Sunday in America

Although I was exhausted last night and went to bed around 10:30, Xiao stayed up until about 2 am, getting her clothes and belongings organized and talking with her friends in China via the Internet. I have no idea when she finally went to sleep, but she slept in until about 11 this morning!



I, on the other hand, was up at my usual time of about 6:30 am, and spent the morning cooking and preparing food. I boiled the turkey carcass down and made turkey soup. I also made potato salad for our evening barbeque.



Xiao wanted to see some of the area around my home, specifically where I did grocery shopping, etc. So, we went to Lucky's and went down each isle, so that she could see everything we had available to us. She mentioned that they only had a few choices of cereal in China and was amazed that we had a whole isle of different kinds of dry cereal to choose from. We went through the check out line and our cashier told us that she had recently spent 20 days vacation in China. She chatted a bit with Xiao about that. She also said that although China's grocery stores were large, like ours, they were typically PACKED with humans....with barely room to move around. Amazing! And, we get upset when there are more than 3 persons in a check out line!!!!



After the grocery visit, I took Xiao to Target and we went through every section of the store. I explained that this store was alot like Walmart (which they have in China), but a bit more expensive. When I visit Walmart in the next few weeks, I plan to take Xiao with me. Xiao needs to purchase a pre-paid calling card so that she can call her parents in China. I asked around and believe that Costco may have the best prices for these, so I will take Xiao there sometime this week. China does not have a Costco yet.



The exchange rate is 1 - 7 in China, $1 American is worth $7 in China. So, it would be a great country to visit right now. But, it's interesting to note that Apple MACs are very very expensive in China, so only the rich Chinese have them.



Ashley, Xiao and I had barbequed hamburgers and potato salad for Sunday dinner. Ashley and I asked Xiao many questions about her home. She told us that she lives in the city and there is not alot of space for people. Apparently, baseball and football do not exist because there is no room for those kind of sports! I asked how they were able to host the Olympics in Beijing. Apparently, they built temporary structures and tore them down afterward. Such a shame! Those arenas could have stayed and allowed the people of China to have other ongoing sports....but, there just isn't enough space to allow for the population. Wow.

Xiao also told us that most families have only 1 child, and I recalled that this is mandated by the Chinese government. Xiao is an only child. Her father drives a car for a government official and her mother works also (not sure what she does). Apparently the government job pays ok, but her family is not rich. They saved for Xiao to be able to come to America.

Xiao already attended a Chinese university and graduated. However, they only give diplomas, not degrees. This is why she wished to come to America and attend college, to receive a degree in Business Administration. With a degree, she will be able to get a better job, here or in China. I was amazed to here that Chinese colleges did not award degrees. Xiao also had to get very good grades in school and pass a test in order to be allowed to go to college in China. Apparently, China does not have community colleges that are available to any student wishing to attend.

It was a lovely evening here, with warm Santa Ana winds. Xiao is really enjoying our summer weather in California. We sat out back for a while and enjoyed the breezes.



Tomorrow, we plan to go to National University, to speak with her school representative.