we are in Beijing and ready to come home. Most everyone else that we met through the adoption process has also started the long voyage home so we were getting antsy. Luckily, Guanghzou gave us a nice surprise with sun, actual sun not just lighter smog as in Jinan on our last day. It was a great day and I did not care about all the looks I got for wearing shorts and a t-shirt even as many residents still wore their jackets because it was "only" 65 degrees.

We are looking forward to bringing Eli home. He keeps asking when he is going to America and we have to tell him "Dun Dun" or be patient. Currently, Beijing is in a bit of a cold snap so this is helping us adjust to what we can expect in Minnesota.

One thing I never adjusted to was the constant optimism of everyone we met. I have never met a group of people so happy and without complaints. At times it became funny as the time a tour guide told another group of Americans that China had no slums as we drove past some obvious examples. It seems that there is never anything wrong or worth complaining about here. I know we all know American society is full of complainers, just watch a broadcast of Channel 5 news and they can always find a disgruntled Minnesotan to complain about something. Here in China, everything has a positive and never a negative. Even the homeless are infected with this optimism. In an article I read one homeless man was quoted as listing the benefits of living outdoors (healthy air, not a lot of possessions to worry about).

I think this is in part because they might be worried about saying anything bad about their society or government. In every news article I read or watched, they almost always ended with some "expert" either from the government or the university saying it, whatever it was whether it was pollution or car emissions or homelessness, was getting better over "the last couple of years". Of course, not that there was any counterpoint allowed or data to back this up. And censors were watching to make sure only the positive message was heard. I was watching CNN International and its program was occassionally blocked if the story owuld make China look bad.

That's because they are trying to prove themselves to Europe and North America. Most of the articles I read were about the expansion of China's power and influence in Asia. While that might be true, all of the articles expressed positive reviews of this without allowing any outside discussion of any alternative viewpoint. This too became comical as this competition with outside forces is permeating Chinese culture includine passive aggressive messages. One of the top television programs of the last few years was called "Sun in the East, Rain in the West." Also, on our flight to Guanghzou, I watched a huge concert event which has been rebroadcasted a couple of times since. One singer who must be the Taylor Swift of China since I've seen her on commercials all over the place had the crowd (young males and females) singing along while many wept. Her song, loosely translated had this as the chorus; When you have good fortune, you bring your country good luck, if you have bad fortune, you hurt your country. As I continued to read her lyrics, she was using fortune to decribe people's actions. In other words, don't do something that makes your country look bad.

There was one person that had the courage to be frank with me. Most everyone kept the answers pleasant and sunny, not that I had intense political discources with everyone I met. Still, it was like China's on prozac and nothing bad happens.

Still, I have enjoyed my experience here. I've tried many new foods that I don't think I would have tried without this trip. I also got to see a part of the world that I NEVER thought I would visit. The Chinese are incredibly helpful in part because they don't want to let you down and have something bad happen. There was always someone that could assist even with mangled English and I never felt intimidated to explore on my own. Sure, people took lots of pictures of me but I never felt threatened or in danger. And we gota pretty cool addition to the family. I'd say this trip was a success by any standards.

See you again in America,

Mike, Jodi & Eli