Yet again, I leave for China and miss my nephews' birthdays. As always, we celebrated it at Chuck-E-Cheese. Nehemiah turns 4 on August 25th & Zao turned 1 yesterday (August 18th). The manager at Chuck-E-Cheese asked, "Who's 5?" I guess he thought the kid in question was a math wiz (4 + 1 from the "cupcake cake" below). Enjoy the video and pics.

By my estimation, Beijing 2008 is somewhat of a bust. Here's my chance to rant and rave:

1) Tickets are being unused. For the five events I've gone to, there are a ton of seats open. I can literally choose to seat anywhere and no volunteer has ever said otherwise. It's scarily silent at times. The Beijing 2008 Committee has actually bused in workers to cheer for the teams to make the venues seem more packed and enjoyably awesome. Two words: weak sauce!

2) Lines can be insane. When the Olympics website said arrive 2 hours before an event, they weren't lying. For the non-eventful events at small venues, no problem. But for large venues, it takes a while. And avoid the snack stands because...

3) Food cannot be found. Unless you're near the Olympic Village, you'll be hard-pressed to find food (where the McDonald's menu is served at lightning speed). And since you can't bring any food in, it pretty much sucks. At the Baseball game yesterday, they had two small stands to feed two large stadiums of fans. Um, let's call this a cosmic blunder when organizing food for a MASS of people. Plus, they were out of my first two food choices.

4) VISA ain't accepted here. If you want the ticket, you gotta pay cold hard cash. Scalpers run amok outside venues and they (Chinese and foreigners) are raising the price of tickets to untold amounts. I read one MSN story where a spectator paid $475 to see the Women's Gymnastic finals. One website in the US I viewed had Basketball tickets going for $1,250 (and it was even for the Finals).

5) Where's the international flair? All I seem to see around these events is Chinese fans screaming "加油中国" (roughly translated "let's go, China") during events where no Chinese competitors are competing. It's strange from a spectator's view to see this...and annoying.

6) The Olympic Green is a bust. No one is there. Apparently, you have to have a ticket to get in, but no one tells you this. Only ticket holders of actual Olympics tickets seem to get in. And then there's nothing going on. I've read different news reports where Olympics sponsors are complaining about the lack of people coming to the Olympic Green - estimates say about 20% of the expectation is being met. But I guess because of security, people are just left outside staring in.

7) Some venues already show signs of wear and tear. At the Field Hockey stadium, large cracks (poorly covered up no less) appear right when you walk up the first set of stairs. The Water Cube for the Swimming events, though completely magnificent, has rust-like stains running over the "bubble effect".

Unless you came to Beijing with 1,000 of Dollars or ideal tickets previously to arrival, then you'll leave China having felt satisfied and at peace. However, for those of us who got screwed by ticketing dates, uniformed venue space, and general lack of specific knowledge of how the Beijing games would be organized, we'll there's no one to complain to. If I had the choice to do this all over again, I would have stayed home and watched from a cozy recliner. The only good thing from all this is the Beijing mascots, the Fuwa. At least I can sleep comfortably with my Beibei.

As I type this entry, I'm in beautiful Branson, MO at a Holiday Inn Express. Dad and I left from Wheaton, IL at around 1 PM yesterday and stopped here for the night around 10 PM. I DID NOT want to drive into the night after an absolutely EXHAUSTING month of Wheaton grad classes.

Yesterday was the "crown jewel" of three years' work: I completed my Master of Arts program from Wheaton College. I turned in my third comprehensive exam and left felt oh-so good. This summer's class time was actually the seventh set of classes I've had (1 summer in Beijing, 3 summers at Wheaton, and 3 winters in Thailand). And now I can think about...

...the Olympics! I'm so stoked. With all the news reports talking about China, I totally can't wait to get back. I have one week in the States until leaving, so I'll enjoy my last few days with the fam. But, since my brother is going with me, it'll be even cooler. Even with the whole year of teaching ahead, I'm even more stoked to see how China will change after having hosted the Olympics.

So for now, I'm eating biscuits and gravy, watching TV (which I wasn't able to do at Wheaton since my dorm room didn't have one), and relaxing before the last three hours of my trip to Oklahoma.

