Welcome the University of Missouri

So the 4th of July has come and gone for me, but as of post time you folks back in the States are probably gearing up for a some fireworks displays. Our fireworks here was a huge rain storm and a trip to McDonald's in that downpour. Nothing says "Go America!" like eating McDonalds in wet clothes, truly a 4th to remember.

As it has been less than 72 hours since we've been here, I'm still very much in the awed by everything phase. The amount of people, the amount of buildings, the amount of smog. And I must just say that anything you've heard about on the news in reference to how bad the smog is, it's all true. Yesterday was by far the worst, and when I say worst I mean that I had a hard time trying to locate where the sun was in the sky. It was just a little yellow spec and you can see for yourself in the picture.

Our second night, about 15 of us went to a karaoke bar close to our place. You have not done karaoke until you've been to China. Each groups receives their own room decked out with comfortable sofa's, a disco ball, and a couple huge screens playing the videos. It was certainly an experience to say the least. It's like a hotel, and a marble hotel at that, where all the rooms are just party rooms. Attendants there to take any order you may have, and obviously for us the ordering turned out to be quite comical. In fact much of our communication here so far with Chinese people has been quite comical. You can't really get frustrated you just have to laugh at it.

Today we're doing a bit of sightseeing, including the Forbidden City, so that should be exciting. Oh, and I almost forgot. Our trip to the supermarket yesterday was quite amusing and an eye opener into more Chinese culture. It's amazing how much you can learn from the aisles of a supermarket.

Vi ses from Beijing!