The O's Odyssey to China

The book is out.

2014-11-02T18:47:00.004-08:00

Hello my Friends,

I appreciate all of you that have read the blog over the last few years. I have finally finished the ebook version and want to share it with you. In the ebook version, you don't just get my perspective, but the views of the rest of my family. Claire, Taylor and Cecelia have entries as well. I think you will find it refreshing and interesting. The link to the book is below. Thanks for continuing to read.
http://store.blurb.com/ebooks/419028-the-o-s-odyssey-to-china

Sincerely,

Rusty Oetinger

The Last Entry is The Hardest

2013-09-16T20:31:00.001-07:00

One of my favorite places. It was amazingly serene.

My friends, I am sorry that I have not posted to the blog recently. I have been very busy of course as I have mentioned in earlier blogs with school and golf, but that really isn't the reason that I am behind. The biggest reason is I couldn't really bring myself to write my last post. This has been such an amazing experience for me. The year in China was almost indescribable, but sharing with my friends and family was a physical and mental pleasure that I will miss immensely. I want to take a moment to thank all of you that kept up regularly. I never really had any idea how many people would read my writing, so I have been pleasantly surprised to discover nearly 10,000 people from all over the world have read my blog. So, thank you again for your patience with my growth as a writer.
This final blog is going to focus on what we learned while we were in Southeast Asia. I am going to describe in words a few topics and then I have created a video to go along with those topics. I will warn you that trying to squeeze a retrospective of a year living in Southeast Asia into a video is a daunting task. I got it down to less than 20 minutes, but I think it will be worth your time. The link will be included at the end of the blog. With that said, I am going to dive into this final blog head first!!!!

THE PEOPLE: If I have said it once, I will say it as long as I live, "The Greatest Asset to Southeast Asia are The People". Everywhere we went we were treated with great respect and courtesy. The people went out of their way to make us feel welcome and were genuinely happy to get to know us. By immersing ourselves in the culture of China, we experienced things that other expats have not. By becoming friends and trying to learn as much of the language and culture, we were treated to meals in homes, personal guides to festivals, and friendships that will last a lifetime. Spending Chinese New Year's Eve with my close friend Michael and his mother, brother and immediate family is something that we will not soon forget. My friend David taught me about the corporate and local government world. Finally, my friend Ken gave me a lesson in capitalism and getting to know the US Consulate Office. These were experiences that I never would have dreamt of at all. Who would have thought that I had to go to China to party with Obama's brother or have martini's with the Under Secretary of Commerce. Wonders will never cease to exist. The people of Thailand and the Philippines were not any different. No offense to government officials, but I think that if everyday people without egos ran governments, the world would be a happier place. I'm just saying!!!

Magnificent!!!

THE COUNTRY: The country is amazing. There are so many wonders to see that it would take years to experience it all. We did see quite a bit, but if I had the opportunity I would want to visit upper Mongolia and the Tibet Region. What we did see awed and amazed us. The history is so deep and varied that it is hard to imagine the people knowing all of it. We only have to remember roughly 237 years of history, they have to know thousands of years. Yet, with thousands of years of history, they haven't forgotten and actually appreciate the failures and successes. They have a pride in their history that I can only hope we continue to develop in our society. I could have spent a few weeks walking through Xi'an. They say that all of Chinese history began in Xi'an. The middle of the city is dedicated to the history of the country of China. There is so much to absorb there that it is mind boggling.

Many types of Sea Cucumbers

THE FOOD: What can I say about the food, but incredible!!!! The amazing thing we learned was that you really know fresh food when you have it regularly. Every restaurant we ate at would buy the ingredients that morning from the open air market. It really made a difference. Along with Chinese food, we really learned to love Thai, Vietnamese and Indian food. If you are wondering if we ate any exotic things while we were away, King Cobra and Bull's Penis are at the top of the list. Our favorite dishes were spicy green beans and Japanese Eggplant stuffed with pork. Ooh, Yum!!!! Finally, we learned that Chinese food varies widely with the province in which a person visits. In our area, fish and vegetables were the norm, while in the north toward Beijing and Xi'an it was comfort food that was primary to the palates of many. They ate a lot of soup and bread. By the way, the Donkey at China Burger was very good as well. On the other hand, I did write to Starbucks one day to thank them for their consistent products. A Venti No Foam Latte is the same in Hong Kong, Xi'an, Thailand and all the large cities in China as it is in our little town of Oakhurst. Now that is what I call comfort food.

Heavenly Pagoda

THE CULTURE AND TRADITIONS: There is a lot of faith and hope in China. Learning and understanding about Buddhism was interesting. The Christian Churches are thriving and helping those that are thirsty for the Word. This was the biggest surprise to us. We found a church that we loved and didn't have to hide in a basement to worship.
Chinese New Year lived up to all that we had heard about. It is an experience that none of us will forget. My friends were excited to share with us about the traditions associated with this holiday.
Finally, it was fun to learn about the other holidays that we had not heard about, like the October and Dragon Boat Festival. We can honestly say that Moon Cake is probably the worst thing that all of us have eaten in our lives.

ADVENTURES OUTSIDE THE COUNTRY: Having traveled to Hong Kong, Macau, Thailand and the Philippines while on our adventure,

Ko Samui

we met many different people and were greeted as warmly as living in China. The adventures and education about each area was invaluable. This was a great surprise that we didn't expect when we chose to partake in this excursion. In the end, despite all that we saw and learned, it was the people that made us appreciate our experience the most.

FINAL THOUGHT: It is difficult to put into words all that we learned. I can only hope that as the year went along and I shared my thoughts with you that I was expressing newly learned knowledge. Finally, Cecelia and I agree that we have also learned to say NO to some things and to take time to really be mindful and rest. Who knew that it would take a trip to China for me to learn this lesson.
It has been a great pleasure sharing with you and I hope that I have inspired you to share your adventures with others as I have. Blessings to all of you.

BY THE WAY: A publisher has asked that we turn the blog into a book and add the journal content from emails that Cecelia was sending weekly and entries from both Claire and Taylor. Look for the O's Odyssey in a bookstore near you soon.

This is the link to my final video, enjoy!!! It is a little long, but worth it. It was difficult squeezing a year long adventure into a few moments. What We Learned in Pictures

Remembrance and Reflection

2013-08-29T21:37:00.002-07:00

California Gold

The blog this week is about remembering friends and reflecting about what we learned while teaching school in China. This is one of the last blogs I will post. If it takes me two blogs to complete my reflection about China, then I may add one extra. Anyway, this is my reflection about school.

SCHOOL: Many people ask us the question about how was it teaching in China. Basically it was outstanding. Not for many of the reasons that you might think.
First: The schedules that we had were not anywhere near as taxing or demanding as what we do here in America. While my schedule was extremely light, Cecelia's was a bit more difficult. Despite the differences though, it gave us the opportunity to rest and recharge.

Next: While working with Southeast Asia students, we found them to be diligent and hard working, but yet they have a difficult time being creative and developing their own opinions. They are very good about parroting back information given to them, but ask them to think outside of the box and they will struggle.

Finally: Teachers and students gear themselves to learn the test. I mean they study the actual exams that they will be taking to either move to the next grade or to get into a college prepatory school. I experienced the worst form of teaching to the test for six weeks.

My message to teachers and administrators is as follows: I BELIEVE THAT I WORK IN ONE OF THE GREATEST EDUCATION SYSTEMS IN THE WORLD AND IT IS TIME TO QUIT LISTENING TO PEOPLE THAT DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT. THOSE TELLING US THAT WE ARE BAD AT WHAT WE DO, DON'T REALLY KNOW WHAT WE DO. DON'T EVER LISTEN TO ANOTHER NEWS ARTICLE ABOUT HOW POOR WE DO IN COMPARISON TO SOUTHEAST ASIA IN MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE. OUR KIDS CAN THINK AND ARE CREATIVE. I WILL TAKE OUR BEST KIDS EVERYDAY OF THE WEEK AND TWICE ON SATURDAY AND SUNDAY OVER ANY OTHERS IN THE WORLD. TEACHERS YOU ARE DOING A GREAT JOB AND NO SYSTEM IS PERFECT, BUT I AM PROUD TO BE A TEACHER IN AMERICA!!!!!!

Typical Central Coast Morning in August. The beauty is in the diversity of the area.

ADVENTURES: Enough about education. I could have reflected more but there are more important things to focus on instead of school.
This last weekend we spent some time relaxing a bit. The first week of school and golf practice found us pushing pretty hard to get back in the swing of things. So, we took some time and went to surprise our friend Julie Amodei in Cambria. She was having a remembrance for her late husband and our good friend John Amodei. John passed away at too young of an age from Melanoma. Julie had planned the event a few weeks ago, but with getting back in the house and getting ready for school, we were not sure that we would be able to make it. In the end, we felt like we needed to take some down time and this would be the perfect opportunity to do so. We were supposed to RSVP, but we figured it wouldn't be a big deal if we crashed the party.

An area near Harmony

On Saturday morning, we took some time to get things ready at the house for the upcoming week and then headed out around 11:30. It was a pleasant drive and we made it to Paso Robles around 2. We had not eaten lunch, but as we were making the last part of our trek I spied a gourmet roach coach parked in front of the Peachy Canyon Winery. I had recently read an article that talked about some of the great food being served by the roach coaches. We were not to be disappointed. I had Thai Pulled Pork Tacos. Cecelia had a BBQ's brisket sandwich and finally Taylor and Claire had Tri Tip. All the lunches had an amazing garden salad that went with them as well. When we received our lunches, we took our lunches to the picnic area of the winery. We found a nice shady spot on the grass and dove into our culinary delights. To top off our amazing lunch experience, the winery had live music that was outstanding. I made the mistake of laying down in the grass to enjoy the shade and the music. Let's just say that it is a good thing that we didn't have the winery open either of the bottles of wine that we bought. I may have never made it out of that place. It reminded me of a line from Hotel California. "You may check in anytime you want, but you may never leave".
Fortunately we did leave and made our way to the party to see our friends in Harmony. It was a great time and we really did surprise Julie. She was so grateful and appreciative that we came. We were remaniscing about the last time that we were there at her place. It was almost exactly a year to the weekend that we came and visited with her, just before we got on a plane to China.

Lacy is so Zen!!!

We then had dinner with some of Julie's friends and family, as well as with Heather Archer and Greg Uzell. All of our kids were there as well. It was quite the rowdy group at the Mexican Restaurant in which we ate in Cambria.
After dinner, we headed out to try and find a hotel for the night. All of the rooms were booked in the beach towns and Paso Robles, so we ended up staying at a Comfort Inn that I knew about in Atascadero.

Warming the feet by the fire after a swim!!

The next morning woke up to a glorious morning. The sky was clear and the air had the smell of the beach in it. We headed toward the beach and were soon to discover that our glorious morning just turned into a typical fog choked summer day at the beach. We drove up the coast and fortunately the farther we went, the clearer it got. By the time we arrived in Cambria to buy breakfast burritos for the beach, the sun had almost peaked out. We were meeting our friend Heather at the beach and bringing the coffee and breakfast. The girls wanted to spend some time climbing on the dunes, running on the sand, and swimming in the frigid water. We had a wonderful time with Heather and her daughter Lacy at the beach, but after the polar bear plunge the girls were ready for a warm bath. They had their bath and then it was time for us to head for home. We said our goodbyes and made our way to the car for our return road trip. It was a great family time and we made a couple of stops at roadside stands to break up the trip back. One of the things that I think Cecelia and I really learned while we were in China, is to take the time to be mindful and enjoy peace when we are presented with it. It was definitely a peaceful and mindful weekend.
Next week will be the beginning of the end. So sad, but it has been totally worth it. Enjoy the last few weeks.

Back To The Grind Stone

2013-08-21T21:20:00.004-07:00

A nice warm rock for the end of summer

My Friends, this last week found us looking to one last fling before returning back to school. We didn't have a fling, but we did have some fun with family and friends. So, enjoy the last of our summer.

SCHOOL: This week Cecelia and I spent time off and on trying to prepare for our classes. On Monday, Cecelia went to her classroom to begin the process of unpacking, and I met with my friend Bob Collins to discuss my new E.A.S.T. ( Environmental And Spacial Technology) class. Wednesday, Cecelia had to officially report for meetings at her school. I was then submitted to the same agony on Thursday. I know, I can tease about having to be back at school, but we were both greeted warmly and spent a bit of time presenting to our respective staffs about what we learned while teaching in China. The thing that we both emphasized was that we believe that we work with some of the best teachers in the world and wanted to encourage them to keep doing what they do, because they make a big difference in kids' lives everyday.
The rest of the weekend was spent getting bulletin boards and other items up in our new classrooms so that we could feel at home. We were both looking to the beginning of the new school year.

The last of summer Freedom!!!!!!!!

ADVENTURES: As well as getting prepared for school, we did have some fun. My brother Mark and his daughter Morgan were in town for a visit. On Sunday, we had a leisurely morning and then

One last plunge!!

took them to Willow Creek and the Toilet Bowl. This is one of our favorite places to go on a hot day. We had a great time rock hopping and then swimming in the Toilet Bowl to cool off. I have included a couple of pictures to show you the Toilet Bowl. It is better seen than described. One thing that I would like to note is that the water level is so low, you cannot see the swirling action that it normally has in it. Usually there is a small waterfall that flows into the bowl and creates a swirling motion just like a toilet. I have always wanted to ask someone that might know, "If the Toilet Bowl were in the Southern Hemisphere, would it swirl the opposite direction?" Hmmm. We then finished off the evening with dinner at our new favorite restaurant, The South Gate Brewing Company. Monday after the meeting I mentioned earlier, I returned home and picked Mark and the girls up and we headed out to the golf course. Mark, Claire and I played almost 9 holes.

On top of Fresno Dome with our new friends Travis and Johnny from China

Taylor joined us for a couple of holes and Morgan hit some chip shots. All in all, we had an enjoyable time with the kids out on the golf course. I had to leave a little early to meet a few of the girls from my golf team. While I met with them, Cecelia arrived and took Morgan and Taylor to the pool. Claire and Mark continued a very competitive round together then joined the girls. When I finished my meeting, I went and got Mark out of the pool and he and I went to finish our round of golf. It turned out to be a beautiful evening and we enjoyed the time spent together.

Uncle Mark and the girls

There are beautiful places in the world, but sometimes in the late evening when the sun is setting at our golf course and the fairways and greens are dappled with the golden glow of the sunset, I am not sure there is a more peaceful place.
Tuesday morning, we got up and met some new Chinese friends. Their names are Travis and Johnny. Travis is from the upper Mongolian region of China and Johnny lives in Shanghai. They are a couple of boys that are staying here and attending our high school this year. I had volunteered to introduce them to our surrounding mountain area and took them on a hike to the top of Fresno Dome. So after packing a lunch for Mark, the girls and I, we headed up to the mountain.

Is there a giant statue at the top????

