I'm a diplobrat. Ask me anything.

[sky pies]

Oh, and about China. Isn't it very polluted? I lived in Beijing before the 2008 Olympics and even then, there were some days when the air was too bad to even go out (at least according to my parents). I like other places like Xi'an, but not really the large cities.

I lived there from 2004-09, and have visited often since.. I'm never going to say Beijing didn't get polluted but it was never as consistently bad as CNN said, and it's good days were often absolutely gorgeous. It's much better these days, too, as they have done significant work in the areas surrounding the city to reduce the suspended particle count.

Other cities are dirtier - Jakarta in the dry season comes to mind - and few cities have any area as beautiful as the hutong districts inside the second ring road.