"Mailbox. Open the mailbox!" Check out this video: http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1823766. I guffawed! (Note: This video is for "font snobs".)

Bible to be available free during Games (July 7, 2008, People's Daily) Athletes, officials, spectators and tourists can pick up the Bible or just the New Testament for free during the Olympic Games next month. Tens of thousands of copies of the Bible, the New Testament and booklets with just the four Gospels (according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) have been printed for the purpose, say officials of China's Christian society. Rev Xu Xiaohong, an official of the Shanghai-based China Christian Council in charge of publishing, says 50,000 bilingual (Chinese and English) editions of the Gospel booklets had already been printed by June. They are on way to six cities hosting the Olympic events in the mainland. As has been the practice at earlier Games, the Gospel booklets will be available mainly in churches and the Olympic Village in Beijing, and in Qingdao, Shanghai, Shenyang, Tianjin and Qinhuangdao, Xu says. Places of worship for people of other religions too have been set up in the Olympic Village, Chen Guangyuan, president of the Islamic Association of China has said. The cover of the Gospel booklet will have the Beijing Olympics logo. Nanjing-based Amity Printing Co, the country's major printer of the Bible, has printed the Gospel booklets. Its general manager Li Chunnong says 30,000 copies of the New Testament (Chinese-English bilingual edition) are being printed for free distribution during the Games. The Beijing Christian Council has placed an order with Amity to reprint 10,000 copies of the bilingual Bible edition to be distributed in the Olympic Village, Li says.

Single-child population tops 100 mln (July 8, 2008, Xinhua) The number of only children in China has surpassed 100 million since the introduction of the one-child policy in the late 1970s, according to a population forum in Shanghai on Sunday. The single children group accounted for about 8 percent of China's 1.3-billion population, according to the forum hosted by Shanghai Population Welfare Charity Fund ahead of the July 11 World Population Day. Families have become smaller and smaller since 1982 when households averaged about 4.4 members. In 2005, the figure was reduced to about 3.1. The "core family," which consisted of a couple and one child, had become the common family pattern in Chinese urban areas, the forum said. The one-child policy has prevented an estimated 400 million births.

Mao dropped from new China note (July 7, 2008, BBC News) For the first time in nearly a decade China is issuing new banknotes without the image of Chairman Mao Zedong. The 10 yuan ($1.5; £0.75) notes instead feature Beijing's new Olympic stadium on the front, with an ancient Greek statue of a discus thrower on the back. Both are set against the backdrop of the Temple of Heaven, sited in Beijing. Six million of the new banknotes will be issued, but most notes in circulation will continue to feature Mao - the founder of Communist China.

Yesterday morning I woke up with 6 hours sleep at 5:30 AM. I knew this would be my big day for getting packed and doing grading. And, believe me, it was long. The most difficult part of the day was gathering the momentum and stamina to grade by writing essays and stories. Finally, this task was finished at 11:00 PM. Throughout the day, I continued to do laundry (three loads), pack up stuff, wash dishes, pack clothes, and entertain visitors that popped in every now and then. By 11:45 PM, I had finished putting all of my six classes' grades on their respective sheets and began the final process of packing my apartment up and getting ready to leave for America.

It was not my intention at all, but I ended up not sleeping a wink. I simply had too much stuff to do. I "de-linted" my clothes, checked final emails, charged all of my electronic equipments, and prepared to leave. I got everything completely done by 5:30 AM, 30 minutes before I was supposed to leave.

I met the Clements & Kat downstairs and we headed to Changchun at 6 AM. They were heading out 2 hours after me, but it was cheaper for the school to take us all together. We said our final goodbyes as everyone except Sarah, Mark & Samantha came to see us off. The school provided a mini-van for us to Changchun.

At the airport, I checked in, had a final drink with the Clems & Kat, then headed to my gate. The flight left on time without a hitch. And I slept off and on.

