Enjoying Qingdao

I can't believe it's already been 6 days. Where has the time gone? My time in China has been so unbelievable; it feels as if it isn't real. My host family is amazing; I love them all already. My parents speak little English so they have trouble communicating with me, but they are still so much fun. I have already had so many great experiences since the start of the trip; I have trouble keeping up with them in my journal! One of the best days so far for me was on Tuesday. I went to the aquarium with my host family and saw a dolphin show; the tricks the dolphins could do were unbelievable! At the show, my host sister Cheery and I met up with Lila, Kylie and Claire and their host sisters. We walked around the rest of the aquarium and got to see all of the cool animals; it was great. We even got to take pictures with the dolphins! After the aquarium, we went to Kylie's host mom's friend’s restaurant, located where the Qingdao Sailing Olympics were held and made dumplings with our host sisters and their friends. We sang karaoke, ate such great food and met so many new and interesting people.

Making dumplings was so much fun but I must say I am not very good at it! The mothers were amazing at making them and could do it so quickly, too. I guess they have had a lot of practice. After eating dumplings and talking with our new friends, we said good bye and I went back to Lila's apartment with her host sister, Tian. While Tian did her homework, Lila and I watched a movie while her mother prepared dinner. Dinner was great and the parents were so welcoming I felt right at home. This was just one of the many amazing days I have had in Qingdao so far, and I am so grateful to have the opportunity to be here and be able to experience all of this.
-Elyssa Ganser