As a group, we get a lot of attention. I think people don’t quite know what to make of us, because we are so diverse: males, females, young to middle aged, black, white, asian, latino, etc….Truly a slice of diversity in America.   At first, we ate out as a group, arranged for us by CET-usually in a separate dining room in a restaurant. Then when we were somewhat more acclimated to our surroundings and had some language instruction, we were turned loose to go it on our own. Just now, I got back from eating at a local restaurant with just one of the other teachers. We know how to order rice, noodles, dumplings, beer, tea, etc… and when all else fails we just point to the menu and say in Chinese, “I want that”. It doesn’t always work out- last week, I thought the picture on the menu was a beef dish, but when I got it, it was a whole fish including its teeth (!)covered with some kind of dark brown sauce. We had two hours of tai chi instruction this afternoon. Even though I felt like a complete klutz, it must have done something for me, because at the end of two hours on my feet, I did not feel tired. It made me have a lot more appreciation for the scores of Chinese we see in the park nearby,doing tai chi every morning.Our tai chi teacher was beautiful to watch when he demonstrated some more advanced moves: such fluid and graceful movement. We walk a lot-  I’ve resorted to wearing sneakers with my skirts- not the height of fashion, that ‘s for sure- and no make up because it’s so hot here, it just drips right off.