I arrived at the new Beijing airport by 12:45 PM and then began the process to check-in for my departure flight at 4:10 PM to Chicago. Little did I know that the flight would be 5 hours delayed! When I finally got to the ticket counter, I was apologized to and then told that there were no Saturday night flights to Tulsa (as that was when I was due to arrive), that I would have to book a flight for Sunday morning to get to Tulsa, and that United would put me up in a hotel. I had a choice of an 8 AM or 12:30 PM flight. I chose the later as I thought since I'll get in so late, I want to enjoy my stay and sleep. If not, I'd have to be at the airport quite early.

So this leaves me here, still at the Beijing International Airport, sitting here typing about my travels woes, eating at Burger King, and taking naps on the not-so-comfy chairs.

Well, I am the first one on the team to return home. In about 2 hours, my L-O-N-G day begins. If all things go as planned, I should arrive safely in Tulsa, OK before 10 PM tomorrow night. I'm way stoked!

For Sophomore Oral class, each color group (a total of five) had presented an Oral Final project which encompassed EVERYTHING that they had been studied this term. I have been quite impressed as they have presented very complicated ideas in a very easy and concise way. Their creativity is most impressive and I'm constantly amazed by their abilities - both in using English to describe their created culture and in their actual presentations.

Each group had to create a society "from scratch". They had to make a flag, national holidays, past times, country name, and a capitol city among many other things. The class that presented their project on Thursday @ 8 AM TOTALLY had me busting up. Here below is the money that they had made for their culture.

As you can, their culture was called "Supercloud" and this currency is from the "Bank of Supercloud". You should notice there are black and white flowers. In their folktale (which also had to be made up), they retold the history of a white cloud and a black cloud that had people always at war. However, it was Sonny, their honored superhero featured on their bill, who brought the black and white clouds in harmony. And, of course, I'm deemed with the honor of being in the "666 Luck" club. Does anyone perceive the irony here?

P.S. - I hope this money is never put on the forehead or the right hand!

This Saturday (as in 5 DAYS FROM NOW) I'll be on a plane headin' back to the good ol' USA! I'm totally stoked. In the meantime, I got a slew of things to do. I have my Wheaton homework which is a priority to get done. I don't want to be back home with family and be pressured to do class work. I've completed about half of my packing, so that feels under control. I still have a good amount of grading, but it'll get done (even if it means pulling an "all niter").

But for today, I also want to give thanks for two special people: Jonny & Rachel Wu. Since they are our team leaders, today we have cornered this time (i.e., June 15th), as "Leader Appreciation Day". I have thoroughly enjoyed working with and alongside of them for three years, and I look forward to another year into 2009. Jonny & Rachel (and Samantha), you rock!

I'm getting nervous, excited, anxious, and stressed as I quickly approach my return home date of June 21st. I really am looking forward to seeing my two nephews, telling stories to my family of the past year, graduating with my Master's in August, and "chowing down" on some American food.

Last night, we had a performance to attend. Every graduating class from the Foreign Language Department performs dramas, songs, and dancing as a "final farewell". Well, my INGENIUS team decided to sing "Friends Are Friends Forever" by Michael W. Smith. I totally did my complaining for an evening (which I normally don't do), but, in the end, it was to no avail. I never liked the song because of it's true sappiness. Anyway, the song was enjoyed by the audience (though we could have bounced on our heads and ate bubble gum...all with the same reaction from the audience). Pictures will be forthcoming once I upload them. You'll see them in the album "Farewell Seniors 2008".

Jude and Will come over to my house A LOT since I'm like 20 feet away from their doorway. Below is the latest craziness that my room is privy to.

And check out this man who, in celebration of the 2008 Olympics, put 2008 needles on his face, head, shoulders & chest. And I thought I was stoked about the Olympics!(Thanks for the pic, Rach.)

The "brain child" of the Wu's came true with a team retreat to Shenyang. We had to debrief concerning our team experience this past academic year, so what better way than to do it on vacay! So we loaded up the team and went to Shenyang, the capital of Liaoning province (directly to the south of Jilin).

We spent three days and two nights. Day one activities involved traveling with the first group (those who didn't have evening stuff to do). Nine of us arrived, got the hotels rooms set up, then headed for pizza at "I Love NY Pizza". It was awesome. You also may want to ask Wu about his experience with the "awesome goodness". The rest of the team arrived, and we headed for bed.

