Taking a dig at stereotypes from the other side

"If you dig a hole to the center of the Earth, you'll eventually end up in China."

This is a tall tale told to American children to explain how far away China is. Children are taught from a very young age that life on the other side of the world is strange, and can potentially be scary.

So when I told everyone that I would be spending my summer in Beijing, there was no shortage of comments on how different my life would be.