Yes, there is a 4th of July in China ;)

Tonight Mr. Kline and I had the opportunity to eat dinner in the old city. Linhai used to have a wall around the city, but now only part of it is intact. We went to the old city gate, then walked through all the little buildings just inside the wall. I forgot my camera tonight & I am so upset about it! Andy and Miss Ren told us that we will come back with the students one evening (when it is cool) to walk the city wall. It is beautiful and very impressive.

The restaurant was very traditional- wood carvings, red laterns, and a koi pond in the middle. It also had multiple stories and private rooms, so that must be standard here. Also standard: "You can only get this food here! It is very special and unique to Linhai!" At least tonight unique didn't mean strange or weird- it was the best food I've had since we've been here! The veggies were normal- cucumber, bok choy, snap peas, and sweet potatoes. They had fish, pork kabobs, and beef (covered in breading and mayo? They really like mayo out of the squeeze bottle here- we've had it a lot) for meat. The best part of dinner was the spring rolls. Nothing from Hunan compares to this- so good and not greasy at all. Oh and Mrs. O'Toole was right about the pop- they put some in the fridge just for us so it wasn't room temperature :)

I feel like all I do is write about food, but life here really revolves around it! After dinner, we took a short walk then quick drive along the Lingjiang River. The Lingjiang runs through Linhai, then empties into the East China Sea. We are not right on the coast, but close enough that low tide affects the river flow. Along the river there are cute little restaurants and park after park after park. All the the playground equipment was fitness equipment. There were a lot of Power Wheels and other little cars for kids to ride around in. Also, even though it is so hot, tons of boys playing basketball! They really like LeBron, Kobe, and Kevin Garnett here... in addition to Yao, of course. I'm starting to get nervous for our basketball game! :)

Huipu had a teacher meeting at the high school tonight at 7, so I'm done for the night. Andy told us the host kids arranged for "singing TV" tonight- so we think they are all getting together for karaoke tonight! Even though it originated in Japan, KTV, as it is called, is very popular here. Every couple blocks you encounter a sign for KTV. There should be some entertaining stories tomorrow...

We meet bright and early at Huipu for more classes tomorrow. In the morning, we have Chinese, Math, and Cooking. I know I could REALLY use the Chinese lesson and I am very interested to see how the "universal language" of math translates for our students. In cooking, we will make our own lunch- dumplings! After lunch and a break, we will attend art & music, then play ping pong.

Hope you all have a wonderful 4th of July! Enjoy the cookouts, popsicles, and fireworks! We tried to explain some Independence Day traditions to Andy, but he didn't seem to understand. Oh well! We will be eating watermelon and singing karaoke to celebrate ;)