The first full day of activities involved a trip to the local Starbucks (about a 3-minute walk from our hotel). My Iced Green Tea was pure awesomeness! After a morning pow-wow, we headed to the Imperial Palace. It was built during the Qing dynasty and was used up to the Tang and Ming dynasties (I hope I got that right). We took some pics of the grounds and you can see them in the album entitled "Shenyang Retreat". You'll notice Jude in a lot of them because we're "buddies". In actuality, he's like my nephew substitute. He wanted to be on my shoulders for like the whole day!

After this, lunch was at a local McDonald's. I had a yummy Big Mac. We then went walking down some of the local streets, just relaxing and window shopping. It was quite quaint, and the architecture was intriguing. It looked to be European with Grecian columns, all in the midst of Chinese-styled buildings.

The afternoon found us debriefing. This was followed by a supper at the "Orso Goloso" (Italian for "greedy bear"). I had a calzone which was overpriced and didn't deliver, but it was still delicious. We wound up the night with some insane KTV. We went for two hours of insane madness. I never saw Jude run around so much; you'd think that he was ADD or something. He grabbed the tambourine that was in the room and just basically ran around for 2 hours. He actually outran Will in the energy department, which I'd never seen before. Sam became sick that day, and she actually went to sleep with all this craziness.

The next day found us at a park. I have a couple of videos showing the cat-like reflexes of Sarah & Kat, and the amazing prowess of Seth.

Lunch was then held at Stroller's, a restaurant with western-styled dishes. My bacon cheeseburger with fries was great, not to mention the potato skins, onions rings and nachos that I shared with Jennifer, Jude, Will and Kat. I went by myself in Shenyang and visited a Hagen Das, having a two-scoop ice cream of Peacan, Praline & Cream and Strawberry Cheesecake. That evening we returned home where I just crashed that night and it lingered over into Sunday. The trip was a hit and I hope we can do it again next year.

More than 80,000 dead or missing in China quake (May 22, 2008, Reuters) More than 80,000 people are confirmed dead or missing from China's worst earthquake in decades, the government said on Thursday. Previously, authorities had said they expected the final death toll to exceed 50,000. State Council Information office figures showed that the number of dead now exceeded 51,000, an increase of 10,000 on the previous day's death toll. It said more than 29,000 were still missing. The State Council added that more than 288,000 people were injured by the 7.9 magnitude quake in southwest China on May 12.

Bush mourns earthquake victims (May 21, 2008, Xinhua) US President George W. Bush visited the Chinese embassy here Tuesday, mourning the victims of a devastating earthquake in Sichuan, China, and conveying his condolences to the Chinese people. "We extend our deepest sympathies, and pray for recovery and pray for the strength of those whose lives have been torn apart during this terrible tragedy," he told US and Chinese reporters. Bush and the first lady Laura Bush observed a moment of silence before a black banner which reads "Our deepest condolence goes to the victims of the May 12 earthquake." Both the president and his wife signed the book of condolence.

1st Chinese tour group to leave for U. S. in June (May 16, 2008, China Daily) The first United States-bound Chinese leisure tour group is set to depart on June 17, signaling a new era in Sino-U. S. relations, a senior official said.  Shao Qiwei, head of China National Tourism Administration (CNTA), will escort the inaugural tour group to Washington DC. Their arrival will coincide with the fourth China-U. S. Strategic Economic Dialogue, which would be hosted by the city. The first phase will last six months, during which time only nine provinces and municipalities can organize U. S. -bound tour groups, Shao said. Group members must be residents with hukou (permanent residence registrations) in Beijing, Tianjin or Shanghai municipalities, or Hebei, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Guangdong provinces, he said.

Well, this morning I wrote "29天回国" on the message board outside my room. It means "29 days until I return home". I'm getting really excited now. Several things must be done before them, but in the mean time, I've got to prioritize. This week has been a whirlwind, but I haven't said what's really happening around here.

The Wus took their friend Sherry, a college bud, to Beijing, visiting local sites and stuff like that. The Wus left Wednesday and will return Sunday after they see Sherry off.