It took us about 45 minutes to get there. When we arrived, we were pleased to discover that we were the only people hiking at that time. It was a pleasant hike for everyone and not overly taxing for the boys. They kept commenting that they had never been in mountains so high. When we arrived at the top of Fresno Dome, they were amazed by the view. Johnny exclaimed that it was "Spectacular!!!" We stayed on top for about half an hour and then made our way down. When we returned to town, we bought them yogurt. Both boys were tired, but very appreciative for the experience.
Later that evening when Cecelia arrived home, it was time for me to say goodbye to Mark and Morgan. I had to leave for a special treat that my good friend Fred Clevenger had arranged for me to share the next day in San Francisco. So I departed with a kiss from my wife and girls and headed to Sacramento to spend the evening with my brother Paul and his wife Shannon. I made it to their home in time to have some awesome white bean Chili, Bree Bread, and Beer. It was an outstanding way to end an incredible day.
So Wednesday I woke up very early and headed for San Francisco to meet my friend Fred. I was picking him up near Fisherman's Wharf and then heading to The Olympic Club to play golf. Fred had been invited to play the club while I was away in China and was told that he could bring a friend. I of course was that friend. I can't tell you how grateful and excited I was to be playing the golf course that held the U.S. Open a few years ago. I just wanted to have a great experience and play well. I achieved both. The company was outstanding and I only shot two over par. I couldn't have asked for a better day. After our golf experience, I dropped Fred off in the city and then I headed for home. I couldn't stay the night, because I had to be ready to be at school first thing in the morning for meetings.
The rest of the week I described in the SCHOOL section, but I did want to tell you a proud father story.

Great form kid!!!

Lining it up for Birdie

On the weekend, Claire played in her first two day, 18 hole tournament. It was held at our golf course and there were kids from all over Central California competing. Claire played in the first flight which is designated for kids that have higher handicaps. She had said she wanted to play and we talked with her about not having any expectations. While in China, she did not get very many opportunities to play and so we wanted her to do her best, but focus on having fun. She did just that and surpassed her own expectations. She also gave us a glimpse of how talented she could be as a golfer. On the front nine of her first round she started playing very relaxed and began hitting shots that we had not ever seen her hit. When the front nine was done, she had shot a score of 41. This was an incredible score considering she was playing with two high school players, one of which is arguably the best player in the Central Valley at this age. She was only behind that girl by two strokes and she was actually ahead of the other player. Unfortunately, she got tired in the heat and finished with a 50 on the back to complete a round of 91. This is outstanding, since she had never broke the score of 100.

Tay preparing for next time.

The next day she didn't play quite as well, but was very tired from walking the 18 holes in the heat the previous day. Even though she was tired, she broke 100 again and shot 98. By the way, she shot the 98 while playing with two high school sophomores and actually finished the tournament ahead of one of them. We were so proud of her and she was genuinely excited and pleased with herself.
I must tell you, it truly is a miracle and gift from God to have the opportunity to watch your kids grow and mature in front of your eyes. I feel blessed to have these experiences and to be given the awareness to appreciate the moments as well. I know many of you that are parents have experienced these feelings, but it is truly an amazing feeling that cannot be replaced by anything.
Next week will be the beginning of the end of The O's Odyssey to China. The first week will focus on comparing the first week of school and education to that in China. The final week will be a compilation of things that we saw and pictures that I did not have a chance to share in other blogs. See you next week.

Finally It Feels Like Home!!!!

2013-08-15T21:49:00.002-07:00

The newest addition to the family

Hello to all. This week helped us to feel like we are finally getting back to normal, that is if you can ever call our normal lives normal.

SCHOOL: Cecelia and I began the process of going back to school and preparing for the upcoming year. Usually as a high school teacher I don't make my way back to campus until the week before, but this year is different. I have a couple of new subjects and instead of one classroom to get ready, I have two. The reason I have two is because I am teaching math, which is typical for me, and I am teaching a class called E.A.S.T.. Before your imagination runs wild with the E.A.S.T. acronym, it is not an on campus covert spy operation. The acronym means Environmental and Spacial Technology. The class is basically an open technology class in which students use their talents to do projects for non profits and community activities. I am really excited about teaching this class. It is the kind of class that allows my creative and entrepreneureal juices to flow together.

The girls and their new dog

Cecelia is not sure what she will be teaching. She is either going to be teaching a 4/5 combo class or just a class of fifth graders. She is hoping for the latter. So far she had made it as far as cleaning out her classroom. This next week will focus on decorating and curriculum.
Enough about school.

ADVENTURES: The week started off with us having a surprise guest. As I was sitting down to have a cup of coffee and peruse my email and various social media sites, I heard a big commotion in the horse corral. So, I ran down to investigate. Sometimes we have coyotes that come and cause trouble with the horses so I expected to just chase them off as usual. When I arrived at the corral the horses were there and then to my surprise there was a baby fawn as well. Apparently the coyotes were trying to get the fawn and the horses protected it. As I approached the corral the horses came up to me and to my amazement so did the fawn. I petted the horses and then reach down to see if I could pet the fawn. Not only could I pet it, but it came up and began sucking on my fingers. At this point I began looking around to see if the mom was anywhere. I could not find her so I picked the fawn up and took it up to the house. I was concerned that the coyotes were lurking nearby and I didn't want to give them an easy meal.

Now this is the way to Party!!!!!

The rest of the week we spent getting ready for our party on Saturday.
At our home we have created an atmosphere that is open and spacious. So after spending the last three weeks cleaning and fixing, the way we like to celebrate is with an Open House Party. The party this week was for all of our friends that wanted to come and hang out to either learn about China or to just have some Thai food. It wasn't all Thai food, Taylor made home bouza's and a number of friends brought a variety of different foods. We had a wonderful time and it was great just hanging out with some of our friends that we had not seen since our return.
A really big bonus to the week and to the party was the family that came and stayed in the Caboose. They were the Baily family from Riverside. When they arrived, we introduced ourselves and immediately the kids hit it off and we shared stories like we were old friends. Now the real ironic thing about this family is that not only do they have two blonde daughters, (Julia and Elizabeth) but the parents were also school teachers. Now that might seem like a big deal to most people, but the eerie thing is that the husbands name is Rusty and he was a high school teacher and coach. His wife Judy (You thought I was going to say Cecelia didn't you?) was an elementary and jr. high teacher as well. They are no longer teachers because Rusty has moved onto other interesting areas, namely being the new Mayor of Riverside. His wife stays at home to take care of the girls and be the support staff for the mayor. It was great getting to know them and we promised to either visit them in Riverside or have them come back to stay. For Mayor Rusty, we told him that he could consider this his camp Rusty. (You know, like camp David is for the President.)
Finally, late that evening my brother Mark arrived with his daughter Morgan. They had come for a visit for a few days.
So, what might seem like a crazy weekend actually helped us to feel like home was getting back to normal. We built our house with sweat, tears, blood and love. It doesn't truly feel like home unless we are sharing food, drink and laughter with family and friends. There is nothing better!!!!!

Jumping Back in with Both Feet!!!

2013-08-07T09:09:00.000-07:00

The Guest House

Well this week was all about getting things back together and transitioning into our lives in Oakhurst.

SCHOOL: It's back. For those of you that have been following along, this section has been missing for a few weeks. But alas, it must return. Even though it has returned, it isn't all that exciting. The only thing to report is the coaches' meeting that I had to attend on Thursday evening. Even though it feels a little soon to be jumping back into the fray, I have felt the internal excitement that I get this time of year to see my girls golf team and begin the process of steering the girls toward being good golfers and fine young women in our community. Despite being gone for the year, we have a promising outlook to repeat as league champions once again. This would be our tenth in a row.

My Old Project

ADVENTURES: This week's adventures are centered around getting involved in some of the things that we did before we took our Odyssey to China. So it started with Claire going to soccer practice to try out with the travel soccer team. She also decided that she was enjoying golf and wanted to enter an upcoming tournament. With her entering the tournament, it means practice everyday until then. She then spent the night with some friends and has been inundated with invitations to get together.
Cecelia continued her quest to get our house back into shape. With new carpet and light bulbs replaced, she went on a quest to wash or paint every square inch on the inside of the house. By the end of the weekend, she only had two rooms to finish.

Taylor spent the week doing technology things, like setting up two computers in her room on her own. She did ask me for help at one point, but I was busy and then the next thing I know she didn't need my help after all. She had them connected and hooked without me.
I on the other hand did what I do best. I played golf four days in a row and made a deal to start our newest project. I am not going to tell you what it is, but I will include a picture and you can guess.

Guess What this is going to be!!!!!

This is a very short blog, but I will be saving up as we head into school in a couple of weeks.
I am a little saddened by the approaching end to my blog. I have never really enjoyed writing, but it has given me a pleasure that I never thought I would experience. The last blog will be a recap of our experience and some thoughts on what we have learned from our adventure.
I have a couple of requests before I end the blog. The first is to ask you to share the blog with your friends. I have a selfish reason behind this request and it doesn't have anything to do with anything, other than my own pleasure. When I started the blog, I didn't really think that anyone would read it other than my friends back home. But over time, I have made many new friends world wide and I have received some great comments from people I had never met. Their comments helped to inspire me to keep writing. So with that being said I would like to end the blog with 10,000 reads worldwide. It is not a big number at all in the big scheme of things, but it would give me a real sense of satisfaction. Other blogs get hundreds of thousands of readers and followers in comparison so I am asking for help with this one little thing.
The other request I will be describing to you in the next couple of weeks is going to be about helping with a project in the Philippines.
So until next week, I leave you with the puzzle of what my next project at home will be.

Home Cooking and Horse Racing!!!!

2013-07-29T22:20:00.002-07:00

Time to go surfing!!!

This week I come to you from home again. After a wonderful week spent in Solana Beach with Cecelia's parents, we have returned to continue the process of getting our home back in shape and settle back into a regular routine. We had a wonderful time down south with friends, home cooking and the horse races.

After sharing with you last week in which we went to the beach and visited with cousins, we had an outstanding time with Mom and Dad the rest of the week.
Claire and I took Dad to the local executive golf course. Dad had not played golf in a year and a half. It was great to see him walking up and down the hills feeling confident in his balance. He hit some good shots and really spent the time easing back into the game. Being on the golf course with him is always a time that I cherish. I guess you could say that it has been our regular man time together. Having Claire with us didn't take away from our time together, it actually enhanced it. Claire and I had a match against each other and she was playing well, so grandpa had a great time watching her and giving her encouragement when the match came down to the finish. Claire beat me soundly and I had to pay up by taking her to Jamba Juice.

I'll Race Coach

Over the weekend, we went to Church with Mom and Dad at St. James Church. It was nice to return to the site of so many lovely Sundays and the home of our wedding. The service was excellent as usual and we met some friends that we had not seen in a long time. One of those friends was Joan Bear.
Joan Bear has been a family friend for many years. She and her husband, Ted were very significant people in our lives when we met and dated. Ted was the Deacon that did my annulment so that we could get married at St. James. He and I had many heart to heart discussions about faith, love and family. He was an outstanding man and I am the better man for our meeting. Joan and Ted always treated Cecelia and me like we were family. We have loved every opportunity to spend time with them.

Anyway, after seeing Joan at the Church she invited the girls and us to come and see her new race horse the next day.

The rest of the day was spent watching the Open Championship in Scotland. It was great watching Phil Mickelson win his first Open Championship. He is a great family man. I really appreciate the way he opens up and shares how he feels about family and winning. It is nice to know that there are people out there that still value winning and appreciate the hard work and effort that goes into being successful.
After that, we finished with a nice meal at a local fish house that Mom and Dad love to go to for fish tacos.

Cecily

Aw, that's a good boy

On Monday, Claire, Taylor, Mom and I spent the day at one of my favorite beaches. It was the best weather of the week and we had a wonderful time swimming, surfing and boogie boarding together at a place called Pipes. Pipes has always been one of the places that gives me the feeling of being home. When I was a high school student going to school at San Dieguito High School, I used to walk the two miles to Swami's and then run down the beach and back to this spot where I would sit and watch the waves. It was always a great place of peace for me. It isn't as popular as Swami's, but has the same incredible view.
Cecelia had appointments with her brother and sister to take care of orthodontics and osteopathy. She did have time to come and have lunch with us. It was a great time and went a long way to helping us transition back to reality.
The next morning, we awoke and went to the barn with Joan. Even though her new horse did not arrive, we had a chance to spend some time in the stables with the race horses. Matt Chew, the trainer from Chew racing spent quite a bit of time with us. He was outstanding and answered all of our rookie questions. He even put Claire and Taylor up on the back of an old race horse called "Freckles". They posed as if they were Jockeys. We even had a chance to meet one of the Jockeys that races for his team. Her name was Cecily Evans. She had just come to Del Mar after winning her first race at Hollywood Park.
We then departed the barns and headed for home. We had a quiet afternoon and were going to have dinner with Joan, but she got really bad allergies from being in the barn and had to pass.

Can you understand why I like to visit my hometown!!!!

On Wednesday, we had a nice quiet morning before going to the races with Joan. The kids went over to the cousins and Cecelia and I visited with our long time friend Cindy Reiner. Cindy and her family have kept in contact with us ever since we moved to Oakhurst in 1996. I used to teach her children when I was teaching in Del Mar and she was a big part of helping me to propose to Cecelia before we got married. She also helped with the rehearsal dinner. We have always considered her and her husband to be role models and family.

"And Their Off!!!!"

We met Joan at 1:00 pm to go to the Horse Races. Joan has a box at the Del Mar Races and really spent the time to show us the ropes. After showing us her box, we then went to the preparation paddock and watched the first horses come in to prepare for the first race. These animals are truly athletes. They are sleek and beautiful. One of the comments that the girls made from the day before was that when they patted the horse, no dust came up into the air. Unlike the horses that they are used to riding up here, these horses are bathed once a day and brushed three times as well.

Dad and Claire studying their racing forum.

After viewing the horses, we headed back to Joan's box and placed our bets for the first race. The Jockey that we met the day before, Cecily was racing in the first race so we bet on her. We made a couple of other bets as well. The excitement built as the trumpeter sounded out the beginning of the first race. The next thing we new the announcer was calling out the tell tale "And Their Off" call. It was an exciting race and Cecily did very well but unfortunately finished one spot outside of placing. The rest of the races were equally exciting and the girls had a wonderful time running down to the paddock and picking out a horse that they wanted us to bet on for them. At the end of the day, Claire was the big winner. She picked a winner and then was part of the Exacta we all picked during the last race. With here winnings and then paying back mom and dad for her investment, she netted about three dollars. We all ended up about even, which isn't bad for a bunch of rookies at the track. But, it wasn't really about the betting that made it exciting, it was the time spent with Joan and the family. It was a great family time.

Let's Get Ready to Race!!!!

The next day I met with a couple of friends for early morning coffee and Cecelia got fitted for her new retainer. She got a new retainer, because she has been struggling with headaches at night for the last year or so while she sleeps. We thought it might have been stress from teaching, but it turns out she clenches her teeth at night. Anyway, we hope this is the fix for her problem.
After our various appointments, we jumped in the car, said our goodbyes, and headed for home. The drive was nice, but we still had to deal with traffic on the way home. Some things just never change.
The best thing about our trip was that we spent a lot of quality time with Mom and Dad. It also allowed us to get into a good sleeping pattern and finally get over the jet lag from our return home. Cecelia and I could also relax without thinking about things that we need to do at home. We were refreshed and ready to tackle home.
Finally, the girls had an opportunity to have Grandma's great homemade refried beans. The one thing that you can't get in China is good Mexican food.
Next week I will give you an update on how we are progressing toward getting ready for school here at home.

"Culture Shock" and Relaxation

2013-07-21T21:03:00.000-07:00

The way summer should begin

This week we relaxed a bit and headed south. Even though we traveled a bit to get home, we spent a bit more time traveling to San Diego. It was a nice relief from the cleaning, painting and new carpet addition. It gave us a chance to recharge and get over the jet lag, without feeling like we had to get everything done at once. It also allowed me to contemplate the "Culture Shock" question.

ADVENTURES: On Wednesday morning we awoke to a beautiful, but hot day at home. We spent the morning casually getting ready for our road trip to San Diego.

