What were you grateful for this week?McDonald’s ice cream cones. 

What was the most challenging part of this week?Eating packed and sauced mushrooms. 

Tell us about a “wow” moment you had this week.This week I made a special effort to communicate more with the aunt (nanny) that lives with us! We ended up having a great conversation (with [my host family’s son’s] help translating of course) about China and all the amazing opportunities here! 

Tell us about your week! This week was fun! I spent a lot of time at home with my host family playing games. There is a Chinese game that seems to be similar to American style Chess. [My host family’s son] was training for a competition for it, so he was practicing a lot this week with his dad and aunt. This week food was definitely a big part of my experience, as it always is! I mentioned it above, but yes, I tried sauced and packaged mushrooms! [My host family’s daughter] loves it, so she wanted me to try it! Last month she had me try sauced duck tongue though, so I am kinda used trying new wacky foods. Surprisingly, the sauced mushrooms were actually pretty good! On Saturday, I was finally able to go out and explore a little bit. My friend and I decided to go to Century Park, a massive park right in the middle of the city. It has this massive lake with motor boats you could rent and ride, so that’s what we decided to do! It was such a peaceful way to spend a Saturday afternoon. We didn’t have much time to explore the rest of the park, but it looked like there was a ton of beautiful things to see there. I loved how wide the walkways were, and how many happy Chinese families were there enjoying the sunshine.