The college departments began their annual athletic competitions. This year it was the tug-o-war. Our department competed yesterday (featuring me, Daren, Mark, and Seth) along with 3 other male teachers and 3 female teachers (the school rules are 7 men and 3 women). However, we lost to the Biology department, which happened to be the same department we lost to two years ago. At that time, we didn't face them until the Semi-finals (we secured 3rd), but this year, we didn't even win 1 of the 3 pulls: we were 0-2. Suckage!

Samantha also celebrated her 1st birthday last Saturday. It was a beach theme. We had some strawberry smoothies that Rach made and they were good. There were games, prizes, and food (a perfect trifecta for Wu). Samantha had her first cake and cried as she ate it. It was funny.

Michelle had returned this week from her pilgrimage to see her brother get married. She had a great time and I think has finally readjusted back. She may not return to Siping next year as her desire is to go to Chinese northwest and work among the Uiyger.

I recently helped a Senior student complete her Thesis paper. It was a whopping 27 pages long and 11,500+ words. We still must do a three question Q & A, but that will be the final step. This activity has drained my time, but, when and if I do this again, I'll know more about what I should do.

One of my mini-dreams came true last week: I was able to finally spearhead a Spelling Bee. With the help of my fellow Freshman Oral teachers (Wu, Mark & Daren), we put together an awesomely preformed Spelling Bee on Saturday. (See the album "Spelling Bee" for pics.) Here's how we did it.

The First Round consisted of 20 words on a test given during class time. The definitions were by each blank (where the words spoken would be written). Every Freshman was given a chance in this Round. Since there are ten classes, the top three scores of each class were given a spot into the Second Round. (Wu's Education majors were an exception on being entered, but the "top three scores" rule still applied.) They were also given 2 weeks to prepare for the Second Round test and the actual Bee, which were the same day.

Those entering the Second Round were given a 300-word list called the AWL (Academic Word List). The AWL is the top 300 English words used within academic settings. The 33 students were made aware that prefixes and suffixes would also be added to the words on the list; therefore, we could make a slew of combinations.

The day of the Second Round test was Saturday morning. Again 20 words were given with definitions. The top fifteen advanced to the Third Round: the actual Bee. Each of the 15 received a certificate of achievement for this step. Lanyards were also dished out to track the contestant's activity and words given (and for a memento). Thus the Bee was ready to commence.

My job was the Reader of words; Wu was the "You are correct" guy; Daren was the bell ringer for when a spelling was wrong; and Mark was the PowerPoint guy as he would show the correct spelling of each word on PowerPoint to the audience. We began with the word "phenomenon" spelled correctly then we were off!

Round One found one incorrect spelling: "criteria". Round Two was a breeze as all 14 made it through. Round Three began the words with added prefixes and suffixes; here 3 went out with "uncooperative", "reedit", and "distressful". Round Four found 3 more going down with "inconsistently", "statuses", and "miniseries". Round Five left us with 7, and one went down with "metaphysical". Round Six knocked out two more with "citable" and "philosophically".

Thus Round Seven found 4 left. The stress level was thick in the room. Wu kept saying, "I can feel the tension." The words "surplus", "displayable", "reunification", and "feature" were given. Both "surplus" and "reunification" brought two of the spellers out leaving two young ladies. Round Eight commenced with the word "supplement" being spelled wrong by Contestant #5. Contestant #15 was given the word "uninspected", which was spelled flawlessly. Mary was, thus, the winner of the Spelling Bee.

We took pictures then presented her with 100 Yuan and a trophy. After the presentation, she said, "This certificate is mine and this trophy is mine, but this 100 Yuan is the for earthquake victims in Sichuan."

This act was indeed a highlight of my third teaching year.

Okay, so like a week ago I was ticked! On May 5th, the remaining tickets for the Olympics went on sale. Yes, I should have been grateful for the 8 tickets I previously secured (for a total of 4 events), but I wanted more! Call me greedy or merely PUMPED for the Olympics, but, in any event, there were problems with the Beijing Olympic website and I could not get in to order anything (which was all on a "first come, first serve" basis). Every time that I almost arrived at the payment screened, it timed out on me. Wu had the same problem. I was ticked like the whole day!