What I have always loved about Solana Beach!!

We were going to San Diego to see Cecelia's parents and visit with family and friends. Our journey began at about 10:30 am. It was a nice trip and the air was clearer than usual in the Central Valley for this time of year. I have actually missed the drive on Hwy 99 South. I always like to see what changes the little towns make along the way. I also really enjoy driving through the farmland and seeing what is planted this time of year in the fields. The part about the drive I don't enjoy is the traffic in LA. Once we got to San Diego, the rest of the week was spent visiting with friends and family and making trips to the beach. Saturday, we had 20 people over to Cecelia's parents' home for dinner. It was great to get a chance to share our experience with people that were genuinely interested in our adventures and that were glad to have us back.
In answer to the many questions about culture shock that we have had, there were only a couple of things that come to mind. But I am not sure by definition if they are culture shock or not. Maybe they were more inconveniences and nuisances, rather than shocks. The first is the aforementioned traffic. It was one of the culture shocks of returning here and I could do without it. While in China I had not driven a car, which means I have not been behind the wheel of a car or truck for ten months. Scooters don't count as cars. It is a different kind of driving altogether.

Claire and Tay enjoying freezing water!!!

The definition of culture shock is, the feeling of disorientation experienced by someone who is suddenly subjected to an unfamiliar culture, way of life, or set of attitudes. I would say that going to China was obviously by definition, a culture shock. Coming home to a house that needed to be tidied up was a little bit of a shock but, coming back to the United States isn't really a shock. In the US, there is a consistency that is predictable and appreciated by us in many ways. When we arrived, we first enjoyed the organized way we were ushered through customs and immigration. We welcomed the return to the organized way that traffic behaved on the way home. It felt so comfortable to run errands knowing that there are places that will have things that we need. It was great to go to the familiar places to eat and get a good cup of coffee. (Starbucks of course) Finally, the way our friends greeted us and made us feel loved and appreciated was the most appreciated predictable thing. So, true culture shock no, I wouldn't say we have experienced much.
Until next week, have another great week of summer and we will connect with many of you soon. When we get back to Oakhurst we are going to be preparing for a party that will be open to all our friends and the community. We look forward to the opportunity to share and greet those of you that we have not seen yet.

As Homer Returned From His Odyssey!!

2013-07-19T07:45:00.000-07:00

The Battle Zone!!!

This is my 52nd post. I never imagined I would write this much, but I have really enjoyed the process and time spent doing this. So, with that being said please allow just a little bit of poetic license.
Just as Homer returned from his Odyssey to a home that needed to be put right, so have we. This last week was all about getting our home put back the way that we like it. It is also a week in which we struggled with jet lag and had to answer the question, "Are you experiencing culture shock?".

ADVENTURES: It seems like everyday is an adventure lately, even putting our house back in order is one. We returned to our home, to find it borderline inhabitable. As many of you know, we had some people living in our home while we were away these past 10 months. They were nice people and they did a great job taking care of our pets. The dogs were happy to see us and were groomed nicely. The cats were a little skiddish, but warmed up quickly. The house on the other hand needed some work before it truly felt like home. So, the next day while Paul and Shannon were with us we began the process of putting our lives back together here in Oakhurst.
We began by battling the insect hoards that had decended on our home while we were away. The ants, spiders and cockroaches have put up a strong fight and we had to resort to chemical warfare in order to conquer our foes. While gassing the insects Paul and Shannon drove us around to pick up our cars and take care of some of the little things like picking up toiletries and such. After a few hours we returned and began getting ready to have a cleaning crew come to the house, as well as getting new carpet installed. Cecelia, the girls and I were very tired, but we pushed through because we were trying to get on a regular sleep pattern. We all worked to get unpacked and begin putting some of the things we had in storage away.
That evening we had a nice dinner with Paul and Shannon before they headed for home. It was great seeing them again and we look forward to more time shared later in the summer.
The next day we headed for Fresno and ran some errands, while the cleaners took care of the house. We had lunch with our friend Mike Firpo and reconnected in regards to The First Tee. I am going to become involved later in the year and the girls are going to begin classes again. After going on a shopping spree at Home Depot to get some necessary items for the house, we headed back home.
The following morning the carpet guys came and started taking the carpet out of the house. As soon as they took the living room carpet away, there was a vast improvement in the air quality. When you have two families living on old carpet, it is time to get rid of it. By the end of the day we had new carpet, a freshly painted office and a relatively clean house. It was beginning to feel like home.

Ah, fresh paint and no carpet. Much better

The next day was our anniversary and it started in the typical fashion for Cecelia and I. At two a.m. I woke up and could not get back to sleep. I tossed and turned, trying to battle the jet lag but just couldn't do it. On top of that I was dealing with a little bit of anxiety. I don't get anxiety very often, but a feeling that I had not felt in over 10 months crept up on me. The feeling was a combination of not being able to get everything done and an overwhelming stress regarding the things that needed to be fixed at the house. So, I did what any sane man would do. I got up, put on my work cloths and started to paint the living room. It was just something that we needed to get done before the carpet in the living room was installed. Unfortunately Cecelia wasn't sleeping either and wanted to know why I was having a hard time. We had a small discussion and then started painting together. I then wished her a happy anniversary and thrust a paintbrush into her hand. We both painted from two am until 12 pm. We finished the majority of the house and only had baseboards to finish, but decided to take a nap before we went out to celebrate our anniversary properly.

Almost there!!!

After our nap, Cecelia made arrangements with our friends the Archers to take the girls to the lake. We dropped them off and went to the golf course to play nine holes. Despite what many of you might think, Cecelia and I have played many rounds together on our anniversary. It isn't exactly a tradition, but we have a good time together. If it wasn't golf, we would be playing tennis or something else. We just like to play together, it is an important part of our relationship. After playing golf, we had a very nice dinner at Woody's restaurant in town. Even though we were tired, we were beginning to feel like we were beginning to adjust to home.
We are still battling the critters in the house, but we believe we are winning the war. So, just as Homer made things right when he returned home, we have done the same.
Next week I will share with you our trip to see Cecelia's parents and address the question of culture shock. I am still doing some research and thinking about the question, so I will discuss it when I am ready.

The Sweet and Sour of Coming Home!!

2013-07-16T10:08:00.000-07:00

Tay enjoying her last inexpensive Mani/Pedi in China

This week was a week of crazy and surreal. Some of the greatest adventures are just in the organizing and traveling in itself. You just never know what is going to happen when you start on your way. So, sit back and enjoy our crazy ride home.
ADVENTURES: The craziness started right away when I returned from Xi'an on Saturday morning. I got on my plane and arrived in Guangzhou around 10:30 am. I then hopped on the metro and rode to the south railway station. My friend Sam picked me up and brought me home. When I arrived I hardly had a moment to say hello to my wife, before I had to rush out to the bank. I had to go to the bank so that I could get the rest of my money from my teaching account. One of the craziest things about leaving China is that Cecelia and I had to leave with cash and then change it over when we got to Hong Kong. It is really bothersome to carry that much when you are traveling.
Cecelia and I then went out to dinner with our friends John and Katie. There is a great Korean restaurant that we like to go to in Biejio so we went for our last visit with them. We had a wonderful time and promised to meet up again in Auburn in August.
The next day was a frantic day of packing and finishing up the last of the little details to take care of before leaving. We did such a good job, that Cecelia and Taylor ended up going to get Manicures and Pedicures. I on the other had got my last massage in preparation for the long trip home. That evening the entire family was invited by my friend David to have one last dinner with his family. We had Chinese food and spent the evening discussing when he and his family can come to visit in America. I also talked with him about coming to visit if I return in September. After saying goodbye we headed home for our last night of sleep on our hard Chinese bed.

Waiting at Ferry Pier in Zhuhai

The next morning Cecelia and I awoke at 5 am and began organizing the luggage. Our friend Sam had arranged for a driver to pick us up in his small truck at 7 am. The reason he brought a small truck was because we each had two large bags, as well as carry ons. That made the total luggage count about 12 bags. That didn't include the two tea sets we were bringing home as well. I do have to tell you that each of the large bags we were bringing back weighed about 50lbs. each. That was roughly 400 pounds of luggage, not including carry ons. My friend David was going to have a driver take us all the way to Shenzhen and drop us off at the ferry station, but when he saw the picture of our luggage he said they didn't have a big enough car to accommodate us.
The driver picked us up promptly at 7 and we said one last goodbye to the fish in our pond and we headed out for the Guangzhou South Railway Station.
It took us about 20 minutes to get to the station and we weren't in a real hurry to get there, because we were not able to board the ferry to Hong Kong until 12:45. The train we were going to take was going to only take 40 minutes at the most, so we had some leisure time to kill. When we arrived at the train station, the driver dropped us and our luggage off out front. I told Cecelia to go inside and buy our tickets and in the meantime, Claire and I would begin hauling the luggage to the second floor station. Here I am taking my time and not straining too much and actually enjoying the leisure pace of riding the escalator up to the second floor. I had just gotten all of the bags to the top except for two and was on my way down the escalator one last time, when I saw Taylor come running across the first floor yelling, "We have got to get going real fast, Mom booked us on the 8 am train." So, instead of having 45 minutes to get through security, we had 25 and a big line of people in front of us. Fortunately the Chinese people in line took pity on us and let us go to the front of the line. On top of that a couple of people helped us get our 400 lbs. of luggage to the farthest gate at the train station with about 4 minutes to spare.

400 lbs of luggage!!!

As I flopped into my seat on the train, I came to the realization that I was sweating profusely. So much for taking the nice shower in the morning to prepare for traveling.
The only other relatively exciting thing that happened was the negotiation with the taxi driver after we got off at the train station in Zhuhai. The guy initially wanted 500 rmb to take us to the ferry dock, but with the help of an interpreter and some shrewd negotiating by Cecelia, we got him down to half.
The rest of the trip was very pleasant and uneventful, that is if you consider a 17 hour flight in coach pleasant. At least we had movies to watch and the airplane food was decent. It is really a strange phenomenon to start your flight at 6 pm on July 8th and end up in San Francisco at 8 pm of the same day.
At the airport we had a great welcoming committee consisting of my brother Paul, his wife Shannon as well as Kim and Sarah Meeks. It was a very tearful reunion for Claire and Sarah. They have really missed each other this past year.

Waiting at Hong Kong airport

All of us then jumped into two vehicles for the ride back home. It was a enjoyable ride and we were happy to spend the evening catching up with what was going on here as well.
As I said earlier it was sweet and sour coming home. Sweet because we missed all of our friends and family. We also missed some of the simple pleasures about being in our own home. The sour part, was that we had made some great friends in China and now we will be missing them. We will also be missing the simplistic way of living as well. So, it was with a heavy heart that we left Hong Kong, but a joyous greeting when we arrived home.

Home Sweet Home!!!!

A Renaissance Man That Knows Chinese Opera!!!!!

2013-07-14T11:49:00.001-07:00

Christmas in July!!

My blog reading friends, I apologize for being a little behind but my plan to write on the way home didn't turn out so well. I couldn't find wifi and my Chinese computer battery only lasted about 30 minutes at a time (You really do get what you pay for, and since I only paid a couple hundred bucks it definitely isn't an Apple.)
As I sit in the Starbucks in Oakhurst writing and recovering from jet lag, I am going to share with you the last episode of our Xi'an saga. We are also done with school so that section will disappear for now. I was going to end the blog after summer, but I had a couple of friends suggest I at least write through the first week of school. I am also very close to 10,000 reads and am privately excited about reaching that number.

To finish up our time in China, Cecelia and I divided and conquered. Cecelia and the girls spent the first two days of the week exploring other areas of Xi’an city itself, while I began work coaching golf with my friends James and Jason.

The first place that they started with was the old city wall. During the Tang
Dynasty, the Emperor built the wall around the city. It is about 8 miles long and the girls spent the day riding bicycles on top of it. It was a hot day and the bricks on top made it very bumpy. When we met in the evening, Cecelia told me she needed a massage just to work the kinks out in her neck. They also went to visit the Bell Tower, the Drum Tower, and the Muslim Quarter for lunch and shopping.

The Girls and a new friend

That same day, I went with my friends to a very remote golf course located in the nearby mountains. We drove about an hour and a half to a village that looked more like a Swiss ski area than a golf resort. I thought we were there to do a golf clinic, but it turned out we were doing a photo shoot for a new driving range that was opening in September. On the way, we also drove through the longest tunnel I have ever been in during my lifetime. It was 18 km. long, which is about 10 miles. It was an amazing feat of engineering. In order to break up the monotony of the tunnel, the engineers break it up with sections that are lit up by black light. In the black light areas, they have fake pine trees that look like they are real. It is rather eerie and creepy. I had images of Bilbo wandering around looking for a way through and greeting Shelob along the way.

In the evening we met up and were treated to a very nice dinner with our friends from Xi’an.

The next day I began coaching at the golf camp, while Cecelia and the girls went back into Xi’an to explore more of the history of China. To stay out of the heat, their guide tried to take them to the history museum but it was closed. They ended up going to the tablet museum and the Wild Goose Pagoda instead. The tablet museum is an amazing place in which patrons are exposed to the actual writings of famous poets and philosophers of China, which include samples from Confucious himself.

The Wild Goose Pagoda area is surrounded by gardens that are full of sculptures that tell about the history of China. It is also home to the largest fountain in China. That evening Cecelia and the girls stole me away to go watch the fountain show. In the evenings, the fountain bursts into a colorful light show that is accompanied by symphonic music.
But before we went to the Pagoda, we got together with our hosts for a special culinary treat. The culinary treat for dinner was Peking Duck. Now, this was not the first time we had duck in China and none of us had really had a good experience with it. We were asked if we liked duck, but we told our host Kei that it wasn’t our favorite dish. He then educated us on what real duck should be like, so we decided to give it a try. We were soon to find that we had not experienced such an amazing dish. When cooked properly and served by a chef in the correct manner, Peking Duck is absolutely amazing. We all enjoyed it immensely, even the pickiest member of our family. (That isn’t Claire, Cecelia or I.)

On Tuesday morning, Cecelia and the girls left for Guilin, while I stayed in Xi’an to finish camp the rest of the week. She really wanted to see Guilin and Yang Shuo. Yang Shuo is an area of China that has multiple limestone outcroppings that have been the basis for quite a bit of Chinese art. The outcroppings are like giant pointed rocks that have dropped out of the sky. Many of them are very steep and are dotted with caves and crevices. Cecelia and the girls had an outstanding time exploring caves, floating on the river that runs through the area, having natural spa treatments and just enjoying the beautiful surroundings. Most of the pictures from the blog this week were taken by Cecelia. They spent about a day and a half exploring the area. Cecelia would have liked more time, but she had to get back and prepare for our departure.

While Cecelia and the girls were exploring more of China, I continued to work. I have kept the real purpose for why I was coaching in Xi’an a secret until now. Well, I will let the cat out of the bag. The reason we had the photo shoot earlier in the week and been coaching at the camp is because I have been asked to be a partners with a couple of Chinese friends to be one of the directors of golf at a brand new driving range facility in Xi’an. No, it does not mean that I will be quitting my job and moving to China permanently. It means that I will have a great probability to return to China next summer to train staff and develop a complete instruction program for golfers in Northwest China. They want my skills as a coach, because I don’t teach in a traditional way. My instruction is project based and teaches people how to practice with a purpose. Our program teaches people how to work on their games in an efficient manner, rather than just hitting balls without a purpose on the driving range.

