Okay so basically my excuse for not updating is: I've been busy and in the mountains. As you can see... that is completely true :) After our stay in Shijiazhuang, we only stayed 2 days in Beijing until we were off again for another cultural immersion camp, this time in the mountains. It was fun, it reminded me of Summer camp- a really humid, hot, hellish summer camp where we did English activities with the students there. It was a fun time, if you're curious about that please email me anytime :).
From there we went to a temple with 1,000 cats! haha almost though, I love cats... as you can see. And then after our lovely 100% humidity camp was over, we trekked a 5 hour bus ride to DaTong. I like Datong alot and to be quite honest I was so perfectly blessed to be put with an amazing kind and compassionate family here. My words cannot even meagerly describe the gratitude I have to them and their wonderful hospitality. Of course the first day I get there, they up and take me and a friend to the nearby YunGang Grottos where some 500 years ago Buddhas and wooden facades were built into and under the mountain. Literally these things were perfectly preserved, and not restored mind you. Ya some didn't have any faces or hands, but the fact that there was a living, breathing authenticity to it... made it soo much more special than some of the other attractions I've been to in China. I hope you can live in these pictures, because I couldn't believe I was. After they took us to a restaurant that I swear was from the movie Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon!! It was amazing, all traditional, dark wood, little tea tables and staircases. It was so amazing that it made the grammar of my last 8 sentences HORRIBLE. Stop reading AND LOOK!
 
Alas, our week in 石家庄 is at an end. I can only pray that I have influenced this kids' lives as much as they have given me a new perspective on life. :) They are sweet, sincere, hardworking, and more importantly the future of China. They are integral to the growth of China as a nation.  Here we are as we part to go our separate ways. They gave me a little something back to thing about as well :) 
 
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^Me and my Baby family making 餃子^

Our two worlds... are not that far apart. At least that is my view. I have been blessed once again with an amazingly accommodating and beautiful family. The first thing we do after me and my classmates part ways is what? buy food! haha, the Chinese have a saying that 民以食為天, or that people regard food as heaven. :) I really like this saying and since I've been with this family, they have made sure every time I was absolutely stuffed! As you can see above and below, I definitely haven't been malnourished ;p


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We had an amazing closing ceremony, that was  orchestrated by the outrageously talented Beijing University, school of music and Er-Hu, a traditional Chinese instrument along with... a plethora of others. It was a cacophony of talent, beauty, and truly inspiring performances. See for yourself. 
 
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So our summit went without incident and it is currently 1:40 am and I have to leave in 3 hours for a Chinese city to English... life of a rockstar huh? in short the summit was a success and everything went great. Exchanged a lot of ideas with amazing people. Truly is a point in my life that I will look back on... and reflect. Anyways, pictures are worth a thousand words(none of which are in my brain at this moment) :) enjoy!