Hi Chris!!  Sun came by tonight to check on us (Sunday night) so she offered
to let me into her office to use the e-mail, so you get a surprise message!!

I thought I'd write about our mosquito score keeping so you can post it on
the web:

We began a mosquito score keeping system.  On the wall in our dorm, is a
score sheet:  "Us" (humans) and "Them" (mosquitos)  Every time they bite one
of us, they get a point.  Every time we kill a mosquito, we get a point.  As
of now, it is very close:  35 to 37, with the humans in the lead!!  (the gap
was closed when I got two bites today at Antique Street).

On Saturday night we went to a banquet honoring 7 AFS teachers who just
arrived from America.  They are from various places: PA, NY, MO, TX.  They
were very friendly and were interested in hearing about our experiences.
They have already been in Beijing for two weeks and will be in Tianjin for 2
weeks before returning home to America.  They will be working with 8th grade
students in the mornings.  They are staying in a hotel and working at the
Education Bureau Center (not at our school).  Just when I thought that we
had experienced all there was to experience in the way of Chinese banquets,
we had something new!  Peking Duck.  The chef brought two cooked ducks
(intact bodies with head, neck and all) and carved them in front of us.
Then, you wrap pieces of the meat in a thin pancake with plum sauce, green
onions and cucumber.  It was very delicious.

After the banquet, Sun and Mr. Wang took the four of us to the Crystal Palace
(a fancy hotel that hosts many foreign tourists).  We had been there once before
for drinks,  but on this night we were delighted to find that a live band was playing.
It was a band from the Philippines.  They sang American music and they were great!!
The two female singers were awesome!!  We were dancing and one of the
singers pointed at me and with a big smile, called me "dancing queen!!"  It
was very funny!  I later said to Marlene, "Isn't there a seventies disco
song called, "Dancing Queen?"  She agreed and we joked about rewriting the
song, Chinese style:  "Dancing Empress."  Well, wouldn't you know it,  in
the next set the band grooved with ABBA's (remember that group?) "DANCING
QUEEN!!"  Of course, we had to dance to it!!  In between sets, one of the
band members came over and talked to us for half an hour.  He was the guitar
player with a very nice voice, by the name of Lito (short for Angelito).

We have been learning from our students about traditional Chinese medicine.
In his journal, a student wrote telling us about some of the ingredients.
He says there are many different ingredients, including some things we could
not even imagine.  He gives some examples:  organs of little animals, snake
skin, worms, and SWALLOW MANURE!!  Marlene decided that she was
"manure intolerant."  I guess she won't be visiting the Chinese doctor!

Well,  I'll go for now.  It's 9:30 p.m.  I'll get ready for bed so I can be
bright-eyed for Tai Chi tomorrow morning.  It's hard to believe that we only
have one week left.  There are some things I'm looking forward to coming
home to, but I will also be very sad to leave.  I've made many friends and I
know that most of them I may never see again  :(    I hope someday I can
come back to China!!

I'm teaching Mon. and Tues. afternoon.  I'll get on-line at
lunch tomorrow, but I won't be able to write you a long e-mail until
Wednesday, when I have the afternoon off.

Love, Sally

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