So, anyway it wasn’t all work for me. On Friday, the last day of camp we played golf with our students at Xi’an International Golf Course in the morning. (That was still part of work.) After that, I had the opportunity to visit a place in Xi’an called South Lake. South Lake is an outstanding area in which I learned about some Chinese Opera. One area of South Lake is dedicated to Love and Lovers.

Yang Shuo, Simply Beautiful

Spa Treatments already!!!!

The reason is because of a place called Cool Cave. Cool Cave is an actual cave that is the inspiration for the Chinese Opera called the Cool Cave. The story behind the cave is that a young woman that was part of royalty tossed a silk ball into the air to find her husband. It was caught inadvertently by a poor man. The woman’s family was not happy about the results because the man was below their class, but the woman honored the tradition. Because she honored the tradition, her family separated themselves from her. To add insult to injury the woman’s husband then went off to join the army to improve his status. So, what the woman did was begin digging her way into the side of a cliff face and created a very comfortable home for herself. She was so determined that when her family realized that they had made a mistake and began sending her rice she refused it. In the end, she survived and then her husband returned as a hero. Rather than live in a traditional house, they decided to live happily ever after in the Cool Cave. It was a very romantic place, but I was glad that Cecelia and the girls didn’t find it. Many of the statues in the park were rather racy. I don’t think Cecelia would have enjoyed having the birds and bees talk by herself when the girls asked what they statues were doing.

Anyway, in the end I can honestly say that I understand at least one Chinese Opera, despite the fact that I can’t stand to listen to it. It sounds like fingernails grating on a chalkboard to me. I just consider it a feather in the cap of a Renaissance Man like myself!!!!!!
Here is the link for the Pictures that Cecelia took during here trip. Xi'an and Yang Shuo, China

"Hey Steve, You Won't Believe What I Found!!!"

2013-07-07T01:53:00.002-07:00

Rows and rows of soldiers

My friends I apologize for the blog being late this week, but I have a good reason. I was in Xi'an coaching golf and had an extremely busy schedule. This last week has been such a whirlwind that I haven't had time to give you an update. So, I hope you enjoy the story of what happened this week and the culmination of a week that my family is soon not to forget. This will be the first installment of a two part series.

SCHOOL: Well, this week at school was rather interesting. It was the last week for us and we had many things to do to prepare for our leave taking. My end was rather uneventful. I taught up until Friday and just said goodbye to my students and teacher friends. There was much sharing of email addresses and promises of getting together sometime in the future with the teaching staff. To be honest the feeling from the administration was more like, "Whew, thank goodness the trouble maker is leaving". In the end, I guess I just didn't get a grasp of what teaching in China is all about. When you are asked to help and give an opinion, they don't really expect you to answer.
Now I don't want to leave you with a negative impression. The experience here has been wonderful and life changing. I also don't regret making the decision to come here for a moment. China is wonderful and in a later edition I am going to share the things that I believe I have learned.
Cecelia on the other hand had a great week. She finished her assessments and then the teachers threw a party for her. As the guest of honor she was treated to an outstanding meal and was treated like the Queen of first grade. Her crowning glory was a string of pearls that was her parting gift. Cecelia made quite an impression this year and was loved by the staff. I teased her a little after her party, because she had been giving me a hard time about my easy schedule this year. I told her that an easy schedule was my reward and a string of pearls was hers. In all honesty, I consider my wife to be one of the best teachers I have ever met. I am constantly inspired by her energy and creativity. One final note, from what we understand the teachers in primary don't do this normally for leaving foreign teachers. This just shows what kind of impact she made.
For the girls it was a week of ups and downs. They were up because like all school kids their school year was coming to an end. The two of them also had an additional motivation, because with the end of school comes our return to America. They are very excited about their homecoming.

Tay doing her best to sell Yosemite to Chinese tourists

On the down side, this was really their first goodbye that had some sort of permanence to it. At the end of the week there were many tears, because they were saying goodbye to teachers and friends that they may never see again. This made a huge impact on them. It was a realization that they have never experienced before. Unlike living in Oakhurst and knowing that we would be returning, this had a finality to it that they didn't expect. They were also very upset about leaving their friends the Madsens. Even though the Madsens live in the United States, they had the feeling that they wouldn't see each other again. We assured them that we would get together back in the States, but it still took some time to get over their sadness. They didn't finally settle down until we were in Xi'an and they could use modern technology to Facetime each other. They have grown to understand that the world is really a small place when you can communicate so readily. This is unlike when my brothers and I grew up going to 19 different schools and moving from state to state. We had snail mail and it really was difficult to communicate through the mail. This meant as a boy I actually had to write by hand on paper. Can you imagine?!!!!

ADVENTURES: We began our adventure to Xi'an by rushing off to the airport right after school on Friday. Our friend Sam dropped us off at the metro station and it took us about an hour and a half to get to the airport. We arrived in plenty of time and met my friend James.
James is my friend from America that has worked with me in The First Tee at home. He is also from Taiwan and knows China very well. He was the reason we were making this extra trip to Xi'an. His friends had arranged for us to teach the golf camp together.
Anyway, after we met James and checked in my golf clubs, we were met with another delay. It seems like common practice at the Guangzhou airport; too many people, too many planes going in all different directions. Our two hour delay was due to air traffic congestion this time. So, we ended up leaving Guangzhou at close to 11 pm. We landed in Xi'an at 1 am. It seems like a new habit for us to fly late and then arrive late at our destination. Like I have written before, everything is an adventure in China. Or better yet, everything is an adventure when you travel with us. We finally got to bed around 3 am.

All 6 ft. tall

The next morning we didn't have to be up at a particular time. Our hosts for the week told us that we just needed to call them when we got up and were ready to go. James had made arrangements for us to go to the site of the Terra Cotta Soldiers. After a quick breakfast of chicken sandwiches at KFC, we met the other coach that was going to be working with us during the week. His name is Jason and he runs a golf learning center in downtown Xi'an, but I will tell you more about him in detail during the next blog.
The site for the Terra Cotta Soldiers is about an hour and a half outside of the city itself. Once we arrived, we were met by an official from the site. Apparently Jason had pulled a few strings and we were going to have a private tour in English. The facility for the soldiers is a massive park like facility. There are three pits that are surrounded by a beautiful courtyard that has fountains, statues and restaurants. Outside of that there are acres and acres of walkways and paths that meander through pines and poplars.
Our tour began in Pit 1. Pit 1 is a massive area covered with a blimp hangar sized building. The building covering pit one is so large that we had to have Cecelia take a panoramic picture to get it all in the frame. Pit 1 is also the main site of the current archeological work. This site is the one that you see in typical pictures of The Terra Cotta Soldiers. There are soldiers standing in lines with broken soldiers behind them. Pit one is the site in which the archeologists put the soldiers back together. It is kind of like a real life Humpty Dumpty story. The back of the site consists of a large flat area in which the soldiers are either standing or lying down while being put back together. Once the archeologists get all of the pieces together for a soldier, they put them back in the pit where they were originally located. The pit is about 9 ft. deep and has row after row of soldiers. We learned that the soldiers in this pit were the front line of defense. Many people believe the Chinese to be small in general, but things must have changed with time. To be in this army you had to be a minimum of 6 ft. tall.

All the kings horses and all the kings men couldn't put...............

Pit 2 is smaller and has a lot less excavation. The archeologists are going slower and making new discoveries all the time. Due to their advances in technique, the soldiers from Pit 2 have retained their original color better. Also this part of the tour got us up close and personal with the soldiers. They had three soldiers displayed in glass cases. When you get close to the soldiers you get to see the amazing detail that went into them. Even the hairs on their head are very detailed. At this pit, I was happy to find out that even though I wouldn't make the height requirement, I would have been considered a good guy because I have a mustache. If you didn't have a mustache, you were either a bad person or a criminal. Every soldier has a mustache. By the way, every soldier has a unique face. So far they have found over 1500 soldiers and it is only the tip of the archeological iceberg. There are also life sized horses in the pit as well. The horses are spectacular in their detail and facial features. One interesting thing that they found in Pit 2 was the only soldier that was entirely whole. It is an archer and out of the hundreds of soldiers he is the only one without even a chink in his armor.
You may be wondering at this point why the soldiers were broken. It is not that the mud and dirt broke them, because they were originally enclosed in an underground building. The destruction came from the following dynasty. The conquering generals removed all of the weapons from the statues and then set the place on fire. The destruction came from the ceiling collapsing on top of the soldiers. You can still see remnants of the burned structures and wagon wheel imprints where they burned into the ground.

An archeologists dream job!!!!

One final fact that I found interesting: even though there are hundreds of things I could share with you, this one intrigued me. It intrigued me because of the research and things that I have learned about China. If the dynasties had not had the practice of trying to erase all history of the previous dynasty, China would have probably been one of the most technologically advanced civilizations in the world. They had invented many things long before any of our cultures even thought of beginning. For example, one of the swords they found was still razor sharp and had chrome alloy on it. Germany supposedly perfected chrome technology in 1939. The sword that was found in the pit was dated back to 3000 BC. Let that fact sink in a little bit.
Finally we made our way to Pit 3. Pit 3 was similar to the two previous pits, but much smaller. Yet, Pit 3 has a special importance to it. This pit is where they found all of the emperor's generals. They also believe Pit 3 to have the entrance to passages to the emperor's tomb, but they have not discovered them as of yet.
After Pit 3 we headed to a gift shop in which we got a special treat. The gift shop housed replicas of the Terra Cotta Soldiers made in the same compound the original soldiers were made. It is the only licensed and certificated place in China to purchase them, so of course we had to pick up a couple of soveniers. But, this is not the special treat that I alluded to earlier. The special treat came in the form of the original man that discovered the soldiers in 1974. He found them while trying to dig a well for his farming. Since his discovery, he has been working with the site and been given a lifetime salary by the government. Unlike in America in which people can own whatever they find on their property, China has a policy that any archeological find belongs to the people of China. We had our picture taken with him and he signed our souvenir book.

Notice the mustache. I have one of those.

One quick fact we learned that is hard to imagine is when this site was complete over 720,000 people died to keep the secret of the tomb and soldiers. Everyone and anyone that worked on it were included in that number.
We then made our way over to the Jade factory. Apparently much of the really good jade comes from this area of China. We were given a lesson on how to tell real jade from fake. It was very interesting and informative. So basically if you have any jade, put it up to a light. If the light shines through and there are mineral deposits that look like flowers, it is real. If it doesn't it is fake. Also we learned that people wear jade because the body absorbs the good minerals over time. Men are supposed to wear dark jade that looks almost black and it is supposed to be good for the heart. Women are supposed to wear a lighter green and can wear it either on their right wrist to support lung health or on the left for heart health. Kids are supposed to wear pink. The pink supports healthy skin and complexion.
After buying Cecelia a jade bracelet to support her heart, we headed out to find lunch. We had a very nice lunch with our hosts and then went to one final place for site seeing.
Our final stop was at a place in which the Emperor from the Tang dynasty built a spa sanctuary for his favorite concubine. He was so in love with this concubine that when it was complete he lived there with her for 11 years. The entire place is designed around the concept of Fengshui and Ying/Yang. I can tell you that I can see why he was attracted to the place, other than for his concubine. It has mineral hot springs coming out of the ground in many places. The pools also had varying temperatures and he built many of the pools to have open roofs so that he could look at the stars while sitting in the springs. Kind of like having a Jacuzzi tub outside in our neck of the woods. I mean kind of, because many of the spas were swimming pool sized. He even built one spa for the chefs so that they could sit in the pools and be inspired to create culinary master pieces. We even took a break and sat with our feet in one of the pools. It was very hot, but refreshing. I really felt like I had my Ying and Yang in order then.

The concubine dancing or the Emperor

In later years when Cheng Kai Shek was fighting chairman Mao for power, he used the facility for his offices. There are still bullet holes in the walls from where people were trying to assassinate him.
One final note about this site. Other than walking around in the heat and being tired we would have thought that it was just another cool historical site in China. But our guide was very exuberant and excited about sharing with us the love story between the Emperor and his favorite concubine. She shared with us that after the 11 years the Emperor left and was a better ruler after that. I am not sure I believe her, because then the Tang dynasty was conquered by the Qing dynasty. Makes you wonder if he had his Ying and Yang in order after all. We did learn the significance of the Dragon and the Phoenix. The Dragon represents power and the Emperor. The Phoenix represents the Queen and control of the concubines. The Lotus Flower represents all the concubines.
We ended the day with a nice dinner back at the hotel and then went to bed. I was going to have an early start to an incredibly busy week.

I have to be honest with you. Going to the Terra Cotta Soldiers was not a priority on my want to see list when coming to China. The thought of going to visit a place in which a single man had people build and sculpt things so that he could continue his glory in the afterlife just didn't interest me. But after going, I am absolutely glad that I had the opportunity to experience such an amazing place. It is hard to describe the feelings that I felt and I don't quite understand why I got a little teary eyed at one point, but it is hard to fathom the unfathomable. What I mean is that I have no point of reference to draw on when experiencing something 3000 years old. I have only been around for 50 years and thinking back on what life was just like only 30 or 40 years ago is difficult. So how are we supposed to relate to something this old and this amazing? The only thing that comes to mind is to respectfully appreciate the craftsmanship and hard work that those 720,000 put in to this project. Here is a link to a short video that has more photos. Enjoy and we will see many of you soon. By the way, the next blog won't be written from home. It will probably come from Hong Kong tomorrow while we wait for our flight. It will be a short story about what I did while in Xi'an for the week. for more pictures, enjoy the video found at this link. Terra Cotta and The Concubine.

Miami Vice Comes to China!!!

2013-06-23T04:41:00.001-07:00

Hello Everyone. I hope you enjoyed the bonus blogs about Beijing and The Great Wall. It is still hard to believe that it was only last week that we were there.


Sometimes we can't tell if we are in Europe or China

As we walked our last time to church, I couldn’t help but begin to think about the things that I am going to miss about China. I am actually going to save the retrospective for a later blog, but I have to share that I really have enjoyed our treks to church in Guangzhou. St. Francis of Assisi has been a great church home for us while here. The choir is excellent and the priest has an infectious joy that Cecelia and I really enjoy.

Are we in China or Hawaii?

On top of that, how can you beat having a great service and then walking back through the meat market and seeing half a pig hanging from the back of a truck. Like I have said many times before, the simple is just never mundane here.

This week the weather has been beautiful. A little bit humid, but not too hot. Lot’s of high clouds and a nice breeze. We would also get an occasional shower here and there, but it was the kind of rain that reminded me of Hawaii.

This week began the process of saying goodbye. So, enjoy the activities that we did this week and we will be seeing all of you sooner than you think.

SCHOOL: This week at school was all about taking care of the little things needed so that we can check the girls and ourselves out. We each had a checklist that we needed to take care of in order to complete our respective assignments. Taylor, Claire and I have completed our lists. Cecelia hasn’t yet, because she still is doing assessments of her students and hasn’t had as much free time to take care of it. I know this is all boring information, but I do have a funny story that describes working here best.

