因为在神没有一件事是不可能的

I'll be polite to Chinese people and tell them I like the Olympics, which isn't a lie, but I do wish that China did not get to host it. It all goes back to the whole saving face thing.

Yantai is close enough to Qingdao that we are feeling a bit of the fist that is gripping Chinese people during this period. Qingdao is hosting the sailing, or something that no one cares about. Here is a short list of things that make me feel China was not ready to host the Olympics.

• I see 10-20 cops every day. Two weeks I would be surprised if I saw 1. After the Olympics it will change back.


• People living in the apartments close to the beach where the sailing will be were forced to leave their apartments for a couple months.


• The law is enforced far to strictly now, and far too loosly a month ago. For instance, a international business owner took a picture (on his phone) of some historical thing he wasn't supposed to. Did they take is phone? Yes. But they didn't stop there. He was deported that day and not allowed back in China for 6 months. He owns a business here and he can't come back!


• If you are wearing something offensive on your shirt at the games they have stickers that they can come up and put on your shirt.


• The torch was going to run through Yantai but it was canceled at the last minute. During the rehearsal they made everyone is the surrounding apartments sign contracts saying that they would not hang any laundry or anything else out their windows. I can deal with that, but they also said that they would not be allowed to come out of their apartments and watch the torch run by. They could watch it on TV. I had several friends living in those apartments. They were not happy.


• There are two Chinese girls in gymnastics that look no older than 14 but have passports that say they are sixteen. I've taught Chinese students enough to know there is no way they are 16, but they have all the right papers from the government so too bad. ridiculous.

The list goes on and on. I love China, but it does have it's problems.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I hate face and I hate the need to control people so much.

All that said, I love this country and think it's a wonderful place to live with friendly people and a beautiful culture. If I have children (girls more than boys) I would like to raise them here. America doesn't raise girls, it creates monsters women that are not very women-like. China raises women that know how to be women. I've been thinking about this a lot recently and I'll probably write about it exensively in the near future.