Hello all. I hope this email finds you all safe and well and happy. I am writing this at considerable personal pain because I was just made to climb up on hands and knees the highest mountain in Guilin Monkey Mountain. Lucky me. I casually mentioned in conversation that the unique Limestone Mountains of Guilin LOOKED cool and all of a sudden I found my self agreeing to climb one ON MY SATURDAYwith the principle of my school! And by climbed I dont mean saunter up a few steps with a can of lemonade I mean CLIMBED CLIMBED like on all fours with me whining my head off that I am hot/tired/thirsty/in pain while it was POURING down rain. Apparently these days having a serious war injury. from the war gets you outta nothing!!! Actually halfway up I realized I was having a blast and after that it was very cool. When we got to the top the view was just wowsers and for once I actually had a camera on me when I actually wanted to take a picture! Maybe the Kelly camera curse is lifted I think I might have a sign on my back saying: "make this kid exercise" cos Im also playing badminton (?!?) at the local sports center every Tuesday from 8-10pm why or how I really dont know I have decided though I am going to hone my badminton stills and in a very Cool Runnings way form an Australian Badminton Olympic Team all I have to do is learn to stop smacking myself in the head when I swing for the shuttle cock. Any ideas for a theme song would be most welcome. Hmmmmmmmmm what other goss do I have to share today??? Last night the principle of the school and some of the teachers and their families took us out for a dinner cruise on the Li River which was just totally totally magical, the riverside was all lit up with thousands of fairy lights and it just looked enchanted. We were so desperate for cheese and butter we bought them from the one western restaurant in Guilin for 40Y and then saw them in a supermarket (of all places) the next day for 1Y (sigh). In fact supermarket shopping is a terrifying experience. Dont get me wrong the trolley system they have is very cool but if you venture into the Deli area..My advice is dont unless you want to be seriously and permanently scarred. The Chinese dont believe in take the heads of any form of meat (something we discovered the hard way in a hot pot experience) and there is. Oh its totally too gross for words. Almost enough to make you turn vegoalmost. We have been keeping a tally of the rats we have seen throughout Guilin: the current total is 5. (One literally ran over my foot the other day. I squealed like a little girl and just RAN. Yall know my policy of not being fond of any animal that can faster than me.) Speaking of we Katie and I are still having a blast together despite the fact she calls shallots (get this) spring onions (?!?) and the game know THROUGHOUT the universe paper scissors rock paper scissors.stone (!?!!) There was a slight incident over whether the strange potted plant outside was a bonzi or an ornamental cabbage but apart from that she is totally the best gap partner in the world, and I feel sooooo lucky. Katies not even afraid of the scary gas cook top in our apartment (affectionately known as the penthouse nice way to say the sucker is up five flights of stairs.) I am about as good at lighting the cooker as I was the bunsin burner in science in years 7/8/9/10. What I would do with a lit cooker I really have no ideathere us only so many times a person can eat eggs-my one dish. AND DONT U DARE SAY I TOLD U SO! Who knew a person should learn to cook????? Well thats all I got time forI have to drag my weary poor chocolate deprived body to my toilet to have a shower. But the time I come back I want some very VERY LONG response from yall detailing all facets of life from back home.