Cheng Family House

The last thing on my list was to take my Teacher’s Edition text books to the library. I have been holding on to them as long as possible, because I still have one week of school left to teach. This last week I am teaching basic Trigonometry, remember Cosine, Sine and Tangent. Of course you don’t, because most of you learned it about a thousand years ago and not many of you are engineers. So anyway, there were a couple of cool assignments that I wanted to use and I was trying to figure out what to do if I turned in my books. I figured out a couple of internet lessons and made up an activity so that I could turn them in. When I handed the books back to the librarian, she informed me that I wasn’t missing anymore books, but I was having six rmb taken from my paycheck. On asking why, the library informed me that my teaching materials were over due. Now, understand six rmb is not a lot of money. Actually it is slightly less than one US Dollar, but I had to have a discussion with the librarian just out of principal. I said to her, “You mean to tell me that with one week of school left, I am being fined for keeping the books I need for teaching?”. Her reply was in the affirmative. I then said to her, “Nobody informed me when you check out teaching materials that they need to be renewed.” Her comment was, “I’m sorry, but they made a mistake by not letting you know.” I then said to her, “You were the one that checked them out to me.” Her answer was, “I’m sorry I made a mistake.” I then asked her to change the fee and fix it in the computer. She said that she couldn’t because it was "already in the system.” At this point I was just done. I walked away laughing, because this is the perfect example of how many of the staff do not know how to problem solve. It wasn’t worth my time to continue to argue my point.

When I turned my paperwork in to the Foreign Affairs office, I mentioned the issue to them that this might be one of the policies that they should modify. The answer back was a sheepish grin and a I’ll make a note of it response. Yeah right!!!!!

Now this is the way to ditch school!!!!

ADVENTURES: After my adventure with the Librarian and the Foreign Affairs Office, we ended the week by going to the local water park again. Earlier in the year we promised Taylor that we would go back when she was tall enough to go on all of the rides. She has grown quite a bit and so Cecelia took the day off and we had the girls ditch school to break up our seven day work week.

Before we went to the water park though, we had to have one last adventure at the local bank. It only took us an hour and fifteen minutes to send money through Western Union this time. Thankfully this is the last time we have to go through this pain.

She was too short for this last time.

The water park was fantastic and the crowds were small. The longest ride we waited on was 25 minutes. Taylor took advantage of her new found height and promptly went on the rides that she missed in the fall. We spent about five and a half hours that afternoon and we relished the time spent together as a family.

After finishing at the water park, we headed for home and prepared for the evenings activities. Cecelia and I were going to one of the many going away parties that were being held over the next couple of weeks. Taylor and Claire were going to go hang out with the Madsens.

Beating the heat

The girls and Madsen kids have really become good friends. We call them the little rat pack, because the five of them get together and use the buses in our neighborhood to run all around the community. I will tell you that one of the things that we and the girls are really going to miss is the freedom for the kids to run around with other kids in a neighborhood environment. It reminds me of when I was a kid and we would get money from our parents, or collect bottles and trade them in so that we could go to the store and get sodas or candy. Sometimes we would save up enough money to even go to the movies. We just don’t have this environment where we live. The girls love it, because a typical evening with the Madsen kids is getting money, going to Little Italy for pizza and then riding the bus together to the water park. This week they decided to forgo the water park for obvious reasons and just watched movies instead. They also ended up having a sleep over.

At the first of two going away/birthday parties that Cecelia and I went to, we took a bag of books and movies for people to take. We collected many books and movies this year, because we don’t have TV. The reason we gave them away, is because as we have begun to pack to come home and we don’t have enough room for the 50 or so pounds of souvenirs that we are bringing back with us. So, the books and movies had to go. Cecelia is a little remiss in getting rid of the movies, but we worry a little about copyright fines. Also, it doesn’t look real good when you came to China with a DVD holder full of DVD’s and then you return with three times as many movies. Can someone say Red Flag please!!!! Anyway, we had a wonderful time at dinner and said good by to some of the staff that we probably wouldn’t see during the upcoming week.

This plaza was cool, because they kept all of the original architecture and put the shops inside

The next day, Cecelia and I got up early and went for a walk. The kids were not due to come home until around 9 and we figured we could get it in before they returned. As I mentioned earlier, the weather has been great, but in the southern part of Guangdong Province there was a Typhoon warning. We didn’t think it would affect us. As we started our walk the scenery was glorious. The sun was shining on a crystal blue sky and you could see the large white thunderheads glimmering in the distance. There was also a slight breeze that kept the humidity down to a bearable amount. Little did we know or realize that the slight breeze was going to pick up and that the low clouds accompanying the thunderheads would roll our way. We had decided to walk over to an open air market that is about an hour walk from us and then ride the bus back, but just as we arrived at the market the rain began. It was a slight mist at first, but then quickly turned into a downpour. I can’t tell you how often I have been caught out in the rain here in China, but after 10 months you would think we would have learned by now. So, once again I found myself soaked all the way through my cloths and dripping on a chair in a bus. I mentioned to Cecelia that getting caught in the rain here, has replaced my habit of running out of gas in the States. At least she was a kind spouse and gave me some credit for the unpredictability of the weather here.

The coolest Starbucks ever!!!!

After returning home and retrieving the girls, we headed to Foshan for the day. Foshan is the city in which I wrote about earlier in the blog that has the Kung Fu school and was home to the Cheng Family. It was the place that I wrote about that helped me to remember to appreciate the simple things in life.

We were going there to get Cecelia’s eyes check at the place where Claire and I had ordered glasses earlier in the week. Also, Claire and I had found this really cool plaza that we wanted to share with Cecelia and Taylor.

When we arrived at the optometrist store Cecelia got her eyes checked. While the girls and I were waiting we were pleasantly surprised to find that the glasses that we ordered earlier in the week were ready to be picked up. This was great because it was going to save Claire and I a trip back. By scooter and metro it takes about two hours to get to Foshan. Anyway, we received our glasses and Cecelia’s results were positive. She only had a slight change in her vision and only needs reading glasses if she wants them. It was funny, because the lady that did the eye exam showed Cecelia’s results in a book and it said “Old age vision”. How is that for a definitive assessment. One last thing about the eye glass store. I told you I was going to save things about what I was going to miss, but I have to mention this one. I will miss going to the eye glass store with Claire, getting our eyes checked, buying two pairs of glasses, and walking out spending about $120.

The ladies enjoying themselves

You may be wondering, whether the check was good or not. Let me tell you that I have been to an eye doctor a minimum of one time per year since I was five and these people do as good of job as any I have ever experienced. On top of that, my prescription included Transitions lenses. Also, the frames that you get to choose from are not last years cast offs, they are actually very stylish. I can’t even look at one pair of glasses in the States for less than two or three hundred bucks. I have to use double insurance in order to cover the cost back home.

Had to dump Tubbs for her. That's right she is HOT!!!!!!

Finally, after shopping and getting lunch we returned home so that Cecelia and I could get ready for our next party. The party that evening had an 80’s and Goonies theme. So, if you know Cecelia and I we have to go all out. We decided to go as characters from Miami Vice. Cecelia dressed in a neon yellow mini skirt and a hot pink top. To finish it off, she wore hot pink pumps, neon earrings and a neon yellow belt. To put it simply from my point of view, “She was Hot”. By the way, she was pretending to be an undercover narcotics agent and had a hand gun tucked in the back waste band of her mini skirt. I of course went as Crocker from Miami Vice. Some party revelers said I was a spot on double for Don Johnson. Of course they had already had one too many drinks, but who am I to judge. I wore white pants, a neon green t-shirt and a white jacket. Of course I had my glock in my waste band as well. To put it in a nutshell according to the Chinese we were typical Americans carrying guns. Finally, to pull off our entrance for everyone, I downloaded the theme music from Miami Vice onto my iPad and we entered the party playing it loud and busting any suspicious party goers. The one guy we had to frisk was Nathan. He was playing the character of Chunk from Goonies. He looked very suspicious indeed.

We had a wonderful time and headed home earlier than our friends wanted, but we needed to get up early to go to church for the last time.

I will share with you next week how we prepared to head for Xian and complete school at the same time.

Have a great week. Only 15 days until we return!!!!

Bonus Blog II - I saw Space from The Great Wall!!!!

2013-06-20T16:28:00.001-07:00

Welcome To The Great Wall Of China!!!

Cecelia took this panoramic photo from the west side of the wall.

If you don't know, The Great Wall of China was said to be the only man made object that could be seen from the moon, but this has been proven to be untrue, thus the play on words for this bonus blog. This will complete the adventure we had in Beijing. If you can believe it, we did all of this in two and a half days. When you read this blog and you feel your heart start pounding and you get short of breath it is OK, because that is how we felt. The incline of the stairs was steep and unfortunately the pollution was so bad that we had a hard time breathing. What, you think we got tired from just the exertion of our activity? Come on, we are finely tuned athletes that spent the previous day at the Olympic Village pretending to win gold medals. Granted we visualized winning them in Golf, but Golfers are athletes too. Besides we live near Yosemite and climbing the stairs was like going up and down the Mist Trail twice. No Problem!!!!!!

Getting ready to climb

SCHOOL: Once again no school because of Dragon Boat Festival. By now you are probably wondering if we ever really work. Of course we do, I had to even work on Father's Day. Man, talk about a surreal experience.

ADVENTURE: After the previous day of tromping around Beijing, we woke up and headed out to find The Great Wall of China. As always the research and planning of an Oetinger adventure is not always executed in the manner in which it was supposed happen. This trip was no different. The beginning of our excursion went well. We rode the metro to the stop that we were supposed to get off on and began searching for the bus we were supposed to catch. This is where it began to get interesting. I had read two separate internet articles that gave the same clear details about riding the metro, getting off at a certain stop and then looking for bus number 68. So, when we arrived at the area in which we were supposed to get on bus 68, guess what? You probably already guessed it, there was no bus 68. The four of us then wandered up and down the street for about 15 minutes before I finally stopped into the police station on the corner. The police looked dumbfounded and didn't have any idea about bus 68. I then wandered back up the street a little more and spotted a bus with the number 58 on it. Now, at this point you are probably saying to yourself that he is lost and had the wrong bus number. My own children said the same thing to me at this point and I promptly pulled out my trusty iPad and showed them the article that gave me the directions. In bright red numbers the number 68 blazed out to silence them. Same for you critics out there. Besides, I had already asked the police rather than be a stupid father and husband that just drives around in circles without asking for help. So, at this point I went to the number 58 bus and asked them where bus 68 was located. Through my broken communication in Chinese I found out that we needed to ride the number 58 bus to the stop to pick the number 68 bus up that would finally take us to The Great Wall.

We're going up there?!!!

Cecelia then asked me if I was sure I knew where we going. I answered in a confident manner and said yes, despite the underlying trepidation that I didn't just ask them to take us to a really big Chinese restaurant. My fears were increased after about 45 minutes on the bus. We pulled up on the side of the road out in the middle of the country, and the driver told everyone to get off. Fortunately there was a nice young lady that spoke some English and she told us to just wait for bus 68. It was going to be coming in about a half an hour. The nice thing was that bus 68 came about 15 minutes into our wait. When we hopped on I met a mother and son from San Francisco that were going to The Great Wall as well. They spoke not only excellent English, but fluent Chinese as well. The mom's family lives in Beijing and here son that was with her was a freshman this year at Berkeley. We had a nice chat as we made our way to The Great Wall. This was actually their first visit to Beijing as well.
About 20 minutes into our ride the driver announced that we were approaching The Great Wall. Just some quick facts about The Great Wall. It was actually built and rebuilt a number of times. It originally was begun in the 7th Century before Christ was born. It grew over many years and finally was considered one wall in 220 BC. The current wall was seriously refurbished during the Ming Dynasty and has been maintained periodically since then. The actual wall length is 3,889 miles. That would be roughly as long as two thirds of the United States. The part of The Great Wall that we visited is called, Juyongguan "The North Pass". This section of the wall was used to protect the capital city of Beijing. I don't know why they needed a wall here, because as you can see in the pictures, the terrain is very steep. If I was a Mongol and just marched up through the valley to the base of this section I would have just turned around and been happy with conquering most of China. This portion had never been breached by any army.

Seriously Sarge, we're going to attack that???

We chose this portion of the wall because it is the steepest and the least crowded. After hiking the wall loop, I can understand why. The loop that includes a village with The Great Wall is roughly 4500 meters long, which is about three miles. When you add in the one climb, which I already mentioned was like going up the granite steps, and two descents that are like going down the cables on Half Dome, it feels like 10 miles.
Our hike began at the valley floor. We then progressed up the West side to the highest point of The Great Wall. The steps are very steep and it reminded us of hiking up the granite blocks to the base of Half Dome. After arriving at the top, we headed down the loop that headed back toward the valley and East Side. Like I said earlier most of this has been refurbished, but let me tell you the steps that they decided to redo must have been made based on the original specs to keep it authentic. Most of them are very uneven in height and width. Some sections going down are as steep as leaving the top of Half Dome by way of the cables. There was more than once that my vertigo attempted to kick in. I had to do my best Jimmy Stewart impression and fight it off.

It goes on for Miles and Miles

One section of the wall has a dead end at the top of the East Ridge. Looking out over the dead end there is a section of the original wall that has not been refurbished, it is really cool.

The highest watch tower in all of The Great Wall

At the finish. Another Christmas Photo??

I have mentioned before how I felt at some other monuments during this crazy adventure, but while at The Great Wall it was different. It was hard to get a handle on what I was feeling. It took the first hike to the highest watch tower to clarify what I was feeling. I think my initial feeling was one of disbelief. I stood there at the very top of highest watch tower thinking to myself, "Never in my wildest dreams as a kid or a young adult did I ever think I would ever do anything like this." You know, I am a very goal oriented person and I believe that it is important to have goals to reach your dreams and to be successful, but I can honestly say that standing on The Great Wall was never on my list until I got to China. The next thing I felt was grateful. I then closed my eyes and said a prayer of thanks. I thanked God for giving me the opportunity to stand on one of the greatest man made objects ever produced in human history. I then felt joy, because not only was I standing on the highest point of The Great Wall, but my family was with me as well. How could it get much better than that? Even the bad Beijing pollution couldn't ruin the experience for us. Let's see now, that is two of the eight Modern Day Wonders of The World Down. Where should we go next? Claire says, "Brazil to see Christ The Redeemer and to watch her play on the 2016 Olympic Women's Golf Team." I like her thinking, a daughter after her old man's heart.
After buying many cheesy souvenirs, like hats and t-shirts, we headed back to Beijing by bus and metro. Our trip back wasn't nearly as exciting. We returned to the hotel, had dinner and then Cecelia and I promptly had massages together. Come on, even fine tuned athletes get massages after competing!!!
By the way, remember the missing number 68 bus. Apparently they have stopped service from the metro station. They had changed within the last month. So, ha I wasn't lost.
Now, we will be frantically packing up, going to good bye parties and taking care of the little things that need to be done before we head for Xian.
Enjoy the rest of the story in pictures and have a great week!!! The Great Wall of China - Juyongguan Section

Bonus Blog - Inspiration From A Nest!

2013-06-18T05:44:00.000-07:00

This is The Birds Nest. It is totally amazing and awe inspiring.

This is the first bonus blog for the week. I guess I could have just called this week's blog Beijing Part 1, 2 and 3. Naw, that is just too boring. But this blog is a follow up to the blog I wrote for Father's Day and the Dragon Boat Festival this week. This blog is going to focus on what we did the first day in Beijing, which encompassed Tiananmen Square, The Forbidden City and the 2008 Olympic Facility.
One final note. My editor told me to try and keep to the point. She felt like I rambled a bit in regards to creating my analogy of Dads and Dragons. So, I will do my best but I won't promise anything. I mentioned to her that I didn't want to be confined by the rules of good writing, so I will just keep on writing poorly.

SCHOOL: Once again no school due to The Dragon Boat Festival.

