August 2, 2010 - Guilin, Guangxi, China
"He (America) is good at extracting other countries' advantages while improving its national federal system. He (America) tries to make it more perfect, more effectual and more reasonable."
~ Joe on American History
Finally, the skies have cleared of clouds and rain, but have been replaced by the blinding sun. Today is my last day in the Guangxi Province. In the morning, a final peaceful walk across the Flower Bridge to Seven Stars Park lead to a hike of two karst limestone pinnacles, Putuo Hill and Crescent Hill-Hidden Dragon Rock - which almost induced heat exhaustion. Putuo Hill is the highest reachable peak within Guilin and has been capped with a pavilion where locals play cards and board games. China is clever with naming natural and man-made features. On a clear night, one might sit in this hilltop pavilion and attempt plucking Seven Stars from the sky.
I've never been on a cruise before, but I assume a good book for lounging on the deck is standard. In Guiin's business district there is a three story book store with two rows of English literature. Most the choices are the classics: Pride and Prejudice, Gone With the Wind, Harry Potter. After hours of taking in the stores literature, music, and DVD selection, I kept coming back to the same book - Rosemary in Palmdale, A Chinese Exchange Student's Entire Diaries in the United States. The writers English name is Joe, but I can't figure out his given name since it's written in Chinese. 
Joe shares every journal entry he made during his junior high school exchange year in California.
Some of Joe's observations about the U.S.:
+ In the U.S. there are table manners, in China anything goes including spitting and throwing waste on the floor
+ In the U.S. it's acceptable to slam doors
+ In the U.S. it's acceptable to sleep-in on the weekends
+ In the U.S., police officers have authority and carry guns
In China police officers loiter on street corners, provide escort services to the wealthy, hangout in restaurants, and party at the bars in uniform. I can't figure out the purpose of cops in China and apparently neither can the Chinese people.
