Everyday there are these three little children who walk around and try to sell you flowers. Anyone who has ever been in a third world coutnrty or even in a resturant late at night has experienced it. YOu are sitting at a table at a resturant and they try to sell you flowers. What is differnt here is that your heart breaks. I think I have cried about four times for the lives of these children. They work until three in the morning and wear the same clothes every single day. Their faces just show how tired and upset they are as they beg you to buy their flowers. We have taught the boy how to count to ten in English and some other random pharses. Perhaps in our hearts we hope that by knowing some English he will be able to remove himself from the steets. Coming from a town like Greenwich and not being the richest kid on the block has sometimes seemed hard. Coming here I relize what a life of luxury we all lead. THe fact that we even have the option of travelling out of our own hometown is amazing. We do not realize how truly blessed we really are.

I am still trying to figure out what I can do to make their lives better. I have made them smile and occasionally we make them laugh. I gave the little boy Ling Wow a toy today but I heard a rumor that he gets beat if he has one. So the next time I saw him he no longer had it. I guess the rumor was correct. I will figure out what I can do but I guess just talking and exposing it is something in itself. What is ironic is right now we are sitting and drinking with a group of chinese people who are about the same age as us. They seem to be of the same economic status as us and quite placid with the economic harship that surrounds them. I know that tomorrow in my class I will bring this issue uip and try to form a better opinion of what this type of commece means to those who live in China.