America the beautiful!

Shiyu on the first day of school in her new Abercrombie clothes.
Doesn't she look so cute? Well all I can say is the last two weeks have been a BIG learning experience.

1. Registration took 4 days!! If you decide to host a student I advise you to take their immunization records to a doctor or the school nurse the second you receive the file(should have done this in May when that file arrived) She had to get a tetnus booster, and almost had to get a Polio/Measles....but we applied for a letter of conscious through the state to avoid this. But it could have all been avoided had we had someone look over the records when they arrived. It is also advisable to make them send you a very detailed transcript....something more than just Math, English, Geography. Needs more detail, maybe even some assessment test scores. Makes registration a whole lot easier.
2. It is hard to participate in a US History class regardless of your intelligence when you have not one speck of that history in your brain.
3. Kids are very, very resilant, and very strong.
4. Parenting is a very different job in China. Shiyu is shocked at how involved parents are in their kids lives, and in their school. I have had to sign every single sylabus that has been handed out....she has no understanding of this process.
5. Shiyu thinks that everyone in America must be rich, that we never have to wait in line for anything, that everyone is incredibly friendly and wants to be so helpful(except for her Math teacher-Bi$ch) Trust me I have tried to make sure she understands that none of this is accurate, and it only appears that way, and that she will get to see that this is not accurate.
6. We drive everywhere
7. That there is a store for everything
8. It is easy to learn to barracade yourself away from the dog so you can enjoy your breakfast in peace
9. That not all kids are created equal. Teenagers can be level headed, responsible, and can take on more than you would ever expect. So far this has been very different than having Taylor and Connor in our house. I don't know if this is a difference in parenting, or if it is a cultural difference, our it is just a personality difference. I would guess it is a combination of all of them. So far....she is the perfect child.
10. That we have a lot to learn about China
11. That the people in China think that George Bush looks like a monkey, and that they also think that most of the US thinks that he is a good president, and that we all want to be at war. We have had some very lengthy discussions about this, and she now understands that most of the US does not want to be at war, and that overwhelmingly our population is ready for a new president.

The list could go on and on. But this is just a few that come to mind. We are very lucky to have this opportunity. Let me just tell you how quickly someone becomes a member of your family, and quickly you become protective of that new family member.