My Chinese supervisor just got back from her annual trip to China.

My supervisor goes to visit her relatives in China every year. Last year she became very ill from the pollution and spent days in bed. This year she became dehydrated because she could not drink the water. She said the Chinese add a chemical to all the water to kill bacteria and that the chemical comes out of the pores of your body. She said all restaurant food tastes like the chemical. She said she was throwing up chemicals. She would only eat rice she made herself with bottled water.

She said her sister became very angry with her when she told her that she hated China now. her sister said, "You were born here, how can you say that?" My supervisor says that every commercial on Chinese television has a western model or actress in it. She says no matter how Chinese the product, western models are selling it. They hire Russians because they are cheap.

When my supervisor first came from China she lived and worked in Omaha, Nebraska. When her husband had to move to California for business reasons, my supervisor cried and cried. She said she used to think California was disgusting and dirty and she wanted to go back to Omaha. Now when she goes to China she can't wait to get back to California!