Pandas, rice, and communists?

I chose China as my destination to teach and travel during the fall of 2007. Excitement is the feeling that has overwhelmed me the past few months. I sit and try to understand where I am going by surfing the web while I manny. There is an ocean hundreds of miles to my west and I will cross it...then I will know why they call us "fucking Americans". My mother is coming to visit me during my last weekend in Colorado. I hope she has accepted my decision to go to a place that makes her scared. My eyes need to see another continent. I will be able to understand who I am by experiencing adventure and adversity.