Cindy here with one last report from the Xining team- as usual, the internet is hard to track down and our days are busy. Right now I am crouched in Jason and Laura's room on our 1 yuan a minute internet with the china/usa basketball game playing in the background - in Chinese, of course. Let's go back to the last days of camp....

Graduation on Friday was wonderful- late, crowded, confusing, but wonderful. The kids (ages maybe 6-22) sang and danced and did skits to show off their newly refined English skills. The americans sang Big China, a folk song kind of like God Bless America - the kids were tickled and the americans teary-eyed when singing about this great land. We finished out a busy day with a pizza party to watch the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. What a magnificent show and how cool to be in the country during this important occasion.Again, we were both proud and emotional as the US athletes marched in! Our bus for the airport left at ....5:30 am so we had a busy night of packing and sleeping.

The trip back to ShangHai was uneventful for the most part. We had a little "ticketing" issue but all turned out okay, PTL! We DID have a regional specialty on the plane - our "donkey" hamburger with peppers! Note to self: don't eat things you can't identify! We landed in hot, sticky ShangHai,trading our breezy cool mountains for the sticky heat and humidity of a giant metropolis. Here is the hilarious story of the trip back:

Here is our team, about 21 people, ranging in age from 12-60, tired, grouchy, smelly, all wearing our blue t-shirts. We are in the baggage claim area surrounded by 10 million passengers and a zillion suitcases when an OFFICAL Olympic greeter in his fancy olympic outfit comes over and asks me, dead serious, "Are you Olympic Athletes?" After snorting with laughter, I politely said no and then we decided we should have insisted we were the US diving team or sprinters or gymnasts. What a WELCOME to ShangHai!

Our hotel is beautiful and we are having culture shock again - no more squatties, no more kids, no more beautiful mountains or friendly neighbors - just a big giant city with all the western comforts - McDonalds, pizza, a/c, internet - wow! Today we met some people who live here and they brought us back to reality. The lives they lead made our dirty rooms and simple meals in Xining seem extravagant. But the bigger picture is the FULLNESS of their lives without all the trappings. We'll share more when we get home- make sure to ask about Joe and the bridge and the other bridge and the 4 girls and 2 men and the snakes and the REAL story of China!

We have one more day then we begin the long process of heading home. We have had a ball- ask Neil about the water bottle war on the bus - or the two Kyles- or Sarah's Buddy song or the incessant water balloons or Danielle's wanderings for american food or a million other stories.But we have also made new friends, Chinese and American, and we will never be the same after our adventure here. We have fallen in love with the americans AND the chinese, the helper family in Xining, the "workers" we met, our students at camp, the store lady and her boy who put soda in the freezer for us,our little sweet maids in Xining, the laundry lady, the phone lady, the shoe repair lady, the workers who kept staring in our hotel rooms day and night - oh wait, maybe not them:) It has been such a blessing to be a part of this team. Linda has been super organized but still able to leap over the fence and toss a water balloon when needed. Chris and Woody - inspiring and FUN. David back home- thanks for holding down the fort. Keep thinking of us until we arrive safely home - loaded with chinese outfits and pearls and purses and memories that will last a lifetime!