The Olympics are over...

It is a sad time in China. Well, at least for those of us who don't understand Chinese well. This is because we no longer have a constant supply of entertainment we can understand on TV. The Olympics are over. I never watched a lot of TV in China before this fall but I almost constantly had the TV on when home the last week. It was so fun to be watching the Olympics-even thought the commentary was in Chinese, I could still follow what was happening!

They were great Olympics though. I think it was a great chance for China to show the rest of the world some of the great things about their culture and people. I feel Chinese people really want to get to know other parts of the world and share their culture and heritage-and there is SO much culture here. This is one of the great things I love about China. I love being able to walk down Tongzhi Street near my apartment and walk by McDonalds but still hear a traditional Chinese instrument being played on the street.

I did have a closing ceremony party at my house last weekend of course. I love all the ceremony and tradition of the Olympics. We had fun. I had a few people over first to watch the US basketball finals then we went out and had Korean bbq then came back, played some cards and then watched the closing ceremony. Though a little strange, it was fun. London looks like it will be quite different...

With that being said, I have been doing more flipping through the channels and watching kids shows because they speak slowly and I can understand a little. I am trying to expose myself to as much Chinese as I can. We are finishing up our week of Orientation here at language school this week and classes start on Monday. More about that to come.