Homesick, Survivor China

Hmmm, title got you stymied?

E and I were discussing Maryland this past week and how we miss so much of it. Little Italy and Vacarro's, The Inner Harbor, Camden Yards (note I did not say the Orioles), access to DC, Longwood Gardens and of course, the fabulous St. Micheal's on the other side of the Bay.

To go along with the list of places, well, of course, is the list of people. Near the top of that list is our friend Renee and her husband Jim. The last time we truly followed Survivor on TV was when we did a revolving "Survivor Night" party. Each week at a different person's house, the host cooking dinner (normally a crock pot venture), the guests bringing alcohol, salad and desserts.

That series was awesome, complete with a season finale party with lei's, grass skirts, funny glasses, it was fantastic. The comraderie, the friendship, the fun.

So it is with great anticipation that we will miss them sorely during this season, not only will we not have them on "Survivor Night" when it airs this fall, but it's a double whammy, the series is in China this year and I'm not sure how hard or exciting it will be to watch, thinking every week of Magpie.

Yes, I did say reality TV, American Style, has hit China. I think that is an incredible feat, likely helped along by the fact China is hosting the Olympics and is trying to portray different images at least in the media.

Facts:

Filming started June 25th and ended August 2nd
Being held in Jiang Xi Province on the Yangtze River
Contestants arrive in Shanghai and travel to HuangPu Mountain's Mi Tuo Temple
One team is named "Fighting Tigers", Zhan Hu
The other team is named "Flying Dragons", Fei Long
It's the furthest from the equator of any Series
There will be no Exile Island, but, there will be kidnapping of a losing team member instead.
Survivor's will be given a copy of Sun Tzu's The Art of War to "guide" them on their journey (sure now to hit the best sellers list again, much like an Oprah Booklist Pick)
This is the first American TV show to film and entire series in any Communist country.
There will be a hidden immunity idol but clues must be turned over to one member of the enemy tribe.
It airs Thursday September 20th at 8PM.

When I think of China I think of all the people in our lives who watch it, some integral to our lives, some not. And I can't help but think of those closest to us and wonder if they'll be thinking of Magpie too, even the ones who haven't mentioned her adoption in a long long time, literally. I'm looking forward to watching about our daughter's first homeland this fall.

**Rumor has it, there will be 2 seasons filmed in China, one with a regular cast, one with an Allstar cast... let's hope when the Allstar episodes show that we'll have Magpie's referral.