Ni Hao!!

Well We are coming up on our Count down , days before departure. We are shaking in our boots!
Soon (hopefully) we will find out our placement and address, then all of you will know our where abouts for the coming year.
Thanks again for all the contributions. We are still taking doanations and are only about half way where we wanted to be before departure. We are slowly trucking along and getting more, however.
Everyday we are learning more chinese. We now know how to order food, how to introduce ourselves and our families, how to ask and tell directions and general greetings. Oh and I know how to ask where the bathroom is. A most important question when traveling. I think we are almost set don't you? We are also trying to remember to not do ceratin cultural things while we are away. We have to mind our american habits!
For example Joe is trying to remember that he can't mix all his food together at dinner. In China this is an insult to the cook. For those of you who have eaten with Joe, this is just the way he likes to eat, so we are trying to remind him not to do this while we are away!! I am also trying to relish in the bathroom facilities while we are still in the states, from what I have heard they are similar to european hostiles in China, where it is just a hole in the ground. Fun! Fun!
Well if anyone has any advice for us, please let us know. In the next month we will be traveling to our families lake home for the fourth ofJuly pg roast and visiting St.Louis for the fourth of July fireworks. I know that sounds interesting the pig roast is the weekend before the fourth!