Hot-Pot!

Today we returned more rested and ready to finish out the
 week. The kids came back more familiar with us, they are
 rowdier-haha- but more lovey-dovey and huggy- very sweet.
 Even the teenagers -boys/boys and girls/girls-hold hands
 and hang all over each other in a very "old-fashioned" way.
 Precious. They just fall in love with us so fast- they
have fun, they loosen up and turn off some of the daily
pressure to excel scholastically - they actually have fun
 for 2 weeks! It is great!

Tonight MY class :) took all the American teachers out for
 "hot-pot." This is a Muslim dish with a huge boiling pot
of broth filled with peppers and spices and ginger and you
 toss in meats and vegetables and cook it then fish it out
 with your chopsticks. Soooo fun. Now- what you need to know
 is that this event was orchestrated by two 14-year old
kids. Two kids who took 25 people by bus and taxi to a
fancy restaurant, ordered all the food, rushed around from
table to table making sure we had all we needed- then paid
for the whole thing!! How many 14-year-olds in the US
entertain foreigners? So cute! They are so mature in some
ways and yet so innocent and sweet!

We have been incredibly healthy- PTL! A few coughs and
allergies and some "mao's revenge" but nothing serious. Angie
 woke up today with a red, swollen finger. It could have
been anything from staph to scurvy to a snake bite so we took
 a chance and started with Benadryl and it seems to be
improving. We figure she got some kind of bug-bite at the
lake- let's hope it continues to improve. Thanks for thinking
 of her!

Here's where the whole security thing comes in to play. I
have some great stories that will have to wait. I could tell
you that **** is a * and * meets with other * and they *** and
 one plans to go to ** to ** other ***....  But that wouldn't
 tell you much! Let me just say the Kingdom, though small and
restricted, is alive and well in this part of the world and we
 were able to encourage THEM and vice-versa! Many happy little
 surprises here and there- candles in the darkness!!

Tomorrow night is our last event - a camp-wide carnival -and
we are busily getting ready for graduation on Thursday morning.
 The Americans are learning a song in our host language- always
 a treat! The kids love it even though they probably can't
understand one word of our poor pronunciation! Ask Carol M to
sing a verse for you all :)

Here is some news from our team: Justin is practically Chinese
 now! He speaks more words than I have ever learned and he will
 try anything -today was black fungus, squid, and curly tofu.
What a joy to travel with him! So helpful and sweet!  Angie is
 great- the students love her as do the adults. Her assistant
is a 63 year old lady from NJ who marvels at her ability to pull
 activities out of the air! Jason P is "JJ" at camp since every
 boy here has a J name- the students love him and he has had a
ball seeing all that Chinese culture has to offer- and he video
tapes most of it so you might see it someday!  Jason, of course,
 is a kid magnet. He leads dance each day- ask him for a sample
 of the gummi bear dance- and the Chinese assistants are
particularly close to him. What a role-model for the young guys
on our team. And Laura- one of the two worst craft ladies ever,
 along with me, but the kids love her. Today a boy proposed to
her. She is the Queen of "Bing Schway" - phonetically that is
"cold water." Just like I have an uncanny knack to find a western
 toilet as needed, she can find cold water hidden in back rooms.
I love love LOVE my class and I just love these people. From the
little beggar lady to the college students and the vendors on the
 street there is such a kindness and sincerity among the people.
They love their families, they enjoy life, they are so friendly
and welcoming- so many valuable things. They need to hear. We
need to remember them and send the Light as we can!

Off to bed-6 am comes waaaay to early. We "hear" it is supposed
to rain which would cool us off. Wow- I'll believe it when I see
 it- ha! Love to all back home- remember us! Hugs from the Xteam!