CHINA

Arrived safely in China more than a week ago. Gabe hadn't been feeling well and had the flu for the days before and after we arrived in China, so I took him to the hospital. There we were taken to an abandoned building in the hospital grounds that they use for prisoners when they get ill. It was pretty much what I was expecting, rusty bed, hard mattress, old school medical instruments. We thought it would pretty routine and we would be in and out. We were wrong. They quarantined Gabe and also myself because I was with him. 18 hours later we are released from the hospital. That is a bad way to start out an update, so, for that I apologize.
I actually really like it here, a lot. Xining, located in the Qinghai province is a city of approximately 2 million with heavy influence from the Hui Muslim and the Tibetan people groups. The climate is so mild here which is a really nice change from hot Taiwan. The people are friendly and put up with my lack of Chinese well. It is a fun place to be and there is always something happening, whether it be Tibetan dancing in the mornings and at nights, to Xi Men ( a sqaure where people of all ages gather) where you can hang out and meet new friends, to the open mike night at the coffee shop next Wednesday.
I've been making friends in the coffee shop across from the apartment we are staying in and it has been a real good time. I have also been doing lots of teaching English at a school, and an orphanage, and recently a little bit in the coffee shop.
Next week we start working in a American style restaurant that has recently opened up. We will be in charge of quality control and supervising the staff (even though we are newer than they are!) while the owner is gone for several weeks.