Anyway, on Wednesday I paid for four Field Hockey tickets and now I'm totally stoked that I have tickets in my hand. With like 80-some-odd days left, I am getting way excited. The tickets that were secured in the first lottery will be available to me at the local Bank of China in Siping in about three weeks; seating has already been assigned. Anyway, after the dust has settled from the past eight or so months of lotteries and ticket grabbing, here's what I have:

8/14 - Men's Greco-Roman Wrestling Finals (Medal Ceremony)

8/15 - Men's Boxing Preliminaries (Feather & Light Weight)

8/15 - Women's & Men's Judo Finals (Medal Ceremony)

8/17 - Men's Field Hockey Preliminaries

8/18 - Men's Baseball Preliminaries

8/18 - Men's Handball Preliminaries

8/19 - Triathlon Finals

8/22 - Athletics (Women's 4 x 100m Relay Final, Women's 5000m Final, Women's Long Jump Final, Men's Pole Vault Final, and Men's 4 x 100m Relay Final - among other non-Final events)

I left my good friend Sheila in great condition awaiting for her plane in Beijing. She flies out tomorrow. I just happened to be at Tian'anmen in Beijing when the earthquake in Sichuan hit. I am safe. I just want everyone to know that. I am a long ways away from the epicenter. See the map below. I also found a digital representation of all the aftershocks that have hit this province. Click here to see it.

3rd round of Olympics tickets on sale May 5 (April 23, 2008, Xinhua) Organizers of the Beijing Olympics announced on Wednesday that the third round of domestic ticket sales will start on May 5 and close on June 9. A total of 1.38 million tickets will be put on sale for 16 sports, including athletics, boxing, basketball, and soccer. Each individual buyer is allowed to purchase no more than six tickets - three tickets each for two sports sessions. Chinese residents also have the possibility of buying six more tickets. Ticket will be sold on a "first come, first served" basis at Bank of China outlets and on the official ticketing website. "There are roughly 100 days to go before the Games open. We don't have enough time for a lottery draw," said Zhu. He promised the meltdown of the booking system, which disrupted the earlier round of ticket sales would not happen again.

China train crash death toll rises to 71 (April 30, 2008, AP) The death toll from China's worst rail accident in a decade rose Wednesday to 71, with more than 400 injured passengers still hospitalized following the pre-dawn collision between two trains, state media said. Sixty of those injured in Monday's crash were in critical condition, the official Xinhua News Agency said. Xinhua said 385 passengers were being treated in hospitals near the crash site at Zibo city in eastern China's Shandong province. Another 18 were sent to hospitals in the provincial capital of Jinan and to Beijing. Officials have said speeding was to blame for the collision. Three railway officials already have been fired. The accident happened as a passenger train from Beijing to the coastal city of Qingdao was traveling at 81 miles per hour - well over the track section's speed limit of 50 mph, Xinhua reported, citing an investigative panel. The train jumped its tracks and collided with an oncoming passenger train on another track. Nine carriages from the first train tumbled into a dirt ditch. The second train stayed upright but was knocked askew on the tracks. Train service has already been restored after hundreds of workers repaired the track and used a huge crane to lift damaged carriages out of the way.

Beijing subway to clear mobile telecom blind spots (May 1, 2008, Xinhua) Beijing Subway plans to clear all blind spots for mobile telecommunication ahead of the Olympics in August.  Beijing Subway currently operate eight lines. The oldest two, lines one and two, have many blind spots for mobile phones and WiFi connections, the Beijing Daily reported on Thursday. Passengers on those lines often suffered from frequent dropped calls or poor signal reception. In the past seven months, Beijing Subway equipped lines one and two, which were built three decades ago, with 43 telecom control centers as well as 1,507 transmitters in stations and subway tunnels, the newspaper said. The telecom facilities under construction in the two subway lines will enable not only mobile phone use but also wireless Internet connection, the newspaper said. The technological upgrades included the smart entry program for all Beijing subway stations. Commuters are expected to use, no later than May, smart cards for their entries and exits from subway platforms.