ADVENTURE: So to sum up from the previous blog, we arrived early in the morning and slept until about 8:30. The delay the day before was caused by rain and thunderstorms. So even though it was a hassle getting to Beijing, at least the notorious air was relatively clean. We headed out after a quick breakfast at, you guessed it, Starbucks. Man I just can't get the kids away from the place anymore.

Monolith dedicated to the People

One note before I describe our day. Wednesday is the one day in which the country takes the day off for the Dragon Festival. So I want you to visualize in your head 1.8 billion people all having the same day off. We actually chose this day to do the things in the city because when we went to the Great Wall we didn't want to deal with the crowds there. Living in China you just have to pick your poison sometimes.
We rode the metro to our first destination, which was Tiananmen Square. By the way, we have become quite the subway navigators, so if you need some help wherever you go let us know. Anyway, we arrived at Tiananmen Square and it definitely did not disappoint. When exiting the subway tunnel, we arrived on the corner closest to the Forbidden City. From this vantage point the square sprawls out for what seems like miles and miles. It reminded us very much of the mall in Washington DC, except without grass and fountains. Even without those things that help to make the mall so beautiful, the square has magnificent sculptures, monoliths and buildings that create a vastness that is overwhelming. Cecelia and I were trying to compare the two and we came to the determination that they are just different. They are as different as our governments. Where our White House is at the middle of the mall, The Forbidden City, which was home to the Emperor was at the end. We found both to be magnificent.
As we stood in the Square, I was thinking back to the images I saw as a young man in 1989. The image that has been burned into many of our memories is of a lone man standing in front of a column of tanks to protest the killing of college students and their parents the day before. What was sad about my thinking, was that it is the only knowledge that I had about Tiananmen Square. As I stood there looking at the beautiful buildings and admiring the size of The Chinese National Art Museum, I thought about how little we in the west really know about these people. All we hear or see about in the west are negative images, when there are so many more positive things that we can learn. Even so, those images only add to the mystique of where we were. Even though there is no official documentation about what happened on that day, there are many Chinese that believe that the incident that we all witnessed on TV has changed this country forever. Maybe someday the truth will be told and those brave students and parents will be immortalized with a monument in their memory.

This is the famous view of the entrance to Forbidden City from Tiananmen Square

One thing I do have to mention is that if you are a blonde person, be prepared to be a celebrity for a day. In the Square alone, before we entered The Forbidden City, the girls were asked at least eight times in twenty minutes to have their picture taken with new Chinese friends. Also, of all the places that tourists tend to gather this was the most touristy. What I mean by that is that there were guides that were approaching me regularly hawking their services, as well as the cheesy souvenir vendors. The guides were actually very aggressive and are not typical for Chinese people, that tend to be rather shy and mild mannered. They kept telling us that the ticket line to get in was going to take an hour and that they could get them faster. So, just a pointer for you. Don't believe them. Cecelia got in line with the girls and it maybe took 15 minutes at the most.
Now don't get me wrong, if you want to see special parts of The Forbidden City or have a need to hear about all 4000 square meters of the place then by all means hire a guide. Their services are not expensive and I am sure you can learn a lot of history from them, but if you haven't learned by now Cecelia and I tend to go our own way. We only had one day and already had a plan and were not going to be deterred by a guide.

The First Square of The Forbidden City is so large Cecelia had to use her panoramic feature on her camera to get it all in the picture

After meandering around the square a bit we headed for The Forbidden City. With the crowds growing by the second we didn't want to get caught in a big crush trying to get in the gate. When you are in Tiananmen Square you don't realize how big the picture is of Chairman Mao until you are entering the gate of The Forbidden City. It is actually huge; probably the largest picture of an individual person I have ever seen.
How to describe The Forbidden City? I would venture to guess that from all that has been written about The Forbidden City, that there are no more words left that haven't been used to describe it. Being a moderately descriptive scribe, I am going to offer a stream of descriptors for a place that really needs to be experienced. The Forbidden City, with its vast open courtyards and palaces is Superb, Extraordinary, Glorious and a place in which you expect a King or Emperor to come strolling along at any moment. I know that as Americans we don't ever consider ourselves to be the common people, but I will tell you that I had a feeling that if the Emperor came strolling out, every knee would be bent in respect to him and I would have been one of them kneeling. It is the kind of place that makes you feel like you should walk quietly and with reverence. On top of that, you feel like you would be happy with your status, whatever it may be. You would be grateful, just for the experience of being here.

The view from the other side

Also, despite the crowds the courtyards are so big that people are dispersed and it seems like there is plenty of room. You have to remember that the Chinese armies used to fill the courtyards at certain times in history. So, tens of thousands of people can fit in the place comfortably. We spent about three hours in The Forbidden City and then began to get hungry so we headed out to get some lunch.
Again, we hopped on the metro and headed to the Olympic village. After arriving, we stopped for a quick bite of lunch. The one thing that struck us about the Olympic village is that it was actually being used. I have been to a couple of venues and I would say this one is unique in that it was designed to be available for the people after all the athletes and the world went home. The others just seemed like they were used and then almost forgotten about. Granted, places like LA and Atlanta utilize already existing facilities, rather than creating something from scratch.

Part of the Olympic River Walk. This runs to a lake in the shape of a Dragon

We began by walking along the lake that held the rowing and outdoor aquatic events. It was a very festive environment and people were picnicking, napping and playing games. We then made our way back to the center walkway and started toward the much anticipated Birds Nest Stadium. Along the way, we saw some new construction for a building that looks like something out of a Jody Foster or Star Trek Movie. The building is absolutely massive and looks like something that you would use to slip from one dimension to another. There is also quite a variety of sculptures that we caught glimpses of down hidden paths. There is something for every art lovers taste. My favorite sculpture was one that reminded me of MC Escher. One of the things that is very striking about walking down the Olympic center court is that as you get closer and closer the Birds Nest becomes more and more prominent. The other thing is that as you are walking through all of the art, the Birds Nest fits in with all of it and punctuates the end of the enjoyable walk. I know this is a stretch to say this, but it is like walking on a trail in Yosemite, seeing the typical rock formations and then turning a corner and the Valley Floor is spread out before you.

The Birds Nest was very inspiring to us in many ways. First of all, the architecture is amazing. Taylor and Claire both mentioned that it would be cool to become Architects and make something like it. I am not quite sure why when, we entered the stadium we just sat down quietly and admired the view without saying anything. I will tell you that during the Olympics there probably wasn't a bad seat in the house. The stadium is quite large, but the way that it is built makes it feel rather intimate.

Enjoying some of the cool fountains in the Olympic Village

Cecelia and I will be honest with you. For some reason it just seems a little disrespectful getting teary eyed watching highlights of the 2008 Olympic and Para-Olympic games, but not getting misty at any temples or ancient sites. Maybe it is because we have been athletes all of our lives, or maybe we have just seen so many temples and old Chinese history, but we actually were in awe of the Birds Nest and the aura of the Olympic memories that still lingered in the building. We also thought that maybe our reaction was because we value the Olympic spirit and the hard work that goes along with becoming an Olympian. We realized how much we value this spirit over government workings and old history.
I am adding in this last item, because it is part of the city and The Great Wall needs a blog just for itself. So, I am jumping a little ahead to Thursday. On Thursday before we left we wanted to see one more piece of history. This last site is called the Heavenly Paradise. It was the spiritual home to the Emperor and his staff. It was used for storing food from the harvest and also the place where the Emperor would go to pray and give burnt offerings to ensure a bountiful harvest. The place was massive and had an incredible park that surrounded it. Much of the architecture is identical to The Forbidden City.

Heavenly Paradise

We spent a few hours here and then it was time for us to go get on the metro to head to the airport for our flight home. On the way to the metro we had our first bad experience with a Rickshaw driver. The first two that we rode with to The Heavenly Paradise were great, but the two that took us back to the metro were trying to rip us off. I can proudly say that I know enough Chinese to tell a guy that I am not paying him more than what I was quoted. After haggling for about 10 minutes we came to a compromise and we settled up. So, a quick note to those of you that want to take a cute Rickshaw ride. Make sure the guy is clear on what he is going to charge you, or just take a metered cab.
Anyway, despite our encounter with the Rickshaw drivers we had a great time. Have a great week and look for THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA, coming later in the week. Video for the week. The Magnificence of Beijing

Fathers are Dragons in China!!!

2013-06-15T18:19:00.002-07:00

A Dragon with My People!!

This weeks blog as you can guess is dedicated to all those fathers that are doing their best for their kids each day. Thus the meaning of the title for this week. Despite the bad rap that Dragons have gotten over the years, Dragons are revered in China. The only person that could have the Dragon for their crest was the Emperor. So men, you really are the kings of your own castles and it is great that our wives let us believe so most of the time. Anyway, as I was saying Dragons are respected here. Another aspect about them is that despite their frightful look they are kind and compassionate. With that being said, remember Dragons, that even when we make tough decisions regarding our families don't forget to be loving and compassionate. DRAGONS TAKE CARE OF YOUR PEOPLE!!!!!!

I want to take a moment to send a LARGE brotherly hug out to my brothers. This is our first Father's Day without our Dad. I know each of us will have fond memories of him and spend some time thinking about what he meant to each of us. I know I will cherish the relationship that we had, just before he passed away. He had the opportunity to share a little of his life with my daughters and they really enjoyed the time being coached by him. I got to see one last time the coaching fire flicker in his eyes that. With that fire burning in him, it demonstrated why he is a Dragon to me.
The video is at the beginning this week because the song for this video is my toast to all of you Dragons out there. Here is the link. Dragon's Day Video

SCHOOL: No School this week because we were off for the Dragon Festival!!!

ADVENTURES: After last weeks slow week because of the seven day work week, we started off on a rather calm note. Monday was all about resting and taking care of some of the little things we needed to do before we headed to Beijing.
Tuesday dawned with wet rainy conditions, which are not a surprise here in Southeast China.
Before we caught our flight later in the day, Cecelia and I decided to get some exercise. She chose to stay dry and do some yoga, while I was stupid enough to go out into the drizzling rain. I figured that if it was just a mild drizzle and that it would probably stop or be intermittent. Obviously if you have been reading the blog over this past year, you know my luck with the rain. So, this time wasn't any different. As a matter of fact as I headed out I thought I saw some clearing skies near the metro station, so I decided to ride in that direction to avoid the rain. Unfortunately, my mistake was not feeling the wind as it was blocked out by the high rise apartments. With that error, rather than riding away from the oncoming storm, you guessed it I rode directly into the storm. So, the drizzle that I began my ride in, turned into something a lot more substantial a few miles into my ride. After being pelted by heavy rain for a mile or so I decided to cut back through a village that I knew and take a short cut back. It really was a shortcut, the story doesn't get worse. Quit thinking the worst for me will ya, geez!!! Anyway, as I was heading back I came across some of the really long Dragon Boats. This group had the Dragon heads on them and were prepared for the Dragon Boat Festival the next day.

Local villagers in Dragon Boats

Now I know that I have mentioned the Dragon Boat Festival and this weeks blog definitely has the Dragon theme to it, but I really don't want to focus so much on the meaning of the Festival itself. In short the Dragon Boat Festival is an excuse to party for a few days at the beginning of June. It started roughly 2000 years ago and has something to do with a poet from some village that committed suicide because of some problem that he had with the local government. The people of the village loved the poet so much, that when they started searching for his body in the river in which he drowned himself, they threw food to the fish so that they wouldn't eat his body. I apologize for the less than meaningful description, but that is the story Cecelia and I both got from some local Chinese people.
During the festival, people eat these triangle shaped rice balls stuffed with either chicken or pork. Then are then wrapped in some kind of leaf and then steamed to a gooy perfection. The best I have had were made by my friend David's mom. Also, while eating most people watch boat races. The boats are adorned with Dragon Heads and then the Dragons are fed herbs and graced with scarves to give the boats luck. There are serious races, that we watched on TV by the way, but the local area just seemed to be prepared to enjoy a day off in the middle of the week to party.
So the previous information was given to you so that you will understand that my semi-disasterous bike ride turned into another outstanding local adventure. As I stopped to admire the decorated boats that were parked under a bridge, and give myself a little break from the rain, I happened to hear drums and cymbals beating in the distance. With my curiosity piqued from the sound, I ventured forth back out into the rain and rode a little further into the local village. As I turned the last corner to enter the village I was astounded to see a group of people paddling two Dragon Boats up a canal to the beat of the cymbal and drum. The people were rowing in the rain and having a joyous time. When I came abreast of the two boats on my bike, the drummer increased his beat and waved to me to race them down the walkway.

Of course I obliged and we had some fun in the rain together. When I reached the end of the path, they waved to me to turn around and race again. This time, I pulled out Taylor's iPod, set my bike aside and raced them down the path on foot so that I could get some photos and video. Thus the video and photos you experienced earlier in the blog. We then raced back once again to the end, they docked their boats and asked me if I would like to get in and paddle. I know at this point I probably should have taken them up on their offer, but I thought I would go back and get the girls and then give it a go. So, I waved goodbye and headed home to dry off and shower.
After my ride, we were going to pack up and head to the airport for our flight later that day to Beijing. To know avail, after picking up Cecelia and the girls we made it back but everyone had gone in to have lunch, so it was just the two boats docked side by side when we arrived.
After leaving the Dragon Boats behind we headed for the airport to catch our flight to Beijing. When we arrived at the airport to check in, I was informed that our flight was delayed until much later. I was told that we could get on an earlier flight, so we took the opportunity. The new flight was going to be leaving in a half an hour, so the ticket agent got us the tickets, but then we had to run through the airport to get to our new gate. We arrived breathless to a new flight that was delayed as we arrived. The delay lasted around four hours, but we finally boarded our flight and made it to Beijing at 2 am. After checking in, we decided to sleep in and start the next day at Tienanmen Square. So, just as we had to wait for the next morning, you are going to have to wait for the Bonus Blogs this week. The bonus blogs are going to focus on our exploration of Beijing and finally our amazing day at The Great Wall. I also don't want the blogs to be as long as the Great Wall, so you will have to wait for them later. I promise not to delay too long.

Preparing For The Journey Home

2013-06-09T17:05:00.000-07:00

Migratory Cranes of China. They migrate every couple of years from one high rise project to the next. Kirsten Keyser warned us about these creatures being around. Amazing how many of them flock together.

Hello Everyone. I hope this week finds you all getting ready to enjoy those lazy days of summer. I sat last night reading the Facebook about the Yosemite High Graduation Ceremony. I couldn't help feel a bit homesick thinking of those seniors that I had spent the last few years with. So I want to dedicate this blog to those that are graduating and moving to the next chapter in their lives. Good luck Jordan Keyser, Paige Ronk and Austin Claybaugh. I am proud of all of you and look forward to watching you follow your dreams. If there are any I have forgotten please forgive me and accept my congratulations.

Yosemite underclassmen wish this was available in Oakhurst

I also got a little nostalgic looking at the picture of the Class of 2013 from the bleachers and thinking to myself. "I can't believe it has been an entire year that I was sitting in that stadium with the Class of 2012." It just seems like the year has flown by, but I guess that happens when you are having the experience of a lifetime.
From the title of this week's post, you can probably guess what I am going to share. So, grab a cold drink and get ready, because it isn't all what you might think.

SCHOOL: This week we had a great seven day work week in preparation for The Dragon Boat Festival. We get five days off next week, but have another seven day week following the festival. So in reality we only get one day off. Such is the life of a school teacher in China.

This is a Troybuilt rototiller on steroids. I need one of these on the O Hacienda.

