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Ok, second to last blog-here we go.

This past week has been one of the fastest since I’ve been here. Last Thursday I woke up, cleaned my house, and packed for yet another adventure. But before that, at around 1:30, we said goodbye to Andy and Heather. Since we bought our tickets at different times, and they used a travel agent, Andy and Heather were able to change their flight date to a bit earlier than ours. The night before was our last team night and we spent it eating a bucket of chicken from a local fast food place- no, not KFC. It was interesting… After that we played cards and then off to bed. When we said goodbye on Thursday it was a little surreal. I guess because Sham and I were off toBaodinga half hour later it didn’t feel like we were saying goodbye forever. But, now that it has been almost a whole week, I’m just starting to realize they aren’t coming home- at least not while I’m here. So after a crazy adventure involving delays and storms in the states, Andy and Heather are home.

So, back to our travel adventure- we went toBaodingto visit the teachers there. They, and the two of us, are the last ones to leaveChina. I’ll keep the summary of our adventures brief. The best part of the trip was being able to relax with our friends. We sat around, played cards, board games, watched DVDs, and laughed the whole time. It was really nice to spend time together without rushing around, traveling on trains, or having an agenda. Some of the more eventful things we did include going bowling, seeing Kung Fu Panda 2, and making dessert from a box, fromAmerica, while watching Fiddler on the Roof (this was a girls only event- not due to exclusion by us). Bowling was a lot of fun but I was pretty disappointed with my score. I am usually a pretty decent bowler, but after naming myself Dorkus, I think I set myself up for a pretty dorky game of bowling. We tried our best on the first game and then for the second game we decided to have a little fun. Bowling styles included, bowling lefty, through the legs, running (which ended in two of us wiping out in the lane itself), hopping on one foot, and with our eyes closed. I still managed to lose big time, but at least I was laughing while losing. Let’s talk Kung Fu Panda for a moment, shall we? And by a moment I mean 3 short sentences. We snuck in KFC and feasted on that and some strange popcorn during this delightful movie. I have to say, the best part of the movie was the fact that it was taking place inChinaand we were watching it inChina(it was in English by the way). I also loved that the Chinese people all around me were laughing a lot- they seemed to really enjoy it.

So, all in all, it was a great trip toBaodingand I will miss all of my friends there.

Next topic- yesterday’s scary events. I went to the gym with Anita because my membership is up next Monday, so I figured I would try and use while I still could. All I have to say is that going to the gym at 2 in the afternoon, when it was about 95 degrees outside, was a huge mistake. They don’t have air conditioning in the place and the fans weren’t turned on- only a few windows were open. So, we took it pretty easy and rode a bike for about 6 miles and then lifted some weights. I felt fine but as we were on our last machine I suddenly felt really sick to my stomach and said we needed to leave right away. As we were waiting for the elevator I started to feel really dizzy, so I crouched down and things started to go slightly black. When I stood up I felt like I couldn’t focus on anything and Anita said my lips were completely white. So, I got on the elevator and headed outside. I was drinking water this whole time, by the way. When we parted ways I still felt really shaky and had trouble catching my breath, so I called Shamblee to rescue me and she met me a store near our house to buy me some juice. In the end I was fine but it was not a fun afternoon. Needless to say, when we go back to the gym tomorrow I will be taking it easy and drinking much more water than I did before. P.S. Mom, no need to comment, I am alive and well, so quit worrying J.

As I leave you all this week I would like to tell you that I have dubbed myself an accomplished mosquito killer and am thinking about going professional one day; just in case this whole grad school thing doesn’t work out.

That’s all for now. Next week is will be my last blog from China. Thanks to all my faithful readers.

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