Made in China!

As I'm getting ready to go across the Pacific for three weeks (yippee!) I've learned that the Chinese are very generous and enjoy giving and receiving gifts. So, that means in addition to packing clothing, shoes, teaching supplies, pepto bismol, and other assorted medicines, I need to bring along gifts for the children and adults we spend a lot of time with on this trip. I'm not complaining, I think it's pretty cool, actually. However, I'm frustrated at how difficult it was to find an appropriate gift to bring! Here's why: it has to be something made in our country, that says something about our culture.

Unfortunately, what I've learned from "gift shopping" is that our country is actually "Made in China" and shipped to us. Even the patriotic July 4th decorations aren't made in America. I learned this AFTER I bought a bunch of the Old Navy canvas bags pictured here, so I'm just going to cut the tag out and pretend it was made in the USA. However, this also works in my favor because when I get home, I will buy all of your gifts here so that my suitcase is not unnecessarily weighed down, and the "Made in China" sticker will make it seem authentic. Those of you who don't read this blog will be none the wiser! Muahahaha!

Oh, but one thing NOT made in China: toilet paper. I'm not sure what they use, if anything, but we have been told to bring our own toilet paper to keep our behinds happy. If all goes well, I hope to have an extra roll left to give to the Chinese bathrooms as my parting gift, hopefully with a note that reads: thank you for not giving me the runs.