ADVENTURES: Well, we didn't really have any adventures to share with you this week, because as I mentioned before we are working seven days in a row. But we have a saying here in China, "Everyday is an Adventure living here." So with that being said, I did a bit of photo journalism this week and am going to share with you some of the interesting things we see each day, that we won't ever see in the United States. But before we get to that, I have some really cool news to share with you.


Firesuit, check. Helmet, check. No way I am getting on that portable bomb for a job. His name must be Chang Knievel Liang!!!!

First, so that you are all clear. THE PLANE TICKETS HAVE BEEN PURCHASED TO COME HOME!!!!!! We will be returning on July 8th at 8 pm in San Francisco. We should be at home in Oakhurst late that night, since for us it will be 11 am for our body clocks. They say the jet lag isn't as bad going back toward the west. I hope not, since I hated the lag coming east. Cecelia tells me we are only flying two hours and testing Eiensteins theory of relativity. Somehow I don't think it is the same time travel thing. But before we come home, we still have some things to do.

Hey!!! We found Towmator.

I can share with you that I am busily working on revising my book. One of the publishers that I met with this last week wants to buy the copyrights to the English and Chinese version. They also want to start with a 5000 book contract to begin with. They want pictures and a little bit more writing to be done. I want to get it done, before we leave China.
During our next 7 day week, we plan on taking a day off to go see the Li River and the surrounding area. It is supposed to be a beautiful wildlife and scenic area in China. There are geographic rock formations that are unique to this part of China.
During our five days off, we are going on an adventure that will be a surprise for next week's blog. This week is the Dragon Boat Festival, but we will be doing something a bit more spectacular. I think I will have to do a bonus blog to get it all in for the week. (How is that for a teaser?!!)
Finally, I have been hired to be the lead coach at a golf camp in Xian during the first week of July. I will be flying there the day after school is out for me on June 28th. Cecelia and the girls are going to come with me for part of the week. If you don't know what is important about Xian, it is the home of the Terra Cotta Soldiers. I am not going to elaborate about them now, but this is a pretty significant site in Chinese history. You can Google about it, if you just can't wait until July.

Who says Sparklet's Employees have to be young and buff.

In typical Oetinger fashion we are going to pack in as much as we can before we leave. I am really looking forward to sharing the next few weeks with you.
Despite the upcoming adventures, we are in countdown mode and are really looking forward to coming home to our friends and family. Much love to all of you and we will see you sooner than you think!!!!

Adventure Taylor Turns 10!!!

2013-06-02T05:48:00.004-07:00

Not Monet, But Rusty's Lotus Flowers

Hello Everyone, I hope this week finds you all healthy and enjoying life wherever you call home. This week's blog is dedicated to my daughter Taylor who turns 10 on Monday, June 3rd. I am dedicating the blog a day ahead of time because we had a great weekend celebrating life with her in China. Just like the Lotus Flower here in China that is dormant and battles the harsh elements to emerge as a spectacular flower,

Lotus Flower in full bloom

Taylor has weathered the storm of difficult times this year with education and growing up in a new culture to blossom into a beautiful young lady. So, I hope you enjoy the slideshow I have presented to you and some of the adventures near home that we experienced.

SCHOOL: Not much to report other than spent two hours prepping to train teachers on Bloom's Taxonomy and Interdisciplinary Teaching only to not have anyone show up. I found out later that they had canceled the teacher trainings for the rest of the year. You would think that the teacher would be the first to know, right?! Anyway, one less thing on my plate until we return home.
I can report that I did hear from Yosemite High School and learned officially that I will be teaching Applied Math, Geometry and Computer Lab to resource and general education students. I am excited about the position. It keeps me doing what I like to do with a new addition. I have really enjoyed learning some great technology over here and look forward to sharing it with students in Computer Lab and Math. I will also be returning as the Girls Golf Coach. Looking forward to seeing my experienced Lady Badgers and some new ones as well. If anyone knows of any eighth grade girls interested in playing, let me know.

About the size of a softball

ADVENTURES: This week was mostly adventures on my own. My ninth graders were on a field trip and my 10th graders were done testing so I didn't have many classes. To the chagrin of my wife I played golf a lot this week. I am not going to get into the golf too much other than to say that my travels took me to a new town called Nansha.
Nasha is a really nice port city at the mouth of the Pearl River Delta. It is very large and does a lot of the importing and exporting to Southeast Asia. Unlike many other cities that have done away with the old culture as they build, Nasha has done a great job incorporating culture into new architecture. The day I was there I played at a beautiful golf course on a ridge that overlooked the mouth of the Pearl River. There was an outstanding view of the Nasha Bridge. The Bridge has the same magnificent look to it that the Golden Gate Bridge does from a distance. The architecture is very similar to the Golden Gate, but the main difference is that it is a glistening Pearl Color. This is appropriate since it spans the Pearl River. When the sun hits it, it is almost blinding.

Some Engineers bad dream!!!

The rest of the week was pretty low key and we all kind of slid into the weekend. On Saturday, the girls didn't have to do their regular tutoring so Cecelia and I went for a walk. By the way, the weather this week has been absolutely gorgeous by Southeast China Standards. We have awoken to robin egg blue skies, dotted with the kind of puffy white clouds that create shapes everyday this week, with temperatures in the low 90's and the humidity a reasonable 70 or so percent. We have had the occasional thunderstorms in the afternoon, but that just adds to the great spring like atmosphere. Cecelia thinks I am crazy because she still thinks it is too hot and humid. So anyway as I mentioned earlier that Cecelia and I decided to go for a walk. While out on our walk we decided to do something spontaneous and take the girls to the Chimelong Water Park. We had been there earlier in the year, when uncle Paul was here and Taylor was not quite tall enough to go on all of the rides. She has been waiting all winter for the park to open again, to see if she is tall enough now to go on every adventure at the park. So, we had breakfast, loaded up and headed for the park.
When we arrived at the park, to our disappointment everyone in the Guangzhou area had decided to be spontaneous as well. It was so crowded that it was probably a good twenty minutes of waiting to get tickets and then another twenty minutes just to get in the park. Cecelia and I looked around at the mass of humanity and decided that the idea of sloshing around shoulder to shoulder with the crowds was probably not going to be either refreshing or pleasant. Obviously the girls were disappointed, but it was a call that had to made for the betterment of the family. Taylor would just have to wait for a day that was less crowded. Our decision was soon to be rewarded.

A roller coaster goes through that hole, believe it or not.

On our way out we walked by the entrance to the amusement park. We were actually just looking for water, but noticed that the lines for tickets and to get in were rather sparse. We also meandered toward the entrance and spied hardly any people inside the place. Finally as we were standing there, the roller coaster that is nearest to the entrance sent a train of cars screaming from an amazing drop. In the train of cars there were empty seats. At that moment we decided to test Taylor's height challenge at the amusement park. It was kind of a crazy spontaneous thing to do, since we had forgone the adventures of being in the water all day to keep cool, but what the heck we might beat the crowds that didn't want to be in the heat.
It turned out that going to the Amusement Park was cheaper than the Water Park so we were already ahead by the time we reached the first stop, which was the food court. After a quick lunch and a refreshing drink we headed for our first ride. While in the Amusement Park we were to be surprised by the many opportunities to get absolutely soaked. Who needed to be packed half naked into a water park that was so crowded that you were going to be so snuggled up next to each other like sardines in a can with a little bit of water to keep you moist? The very first ride we watched sprayed jets of water into the air that rained down on us like a refreshing spring storm. Anyway, you get the picture.
So the first ride we that the girls drug us to test Taylor's height restriction was called The Dive Coaster. Taylor is our roller coaster aficionado. She has loved them her entire life. She would go on them starting at a young age, even when Claire wouldn't. The first real exciting thing for Taylor was that she made the height restriction and was able to go on the ride. She didn't want to ease her way from kid hood to young lady status. She decided that we were going to start with the biggest and baddest to christen her new freedom.
Now let me tell you about being an older dad. I wasn't exactly looking forward to her new found height. Not because I don't want her to grow up, but because now in order to keep up I have to go on the crazy contraptions that stretch my abilities to continue functioning normally after riding them. I have already begun to have difficulty with balance and fighting vertigo without submitting my body to negative G forces. If God wanted me to be a fighter pilot, I wouldn't have gotten hit in the eye with a dart when I was young. I did love planes when I was young and had dreams of flying until the accident, but being blind in one eye kind of throws your body off balance to begin with. On top of the fact that I wouldn't be able to be like Maverick in "Top Gun" and see the missile in time to dodge it.

See that first drop. They should give you a flight suit for this ride.

Wouldn't you know it, but the first damn roller coaster was designed around the aerial fighter moves of one Max Immelman. Apparently he perfected the half roll toward the end of World War I. Despite the Red Baron getting most of the publicity, this guy was so significant that he actually had squadrons named after him.
So with that background you can better understand that the roller coaster seats are shaped in the form of a wing and when you are sitting in the pilots seat your feet are dangling down into free space. One thing before I describe some engineer's bad dream brought to life, when you get on a roller coaster, and the floor in which you walked on to get into your seat drops away, this is a sign of a BAD THING!!! Do Not Walk Into The Light!!! The first drop is literally a hair raising and anything in your stomach raising 90 foot drop at nearly a 90 degree angle. Oh, but that isn't the best part. Before you take your first plunge, some friggin idiot engineer decided that you should hang at the top, facing straight down for about two or three seconds first. I guess this is their attempt at giving you plenty of time to let your 50 years of life flash before your eyes. You then plummet into a black abyss and go under ground only to come soaring out and doing one of the half turns that Immelman was famous for in his heyday. After this stomach wrenching G force experience you turn around and fly to the the top of a smaller tower in which you start the entire process over again. At least on the smaller tower the idiot engineer doesn't give you time to contemplate life, he just designed it to throw you off the 50 ft. cliff without a thought. After a final half upside down turn we dive through a pool of water and finish with a screeching halt at the place in which we were stupid enough to get on.
Unfortunately, or you may say fortunately I had a problem with my blind eye. Apparently the pressure and the G forces associated with the ride hurt my blind eye. I know, you are saying at this point, what a wimp. But seriously, I had to take a little break before we went to the next ride.
After I recuperated we headed to a Roaring Rapids type of ride. It was hot, so we decided it would be a good idea to get wet. One of the really interesting things in China is that there are some really strange things that the people do, that we will never understand. So as we waited in line, we started to notice people putting on these plastic coveralls. At first we thought it was just the crazy women that wore long dresses and stiletto heals to an amusement park, but know it turned out to be all of the Chinese in the line. They were buying them for 8 rmb a piece just before they got on the ride. So, here is the question we kept asking ourselves. Why would you go on a water ride, not to get wet? Fungza!!! Not us, we were the crazy Americans that got on the ride and loved every minute of the soaking we got. You should have seen the looks on the faces as we stepped off the ride soaking wet. We waved and splashed a few of the people in the crowd as we left. They all had a great laugh and we enjoyed being the show for them. We noticed a few going without the plastic after we left.
After that soaking we rushed over to the adventure show called Countdown. It was a cheesy show that had lots of gun fire, explosions, motorcycles jumping and sports cars spinning out. It was a nice break and gave us some time to dry off a little bit.

Blue Man with mirrors

We then headed over to a water ride called Riptide. Riptide is just a giant water ride that loops up and comes down to spray water everywhere. The designers of this ride have designed the boats to shoot water in a giant wave that goes about 12 feet high. They even have an observation deck with glass in front of it for people to take pictures. The cool thing about the observation deck is that you can stand on the stairs going up to it and get totally soaked. Once again we were the crazy Americans that didn't wear plastic covering. After boarding our boat and getting a bit wet on the ride, we proceeded to the observation deck and stood on the steps, just so that we could get soaked again. Like I said, better than the water park. We had many videos and pictures taken of us while we were being crazy.
A little touching side note. There was one girl in a wheel chair waiting in line with us, and as she passed she kept trying to catch the eye of Taylor and Claire. When she finally did and they said hello to her, she turned on one of the warmest smiles we have seen in China. We believe she had cerebral palsy. She had full use of her upper torso, but her legs were very tiny and she had to move them around with her hands. Despite her disability her attitude was infectious. She was with two other friends and when she went to get in the boat we were wondering how she was going to manage. Cecelia and I both got a tear in our eye, when the boy that was with her, who by the way wasn't much bigger than the girl, picked her up in his arms and carried her into the boat and sat her down. It was very touching. It reminded me of watching my friends the Hooker boys take care of their sister in the same way. After her ride was over, she was very excited and had really enjoyed the experience. The young boy picked her up and placed her gently in her wheel chair that the staff had carried over to the other side of the dock. It just helped us to remember, that wherever we are, people are people and we all share the same space on the same planet. On top of that we all have many of the same problems no matter what the culture.


They lady could sing, and she didn't look too bad in the outfit either, Hot!!!

The rest of the day was taken up with riding other less impressive rides and meandering around the park. One roller coaster that we really wanted to do ended up breaking down and we couldn't ride it. This could have been God's way of saving us from a bad end to a really great day, or it could be the beginning of a really bad horror flick like, Final Destination. I'm sticking with the idea of God protecting us.
To finish off the day, we ended up in this amphitheater waiting for some show that we didn't have any idea about. One of the great things about living over here and not understanding the language is that if you are open to just winging it, you end up experiencing some really cool stuff. So while we waited in the theater the parks light show came through. It was nice, but Cecelia and I were wondering if they really pay well, because some of the costumes the people wear are absolutely ridiculous. Even having lights on some of them didn't help.
After the parade left, a couple of people came on stage wearing mirrored costumes. They did a performance much like The Blue Man group, but were dressed entirely in mirrors. They were living disco balls that did an awesome drum performance. It wasn't as awesome as Blue Man, but it was pretty cool anyway. After these guys finished, there was an awesome fireworks show, choreographed to music. The party was finished off with a party band that looked like Cool and the Gang. These guys also had full mirror suits. They were really good and had a female lead singer that was outstanding. The cat with the mirrored top hat playing the electric organ was amazing. I don't use the term cat very often, but he was very smooth so it merits the description.

These were some cool cats!!!!

The day was very full and turned out better than expected. We then went home to go to bed so that we could get up early to do our trek to Guangzhou for church the next day.
The next day church was excellent and we had a very relaxing day.
This final part is a tribute to my daughter. She turns 10 tomorrow and is an amazing young lady. We love her spunk and energy. She has a passion for sports, adventure and animals. Along with trying to keep her studies up in Math and English, she has learned a lot of Chinese and some really great technology. One of the lessons that she has had a difficult time with is time management and being self motivated. Without regularly scheduled classes, she has a lot of time to spend working on projects. It is a tall order to learn how to manage time at such a young age, especially when you love to read so much. Taylor has done a good job learning both of these skills and is getting better at both. She is currently working on a travel brochure that will sell vacations to the Yosemite Area for Chinese people. The brochure that she has already created is beautiful. On Monday we will celebrate her birthday officially with some friends by having pizza and going to a small water park that is part of our community. Cecelia and I are very proud of her for being resilient and trying to make changes in her life that are difficult at such a young age. We love her dearly and look forward to watching her grow into a confident and adventurous young woman. Enjoy this video of Taylor. Our beautiful Taylor at 10

Traversing the Dragons Back!!!

2013-05-28T17:18:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone. I hope this blog finds many of you resting during the Memorial Day holiday. This last weekend we did anything but rest. We had an outstanding adventure in Hong Kong. So sit back, grab a cup of coffee or a cold drink and enjoy our latest Indiana Jones like, excursion!!!

SCHOOL: Not much to report here, except counting down the days until we are done. 32 DAYS and counting.