Chinese students chalk up higher mean score in TOEFL (May 8, 2008, Xinhua) Chinese students are making "strong progress" in mastering the communicative English skills, as Educational Testing Service (ETS) reported that the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) scores for Chinese test takers increased to match the worldwide average in 2007, ETS officials said here Wednesday. Citing figures from ETS' TOEFL Test and Score Data Summary, which contains data on the performance of examinees who took the TOEFL Internet-based test in 2007, the officials said that the mean score for Chinese test takers was 78 in the year, a two-point increase over 2006, matching the worldwide average of 78. The TOEFL test is the most widely accepted English-language test in the world. More than 6,000 institutions in 110 countries accept TOEFL scores, including the world's top universities and institutions in the UK., Europe and all 4,300 colleges and universities in the United States, according to ETS.

Report: China's annual tourist arrivals to top 163 mln in three years (May 8, 2008, Xinhua) The annual inbound tourist arrival in China will surpass 163 million in the next three years, according to a report issued by the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) on Thursday. China's tourism industry recorded a staggering growth in the past two decades, and the industry is now worth more than 100 billion U.S. dollars a year and creates 90 million jobs nationwide, the PATA said in the report. Last year, 132 million overseas tourists visited the country.

Ok, yes, I know it's been like a week or so since I've blog, but this week has been nuts. For starters, my friend, Sheila, came to visit, so I've been playing host. That has drained some time. However, I also had to reschedule two Freshman Oral classes since I won't be in Siping next week since I'll see her off in Beijing on the Wednesday of that week. I got both of the classes rescheduled, but, later in the week, one had to be re-rescheduled because I had to sing on TV.

Now, here's the scoop. Sunday night we met as a team to practice a Chinese song. Here are the words:

世上只有妈妈好/有妈的孩子像个宝
投进了妈妈的怀抱/幸福享不了
世上只有妈妈好/有妈的孩子像个宝
投进了妈妈的怀抱/幸福享不了

This song was to be sung in honor of Mother's Day (click here to hear it). Not only were we to be prepared to sing it, but it would be on Siping TV. And we honestly didn't know what the words actually met!

Tuesday we were to go to the station, but the electricity went out, so it was a no go. However, the next morning, we had to change our classes (as some of us had to on Tuesday) to later in the week (which complicated my already cramped schedule as well). We arrived at the TV station and were ushered into the front row. All of the foreign teachers from our school were there: the Russian teacher, the two Korean teachers, the two Japanese teachers, and my team of Americans (12 in all, minus Michelle in America).

Taping began as we were there. And it was just a strange experience. We were only there to sing through the song twice, then said "Mama, I love you" in Chinese (妈妈我爱你) individually. Seth was then interviewed, which is a whole 'nother set of craziness (you need to talk to him about this experience!), then we left. It was like 30 minutes there - in and out. The taping should air this Sunday in time for Mother's Day.

Today, May 1st, is May Day in China. We have no classes today. It was no surprise that a mass exodus of students began as well. I had 3 missing on Monday, 7 on Tuesday, and 2 yesterday. In the past May Day was a one week holiday (and referred to as one of China's three "Golden Weeks"), but, due to changes within the government's holiday structure, the May Day time is only 2 actual days. Read about this story here.

In the spirit of May Day, I am relaxing. I'm creating a Mid-Term for Sophomore Oral and I have some "belated" homework to grade (that I really don't want to but I must). I also am anticipating a friend from America who is coming to visit. It's going to be great spending time with her and letting her meet the teamies.

In other news, Mark headed to Songyuan with some students, while the rest of us have stayed here. None of us feel like traveling, and several looked like zombies last tonight when we were playing SceneIt! Nonetheless, it'll be nice to sleep in and catch up on work (and sleep).

It was also a full house two days ago as old teamies (David, Jewelianne & family) joined us for a half of day, along with Jewelianne's mom, Rene, and Robb, our previous team leader (who's in Qufu, Shandong now). It was like the WHOLE team was here (save good ol' Ruth). We had a good time talking and eating (we threw down an extra-special "Sizzler" night as well). Dave was able to take a personal day from his Chinese studies (he's a full-time student in Chinese now up in Changchun) and Robb came to visit us during the May Day holiday.

Today also marks 100 days until the Olympics. The Net is a-flurry with information on this. Check out the China Daily or NBC's website.