You are not going to believe this one...

It was another incredible day here in China. Just when you think something can't be topped, they go ahead and do one more thing to impress you. We spent our day in Youxi county, which is in the countryside. As you drive out, the land is flat and you are surrounded by rice paddies. Then you start up into the mountains, with steep slopes of bamboo forest on one side of the bus and a steep drop off into the rocky river valley on the other. It is breathtaking.

Jimmy (Cam's host) is incredibly shy, but a very, very sweet boy who speaks quite well. His dad had all the connections for us today- all activities and our lunch were arranged by him. Jimmy's father is also a very nice man who speaks no English, yet stayed with us all day and made an effort to communicate with us. I am happy that I had the chance to get to know them today.

We left the Linhai Language school this morning around 7:45. It was roughly an hour drive out of Linhai and through a small, but very busy, market town. Our first stop was grass skating. Now, none of us had any idea what we were in for- nobody could explain it to us. Once we got there, we realized that we would be downhill skiing. In July. On grass. The whole group marched up the hill for demonstrations, then walked down the course to see what it was like. Next we had to get our gear: boots, knee pads, elbow pads, a helmet, and skis that look like the bottom of an army tank. The problem with this, however, is that our Chinese friends have much smaller feet. About half of our group did not participate because the boots were too small. Those who could participate got quite a workout in! The "grass skates" don't work very well on wet grass- it rained all last night and all day today- so it took a lot of arm strength to get going. By the end of one run, the students were exhausted. I tried to get video of most of them in their downhill debut, so we can see it for yourself :)

At 9:30, we thought we were moving on to bread making, but we were in for a major surprise. The bus pulled into a driveway only about 500 feet down the road. There was a water obstacle course. Not just any obstacle course- there were TV cameras. We were going to be on a Chinese game show similar to ABC's "Wipeout." It was one of those moments where you said "this cannot be happening" over and over while laughing. I was laughing so hard- and ultimately decided there was no way they would get me to do this. The students have a much better attitude than I do and most of them were all for it. You have some crazy children.

The students had the rules and safety instructions explained, then had the opportunity to try a practice run. I was so impressed! This course was soaked, it was pouring, but they were strong athletes with great balance! Everyone was helping each other figure out a strategy for the course. They cheered for one another and took pictures as well- I can't wait to share the video :)

Everyone did their practice run, then it was lights, camera, action! They divided the students into two groups so they could tape two different episodes. In the first one, six of our girls challenged six of the Huipu students. Both groups did great, but only one students, Joe's host, made it halfway through. Then, Joe took on John's host, Justin, at the end of the episode. Poor Joe did not get a practice round earlier and was eliminated. Everyone had a great time though.

In the second episode, Nathan, John, and Sam were on a team with Andy and his daughter. They took on a group of guys and one girl from the area. During the introduction, the boys did a fabulous rendition of "I Want It That Way" by the Backstreet Boys. Why? I'm really not sure. Nathan went first and he did not go on a practice round either. He was eliminated when he ran out of time. John had an impressive run like his practice round, but a slippery spinning platform just past the halfway mark led to his downfall.

And then there was Sam. Good old Sam who towered over the game show hosts. Like John, he also had a very good practice run. He was very confident going in, even setting up wagers with his buddies beforehand. Well Sam just sprinted through that course. He jumped, he ran, he swung, he climbed. And in the end, Sam climbed up a rope ladder in the final seconds to reach the top of the platform and ring a gong. Sam won! He not only completed the course, but did so within the time limit. Not only does he get the satisfaction of winning, he won a motorcycle! We didn't think that would fit in a second checked bag, so we tried to figure out if it would be shipped. Apparently they did not want to ship it- perhaps his parents don't want it shipped either. Sam received a cash prize for his efforts... but was still asking how he could get that thing back to Ohio.

The show will be airing on TV tomorrow night. The students are talking about getting together to watch it. Hopefully the school can tape it and give us at least one copy. I'm honestly still in shock about the whole thing. As we left the course, many of the students were saying "that just happened!"

By this time it was after 12, so we headed further into the countryside and up to the mountains. We stopped in a very small town for a country lunch which, for me anyway, was the most "normal" meal we've had since we've been here. Still fish with eyes and chickens with heads, but great vegetables and Chinese bread. We didn't have enough time to make the Chinese steam bread, but they set each student home with two loaves. It is very doughy, but delicious!

Then it was off to rafting, yet another situation where the explanation is lost in translation (sorry that's a weird sentence- I can't think of another way to write that). We originally thought this would be whitewater rafting, but were then told that we don't have to paddle. We saw that the river had been altered- there were stone canals built in the middle, even through the rapids. What you do is ride down a two person raft, hanging on as tight as possible to the sides. You are given oars for the pools that are few and far between. We had the option of level 1, which started at the highest point, just below a dam, or level 2, which started later in the middle of the route. Miss Ren told us "Level 1 is far more dangerous. I will be doing Level 2." After that statement, 80% of the students opted for Level 1 :) At first, it looked really intimidating. Then we watched a group go down, and it didn't seem so bad. I'll be honest- it was AWESOME! I went with Katie and I almost fell out twice. It wasn't too bad because the rafts were just small enough to fit through the narrow canal. There were a couple spots you could get stuck, but for the most part you moved through pretty well. One rapid went STRAIGHT DOWN into a pool- a little scary, but alright. I find out later that Thomas flipped completely over Joe at that spot- and said it was worth it :) There were guys all down the river with large bamboo poles to help you out. There were a lot of locals along the river too, who seemed quite entertained by these crazy Americans.

The entire day was one adrenaline rush after another. I think that everyone, yet again, will sleep well tonight. After dinner, the group will meet at Huipu to work on a performance. Andy has requested that the students come up with a song or dance for the party tomorrow night. Who knows what they'll come up with. Tomorrow, we have a schedule change- we will go tour Tiantai and have our party in the evening, instead of going to classes in the morning.

It was, literally, an unbelievable day. When I joked about the students being celebrities here, I didn't realize that it would actually happen! I will get the video sent to you as soon as we get back stateside :)

Have a nice day! Stay cool in the heat wave- and think of us here!