  We have eaten
so many extravagant banquets that they keep calling, "simple meals."  The
food is VERY different and I have eaten some foods I have never had before
like, tripe, tree fungus, pigeon (although I did not take any of the heads
with the eye sockets), MANY different kinds of shellfish, dried whole fish
(scales, eyeballs and all), raw lobster, and many, many unidentified
objects.  I was not brave enough to try to cAnd some of the males do a great
deal of drinking.  It is customary to toast one another, "Gambay!"  and to
finish your glass as a sign of respect to the person you are toasting.  At
one meal, you probably engage in at least 10 individual or group toasts.

Last night was our first night in our dorm.  It was nice to be "home."  Our
dorm room is very comfortable, with air conditioning.  I felt like a
princess sleeping in my bed last night with the white mosquito netting
hanging down around me.  I have been bitten five or six times, but it has
not been a real problem. Today four women cooked lunch for us in our kitchen
and it was DELICIOUS.  They will cook lunch for us daily.  We have so many
people who are here solely to meet our needs.  It is kind of strange to be
waited on so much.

When we walk on the street people stare.  But when you wave and say hello in
Chinese ("Nee how"), they usually grin widely, somewhat embarrassed, and
respond back with "Nee how". We visited two middle/high schools and two
primary schools.  I can't wait to show you some of the video footage.  At
the primary schools we visited dance, singing, and keyboarding (piano)
classes, where the children performed for us.  It brought tears to my eyes.
I felt so silly standing there fighting back the tears because I was worried
about what they would think about the American teacher crying.  It was
wonderful.  Definitely a highlight of our trip.  We also spent two evenings
at the homes of Mr. Wang (head of the International Dept. at the school
where I am teaching, he is really the one in charge of the exchange
program), and Ms. Sun (his assistant and master teacher).  They were
wonderful evenings.  They are such warm and generous people.

The country is so different, of course.  The standard of living is much
lower.  The streets are very crowded with bicycles and taxis and there does
not seem to be any rhyme or reason to the traffic flow.  There doesn't seem
to be any right-of-way rules, you just sort of move ahead and everyone flows
around each other.  It was kind of scary at first, as there are many close
calls.  When you are walking you can't stop to wait to let bicycles go by,
you just keep moving at a steady pace and the bicycle part like the red sea
and move around you.  If you stop, you could cause a major accident.  The
standards of cleanliness are very different than ours, there is much litter
and pollution. And most public restaurants and bathrooms would not meet our
country's health codes.  Most of the bathrooms are not as bad as I was
anticipating, though.  Our dorms are very clean, however.  There is a woman
who comes in every morning to clean.

The countryside is beautiful and we drove through several country villages.
They consist of primitive brick buildings, many haystacks, farm animals
(although you do not see many dogs or cats -- you have to pay a hefty fee to
own a dog). In the country, many of the doorways simply have beads hanging
in them rather than a door or they have nothing at all.  We saw a street
sweeper that consisted of handmade straw brooms bound onto a circular disc,
rotating.  Another common sight was peasants spreading the wheat kernels out
in long stretches on the roadway to dry (you just drive around them).  There
are so many sights to tell you about, it will be nice to have my pictures
and videos to share with you.

Please forward this letter to my friends and family.  It will make it easier
because I will only have access to e-mail sometimes (I don't want to
monopolize their one computer that is on-line). If they would like to write
back (I'd love it) have them send it to you and you can attach it to one of
your notes to me.

Sally