I had to sift through the Chinese characters in order to hack Noelle's account and make this post... and I am interrupting our summer road trip with news from China - so you will have to follow us from Virginia to Shenzhen and when Noelle blogs again you will probably be back in DC. I guess this is my inaugural post. I thought I might share my perspective on China so far... and I thought this was a better place to post it rather than blast you with facebook updates. Here is what I see here:
- I only realize I'm actually in communist China when I do, or see, the following: 1) We cross the border to Hong Kong - it's very nerve racking to have these austere people searching your stuff. 2) when I see people's identification... most people will have a standard picture with a red background, white shirt, black tie, and no smile... even if the people look totally nice, their ID screams commy. And 3) when we go to church and realize you have to have a foreign passport to even come in...
- Driving is pretty bad... but there are bad drivers everywhere. In Dongguan, where I go almost everyday, there are a few lights and absolutely no stop signs... so if an intersection does not have a light - it's a free for all! People just honk and cruise right through. I am pretty sure I have had three lifetimes flash before my eyes. I have never heard so much honking. Drivers will honk when they approach the blind spot of a car... they will honk at the pedestrians 200 yards away who don't even look both ways (I guess they missed that preschool class). Also, I've decided we as Americans take driving too personal (me included). Somebody will literally cut your driver off... he will simply honk and swerve to the other lane - cutting someone else off - and pass the slow car... continuing the insanity, but I have yet to see a driver get angry. We Americans, we get road rage and want to get even.
- The Chinese will eat anything. I have had beef intestine and sheep stomach... but last night we watched sheep heart, sheep stomach, sheep skin meat balls, and some very strange fungus just get pounded by my supplier friends that took us out to eat. Who knows what I will eat this week.
- Baby seats - never heard of them! I saw three humans on a scooter... two adults sitting and a 3-4 year old standing on the foot landing... all with no helmets.
- Can you imagine not using diapers for your little ones? I can now! So, it is rare that you will see a baby with diapers. The Chinese parents TIME and FEEL the baby's need to use the bathroom and then will hold the baby over a bush or something... how are more people not shat on in public?!? I could never do that.
- It's pretty hot and humid here... maybe slightly more than ATL, but not much. People walk around the streets with their shirts pulled up past their nipples to stay cooler.
- I have been working a lot, so when I leave Dongguan at 9-10 I will see groups of people sitting out in front of their favorite convenient store watching some TV... groups of 15-20 all gather to watch TV on the sidewalks.
- As I stated on Facebook, I have now seen a 10 story building adorned in bamboo scaffolding. That type of scaffolding would only ever hold a Chinese person.
- Hong Kong drives on the right side of the car and the left side of the street... but once you cross the border into China, they drive on the left side of the car on the right side of the street. It gets so confusing when a Hong Kong driver takes you across the border and they start driving from the right side of the car on the right side of the street. Try sitting in the front seat with a glove box and no pedals to press... it's weird.
- Random people will take pictures of us (more with Noelle)... why do they assume we are foreigners... AND why are they asking Noelle to pose with their kids?
- There are really no black people here.
- we walked out of our hotel with my supplier and he says "ahh look an Indian" as a person from India walks away from us... we thought it was funny.
- The Chinese don't say um or uh... they say nigga. It translates to "that is" but it sure sounds odd to my southern ears.
Well, Noelle just caught me writing on her blog and told me not to publish it. we'll see what she does when she sees it - hahahah
- Chinese Mark
The next morning, we visited the Naval Academy and walked around the campus for an hour or so. I'd planned a much more relaxing day, since we'd definitely over-extended ourselves in DC.
After visiting the Academy, we continued on to Wilmington, Delaware. We walked along the riverfront, saw a sweet ship (the Kalmar Nyckel) and had some sushi for dinner. 
After dinner, we drove to New Jersey to stay the night, before continuing on to Philadelphia in the morning.
After spending the morning at the mine, we continued on to DC. We arrived just in time to visit Arlington National Cemetery that afternoon. We stopped by JFK's grave, saw the changing of the guards, and reveled in the solemn sites. It is a really powerful place to visit, and definitely makes me proud of all those in the military who fight and die for our freedom.
The next morning, we visited the Museum of Natural History and had a great time. We loved all of the skeletons and replicas, and I especially loved seeing the Hope Diamond.
Waiting for the museum to open.
The Hope Diamond!
They had lots of amazing jewels, many that were owned by queens.
Mark holding a sick-a cockroach.
After the museum, we headed over for our scheduled tour of the White House, which I was looking forward to SO much. I'd emailed our congressman a month or so earlier and was really excited that we were able to get in. When we arrived, we were told our tour was postponed for an hour or so, so we had lunch nearby while we waited. At 1:30, the time we were told to come back, we headed to the line and were told that our tour was canceled and was rescheduled for 3 days later...too bad we were only there 1 more day. I was so upset!
After pouting and cursing Obama, we headed over to the Holocaust Museum. I've always been interested in the Holocaust, ever since middle school when my favorite teacher dedicated most of our year to studying it, and thought this museum was very informative. The main exhibit was about the propaganda during that time, and they also had an exhibit told through the eyes of a child during the war.
After the tour, we drove around town for a bit (aka we were lost for a bit...I swear DC is the WORST city in the country for driving...it's such a mess!). We did drive by the National Cathedral, which looks amazing - definitely on my list as a must see for next time.Our next day in DC was as equally packed as the last. We started off the morning with a visit to Ford's Theatre, which we really loved. It was really interesting to learn more about John Wilkes Booth and to hear details about that tragic day.
We thought this sign was a bit ironic; as Mark said, "Someone should have told John."
The gun that killed Lincoln.
The booth where the Lincoln was shot.
We had a scheduled tour of the Capitol Building that afternoon, but it went a little longer than we expected, so we had to leave in the middle.
Mark, on the tour.
The underside of the dome.
The National Archives
In front of the mine opening
It actually turned out to be super cool. They have a small museum, and a "coal mine town" with a schoolhouse and miner's shanties (aka teeny houses) that you can tour, and the highlight of the visit is obviously the trip inside the mine. Our tour guide had been a miner for 40+ years and taught us tons about how the miners worked; it was actually fascinating to learn that many of their old-fashioned methods are still used, or have just changed in the last 20 years or so. 
Our tour guide
