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Leader of the day:   

Alice

Today my group (Ally, Libby, Bridger, and me) went to rehab. We rode our ambulance van but it took us longer than usual because we needed to pick up a lot more people and also more items. We had fun in the van playing games and singing. At rehab we started to help with their stengthening of muscles. The kids were laughing and playing. It all made us feel happy to be with them and having a lot accomplished with them. Bridger taught Tsin Gon Gon how to say the facial features and where they are on the face. It was amazing how smart Tsin Gon Gon is about his disability.

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Leader of the day:   

Dwayne

Today was a good but a very draining day. It started off with Bridger, Cason, Alice, and I, along with Shannon and Emily driving to rehab. I started off the day stretching with Tian Gong Gong. It was a very intense workout for me because I had no idea how strong this little kid was. When we started off, we had to hold down all his limbs and apply pressure. Gong Gong started screaming, crying, and saying things. Little did I know, he was screaming, "Don't let them do this to me, they are hurting me." This translation took me by surprise, but we all knew he would be better in the long run. After he was done with his third set of exercises, he layed down next to Bridger and smiled.

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Leader of the day:   

Cason

Today was a busy day. In the morning we split up: 3 of us staying at the orphanage and 5 going to rehab. We spent a lot of the time just playing with the kids and saying goodbye. After lunch, both groups departed for Shijiazhuang, the capital of Hebei, where our train to Xi'an left from. Both groups ended up taking buses to the station - but one group got a nice van ride and the other got a slightly sketchy bus ride. Once at the train station we went out to a local westernized restaurant and all of us were happy to see some recognizable food!! We also stopped at the local shopping mall to fill time before our train and we got to explore some chinese shops. When the time came to get on our train it was a human stampede. We were in the 2nd class sleepers but it wasn't that bad at all. We all settled in for a short sleep in the smoky cabins. It was definitely an experience for those who hadn't slept in large scale night trains and the 3 bed high bunk beds made for some good laughs.

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Leader of the day:   

Averill

Today we arrived at Xi'an, while we were traveling by train. At six in the morning we met our tour guide Lena who would show us around Xi'an for the next two days. After we got settled in at the New Grand Hotel, our first stop was the Terra Cotta Warriors and the factory. When it came around to dinner time we had the chance to try 20 different dumplings. Along with the dinner there was a music and dance show to watch and experience. Going to Xi'an was nice after spending 6 days in Liming.

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Leader of the day:   

Brit

Today we slept in until 10 and went to the wall that surrounds Xi'an. There, we rode on the top of the wall. Cason, Libby, and Bridger made it all the way around the 14 K wall while Dwayne was throwing up. Those dumplings may have been yummy when he ate them, but not so much after. After the wall, we went to Feng Shua Museum where we invited dragon horses home with us, the mosque, the history museum and then finally back to the train station for our departure back to Beijing.

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Leader of the day:   

Libby

Today we came in to Beijing after an overnight ride from Xi'an. We were all tired so we rested in the morning. After lunch we spent the afternoon in China Care. It was our first time at China Care and we all loved meeting the new kids. There are a lot of kids at China Care especially infants and toddlers. Everyone was very cute. After playing with the kids we had a little taste of home when we ate what we wanted for dinner, including Subway, Starbucks, and Mexican.

July 3 - Day 14

Leader of the day:   

Ally

Today we spent our first official day at China Care. It was certainly different from the orphanage in Liming, but we all had a good time getting to know the infants, toddlers, and older children. I had the opportunity to teach English to children between the ages of 5-7 and 9-13 and play some soccer as well. We had an enjoyable evening at Brent's house filled with American food and Chinese history. To finish the night, we watched "The Last Emperor."