Hello American Friends! Cindy here at last, bloggimg from the comfort of Buddy & Kyle's room on the 4th floor. Sorry to be so stingy with our blogs - those of you who just sign on the internet willy-nilly back in the US would be astounded at what we have to go through to get access. We have tried and tried to post pictures but we'll have to try when we get home - not working. Anyway.... camp is great. The weather is great, Sarah is still waving and shouting Ni Hao at all of our neighbors, the students are outstanding, most everyone is healthy, and our team has really bonded well together. Let's go back to the beginning....

We are staying at a guest house on a college campus right in the middle of a bustling city neighborhood- we walk around the block, or cut through the hole in the fence, to get to our classroom building. This walk is actually rather treacherous - if you survive the manuever through the hole in the fence, AND the giant 8 x 8 foot sewage hole, AND the slippery mud - you just might get hit with a water balloon launched from the 4th floor....Our meals, which have been remarkably good, are served near the classroom - our cook lady smiles and waves at us when we applaud her mad cooking skills. The weirdest thing we have seen at camp is squid- now, when the students take us out at night, that's another story. Some of us have had "hot-pot" which is various ingredients ("beef" which I am sure is lamb and kidneys and other interesting parts...) boiled in a vat of simmering hot spicy broth, while others have had ultra-spicy chicken wings (ask Buddy!) and famous Xining "grass" and boiled this or that. And of course, the corn and soybean popsicles - yum, yum!

Our 120-ish students are wonderful - Tom is about 10 and greets us all everyday with a very loud and enthusiastic GOOD AFTERNOON, MY NAME IS TOM!!!Tony and Penny cannot be any cuter, Gwen watches american TV and can recite the 2008 Oscar winners,Forrest is our class clown, and Jason & Laura have a little girl who giggles like crazy every day - soooo cute. Our Chinese helper, Smile, is outstanding - I cannot tell you what a great guy he is - a total GIFT to our team. Linda is super organized and has made our camp run without a hitch. We have a local family who many of you know who have made our trip so great- they treat us like royalty and give us the inside advantage - they help us find medicine and american food and all sorts of wonderul things- again, what a GIFT!! I am sure many of YOU faithful friends have made our camp a priority - this is camp #6 for me and I can't remember a smoother camp. Now don't read smooth as "easy" - easy it is not! The days are long - everything is a trade-off. We give up sleep to wash our clothes or blog or visit with our students - every minute is booked but we are content. The work is hard but the team spirit is amazing. Many are slightly homesick,many have aches and pains,all are tired but we are really doing well! Keep up your end of the bargain- we don't/can't talk much about the darkness but it is here and it is pervasive. Be much in thought as the Olympics approach-the eyes of the world are on us over here!

Let me quickly tell you we had some much-needed downtime this weekend - some toured a famous lake nearby, some a tribal village. Some rode a yak, others rode horses - awesome! The scenery is spectacular- kudos to the "artist" who made such magnificent mountains and lakes and blue skies - wow! We also saw possibly the worst toilet I have seen in 6 trips to China - enough said... We went to the tibetan market today. Yes, a gaggle of americans are quite a tourist attraction - we command many stares everywhere we go...again, ask Buddy! We saw wares from turquoise jewelry and stuffed yak dolls to chickens in every form, from squawking in the cage to partially plucked and cut up into pieces for dinner!

We have one more week of camp - we are even busier this week and also have to face leaving these children we have grown to love. A girl in camp told another teacher that no one had ever told her they loved her until we played a silly camp game - she is 16 years old and has never heard those words even from her parents. Another boy said his classmates call him stupid and ugly and make fun of him. Two weeks of total and unconditional love from "strangers" makes a huge impact on many of these kids and it rips our hearts out to leave them at the end of camp. Many come back year after year (Duke & Sandy - many have been looking for you!) and build fast friendships with the foreign teachers.

Think of us - we have lots of important work to do plus tons of travel, all during the busiest time in China's history! Watch the magnificient Olympic opening ceremony and think of us, think of the nation of China and the wonderful people we meet every year. We will be home before you know it with 10 million photos to share and some dried yak meat souvenirs! Love you! Cindy for Team Xining!