ADVENTURE: This weekend found us heading off to Hong Kong once again. We weren't going there again because it is one of our favorite places, but we were going because it is the easiest way to send money home. If I haven't mentioned it before, sending money home from China is very difficult. The process works like this: 1. I have money automatically deposited into my bank account here. No problems so far, but when we get to step 2 this is when the issues begin. At step 2, I have to take my Chinese money out of my account. Step 3, I then have to have a Chinese friend come to the bank and change the money over to US dollars. Step 4, I then have to send two separate Western Union checks if the amount is too much. By the way, Western Union is a total rip off for us over here. They gouge the hell out of us in fees. Step 5 I have to make sure the forms are filled out exactly correct or I have to start them over again. Finally, Step 6 the teller has to type all of the information into the computer. The process usually takes about 2 to 3 hours at the bank. That includes the 30 to 45 minute wait before I even get to see a teller. I have tried everything to make the process faster, but this is China. Somethings just take as long as their history as a culture. So the reason we go to Hong Kong is because all I have to do is take the cash to the Western Union and then send the money.

Flaming Ummyness!!!

So with that on our agenda, we decided to kill two birds with one stone. Instead of just passing through, like it seems we usually do, we decided to stay a couple of days in Hong Kong. Usually we don't stay in Hong Kong because it is so expensive. A stay in a bad hotel is about $1000 Hong Kong dollars. This time we did a bit of research about hostels and found a decent one in a place called Causeway Bay for $800 Hong Kong dollars for two days. That is about $100 US for the two days. Causeway Bay is on Hong Kong island. Now, understand until this weekend I have not been a big fan of Hong Kong. My family enjoys it, because it is definitely a break from the subtleties of living in the area in which we live. It is very much westernized, but has always seemed too crowded with not enough character for me. The reason I say I don't feel like it has much character, is because it just seems like any other crowded cosmopolotine city with some cool architecture. It just seems like San Francisco, Bangkok or Guangzhou, but more crowded.
Anyway, as of now I take it back. Hong Kong is really cool. After doing the Western Union stuff, we hopped on the Metro and headed for Temple Street. We had a number of friends tell us how cool Temple Street was, so we wanted to check it out. We arrived at Temple Street and were immediately swept up in the low key atmosphere. There were street vendors selling all kinds of different things from knockoff Polo shirts to cloths from Thailand. The smells on the street were intoxicating as well.

Some of the awe inspiring weather we live with here in Southeast China.

We sat down at a restaurant that had outdoor seating that covered one lane of the road. I was sold immediately when they showed me a picture of an entire plate of fried oyster cake. Yum!!!!!! Between the four of us, we had a delicious meal. With full bellies, we proceeded to wander the shopping area, picking up nic naks here and there. We ended our fantastic experience by stopping by a dessert shop. This wasn't just a simple ice cream and cake shop. This shop had these amazing desserts called Flaming Snow Mountains. They consisted of cake on the bottom, topped with ice cream and then completely covered with a thick cream. Finally, it was topped off with a flaming sauce poured over it. This was the type of Fantastical Dessert that should be on some Food Network show.
After our decadent dessert experience we made our way to Causeway Bay and found our hostel. We were a little apprehensive about getting the hostel, because we have heard mixed reviews about them. Neither Cecelia or I had ever stayed in a hostel. We were pleasantly surprised to get a private room with a bathroom. It was clean and had great air conditioning. The beds were moderately comfortable and had clean linens. We settled in and went to bed early. The next day we needed to leave early to head for the Dragon's Back.
The next morning we woke up early and headed out to have breakfast. The girls made us go to Starbucks again!! They have become such coffee and breakfast snobs.
Anyway, we jumped on the metro and took it to the stop we needed to catch the bus that would take us to The Dragon's Back trail head. It took us about half an hour to get to the trail head. Along the way, we got to see a part of Hong Kong that was really different from what we experienced previously. The feet of the mountains come directly down to the city, so when we started heading out of the city on the double decker bus the grade was rather severe. We were sitting on the top deck and the bus was wacking branches all along the way. The road also twisted all around through the mountains. It was like being on a giant roller coaster.

View of Bay at Bottom of the Dragon's Back

The scenery was extremely different as well. The highrise apartments began to disappear and were replaced by hardwood and bamboo forests. We also saw the beach and a beautiful bay ringed by homes. There were yahts and pleasure boats moored in a small cove as well. It actually reminded me of some of the small bays we had scene in southern France and Italy.
The bus then rolled up to a remote stop facing the bay and the driver let us know that we had arrived. We hopped off and found ourselves at the base of a trail that ventured into the jungle to the left of two porta potties. At least there was a big map telling us where we were and showing us how far we had to go.

The Start!

The Dragon's Back is an 8 km trail that begins midway down the mountain and faces the bay. The beginning of the trail doesn't waste any time. It begins by going straight up the hill into the jungle. Once you make the climb to the top, the hike has you traverse the spine of two mountain tops with views on both sides of the mountain. You end the hike by reaching the sandy beach of Big Wave Bay and the warm waters of the South China Sea. So, this is what you are supposed to experience, but we are the O's and it doesn't always work out that way.
When we began the hike, it was a misty, drizzly kind of morning. Cecelia had checked the weather and it stated that there was only a 50% chance of rain so we felt pretty good about our chances. As we progressed up the side of the mountain it began to get more and more misty. It reminded us of some of the scenes from the movie Gorillas in The Mist. It got to the point where Cecelia and the girls literally disappeared as they hiked the steps in front of me. One of the girls commented that they felt like they were hiking into a cloud. The great thing about it being misty and cloudy was that it kept the temperature down to a comfortable 85 degrees. Some of our friends did the same hike a few weeks previously and they said it was very hot. They had run out of water and had to abandon the hike early. With that information, we all carried a one liter bottle of water.

When we arrived at the top of the first peak, we were above the cloud. The only problem with this, is that we couldn't see any of the amazing views. All we saw were clouds skittering along the valleys and felt the cool breeze blowing up from below. We were hiking along the spine of the Dragon's Back when we started hearing rumbling noises. I thought it sounded like a cargo ship being loaded. Taylor thought it was some ship in the harbor below us and Claire and Cecelia thought it was thunder. The sound just didn't sound right, it was too consistent. But as we began to descend back into the cloud, a flash of lightening blazed across the sky and a clap of thunder echoed off the surrounding mountains.

View from the top, isn't it Spectacular!!!

With that, it began to rain. But, it wasn't the slight rain that progressed into a hard rain. It began to rain like standing under a shower head with hard water pressure. Not only was it a shower, but it was a warm shower. The amazing thing is that when it starts to rain, the temperature doesn't change. At this point in our hike we had about 3 km left before we reached any civilization. As the rain continued to pour down on us, the trail then became a walking stream. It wasn't a matter at this point of trying to avoid the puddles, but avoid the deepest parts of the puddles. With the jungle around us and the water streaming off the mountain in rivlets and waterfalls, Cecelia and I were reminded of the scene in Romancing the Stone when Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas are swept off the trail in a mud slide. We kept telling the girls to stay away from the edge of the trail.

That drain is about a foot deep

Despite the rain, all of us had a wonderful time hiking. There were plenty of puddles to jump in and numerous places in which to have water fights. All along the way, the thunder and lightening continued to bellow. We finally made it to Big Wave Bay. At Big Wave Bay, I just continued to walk into the ocean with all of my clothes on. What is the point in taking off your clothes and changing into a swimsuit when you are so wet that your clothes are sticking to you like a second skin anyway. Cecelia convinced me to at least put our gear on the beach under the tiny umbrella she had packed. They were all wearing their swimsuits under their cloths, so they stripped down to their suits and ran for the water. I went ahead and took off everything except my shorts. The swimsuit in my backpack was soaked anyway. We then went for a family swim in the ocean while it was raining. We swam together for about 15 minutes before an announcement came over a loud speaker, that a weather warning had been issued and that all swimmers were to leave the water and seek shelter immediately.
Believe it or not, we then got out of the water and rinsed off in the shower. At this point we were all walking prunes. We then went and sat in an outdoor restaurant that had a covered area. That way we didn't drip all over the restaurant while we ate our lunch.
After this adventure we made our way back to the hostel on the bus and the metro. The rest of the afternoon was spent drying out and trying to find dry clothes. The girls stayed in the hostel while Cecelia and I walked around looking for some dry shorts. We didn't end up buying anything, because as we were shopping the rain stopped and the temperature went up and we dried out while we were walking. We returned to the hostel, collected the girls and went for a walk in a nearby park before dinner. That evening we had a nice dinner at a Thai restaurant and then finished it off by doing some window shopping. After enough over stimulation from neon we headed to the hostel and bed.

Foggy view of the bay where we eventually took a swim in the Rain!!!

The rest of our weekend was a leisurely trip back home. On our return trip,
I had a lot of time to sit and think about our trip. I came to realize that I have grown to enjoy Hong Kong as much as my family. I thought to myself, I could live here if I could get out of the city regularly to have adventures like the one we just experienced.

Excursion to Unexpected Paradise

2013-05-20T21:57:00.000-07:00

Hidden Bridge in the Jungle

This week found us in the normal routine of school and adventure on the weekend. We initially thought we were going to just hang out, but it turned out that the girls didn't have to tutor on Saturday. So on a whim we decided to go explore a place nearby that we have been wanting to go see. It turned out to be a special place that we will remember for a long time. So, sit back and get ready for another O adventure.

No I am not advertising.

Oh wait, before I get to that. I have a request for prayers and good thoughts. Cecelia thought that I shouldn't let the cat out of the bag yet, but I want to be prepared going into the important meeting I have on June the 4th. On June the 4th, I have a meeting at the Consulate Genera'ls office with four Chinese book publishers. Apparently my little golf book has gotten them excited and they are interested in buying the rights to my book. If you are not aware, I wrote a small golf book called "Pocket Guide to Perfect Golf Practice". I self published it on the internet and it has some limited success. I think I have almost made my initial investment money back. Anyway, I had a friend translate it into Chinese and the publishers are excited about it. I am not sure where it will go from the meetings on June 4th, but it can't hurt to be praying for a good outcome. Let's just say, I would be happy with some up front money and $2 royalty fee per book. Considering that the golfers in China make up roughly 3% of the 1.8 billion people in the country and that doesn't include the rest of the Southeast Asia market. I would also be ecstatic if we could capture just 1% of that market. You can do the math to figure out how great that would be.
Anyway, onto this week's story.

SCHOOL: Nothing really to report here except getting a nice picture of the foreign staff. I have included the picture. They are really a great bunch of people.

ADVENTURES: Claire started the adventurous weekend off with a bang on Friday. A friend of ours that works for Midea invited me and a couple of friends to come and cook in their showroom kitchen. Midea was doing a special promotion this weekend to show off some of their appliances. The promotion was designed to have a few foreign people cook western food and then some Chinese people were cooking Chinese food and then they would share.
I wasn't able to attend so I asked a couple of my foreign friends to go in my place. The participants that ended up going were my friend that teaches English and Claire. The other foreign friends either got sick or had to take care of visa paperwork. So, the two of them left Friday afternoon and ended up at the showroom kitchen. Claire and my friend ended up cooking pizza and pasta. They ended up being the hit of the party. Claire said that it was fun, because she felt like she was on one of those cooking shows that she has seen on TV. People were cooking and the video cameras and cameras were rolling the entire time. Who knows, we might see the two of them on the local news show as celebrity chefs.
The next morning we all slept in. The girls were scheduled to tutor our friends Cody and Thomas at 9am, but when I checked my phone I had a text saying that the boys couldn't make it because of baseball. So, we had a leisurely breakfast and I threw out the idea of going to Xiqiao Mountain for the rest of the day. The girls weren't really up for it, but being the good parents we are, we overruled them and made them go. They were soon to be pleasantly surprised.

Don't Ask, because I don't know.

I made a quick phone call and arranged for a driver to take us to the mountain. We weren't really sure how we were going to get back, but I had a vague idea about a bus and the metro so we were good to go. Our driver picked us up and we took the 45 minute car ride to the base of the mountain. When he dropped us off, we really didn't have a clue about how to tackle our quest. All of the local maps were written in Chinese and we are not quite at the point of being able to read. Wait, let me rephrase that; we are still just working on the speaking part, so as far as reading goes, it ain't happening. Anyway, we deciphered enough to go up this one road to the first entrance. When we arrived, we were informed that we needed to pay a fee. Unfortunately we didn't have enough money at the time and Taylor really had to go to the bathroom. In the end, not having enough money and taking Taylor to find relief ended up being the best. After the restroom break, we found this local driver that had a really nice van. At this point already in the day, we were looking for shade or AC. This van driver had AC and he was a very exuberant fellow. He spoke so fast that I could only understand about one word in ten, and Taylor, who has the best ear and understands the most could only get maybe two words. Despite the language barrier we managed to communicate that we needed to get money and food. Initially we were only going to hire him to take us to town, but he made a great sales pitch and offered to take us to McDonald's to get lunch. This guy was so excited to be our guide for the day, the we had to get photos with him and his van. He even took pictures of us eating McDonald's in the back of his van.
After the quick ride into town for the money and food, our driver then proceeded to take us to the first of our many surprise hikes. We initially thought that he was just going to drive us and we were going to site see from the comfort of the air conditioned van. Thankfully despite the heat, he guided us to our first trail head. He then gave me a map and showed me where we were. He then communicated, albeit through polite hand gestures, pantomime and some Chinese that we did understand that he was dropping us off and we were to meet him at the end of the trail where he was going to drive the van.

We began the hike and came very quickly to a very interesting rock formation called The Nine Dragons Cavern. It is a cave with a bunch of holes worn into the side of it. We climbed up to the mouth of the first and had another family picture taken.
Following the The Nine Dragons Cavern experience we began, what we discovered to be one of the best hidden experiences in China. The reason I say this, is because when you look for things about Xiqiao mountain the first thing that comes up is information about the giant Kwan Yin statue situated at the top of the mountain. Our initial quest to the mountain was just to go to the Kwan Yin. We wanted to compare this statue to the one in Hong Kong. But, the mountain is so much more than just going to the temple and the statue. It is a dormant volcano, with an amazing jungle and quarry encompassed in the folds of the earth.
Anyway, we continued down the trail that took us on an Indiana Jones type of adventure through rock outcroppings, over streams and under the jungle canopy, all the while being tantalized by a myriad of types of butterflies of all shapes, sizes and colors. The butterflies were so prolific that we thought we were in a butterfly sanctuary like the one we experienced in Thailand. The difference here was that there were so many different kinds that it was hard to keep track. With the green jungle as the backdrop and the plethora of colors from the butterflies, we felt like we were walking through a rainbow.


I swear, in real life their was a misty fog coming out!!!

As well as experiencing the jungle and butterflies, we kept feeling a refreshing breeze and change in the temperature as we walked. We were soon to find out why. A number of large openings were in the face of the cliffs and a cool breeze was blowing through them. There was even one that was a hole with Chinese writing on the outside that you could walk into. The girls were scared at first because the air was so cool inside the entrance that it was literally creating a foggy mist that covered the entrance when it came in contact with the hot humid air on the outside. They happily followed as Cecelia led the way into the gaping maw of the dragon's mouth. It was really cool, figuratively and literally. After entering and checking out the cave, we went back outside and almost turned around to hang out inside some more because the humidity and heat hit us like a wave.
We then ventured a little farther and found the most amazing cavern and rock quarry that I have ever seen. The entrance to the cavern was so huge that the Chinese have built a wading pool in it. Also, there are remnants of what used to be a swimming pool, literally carved out of the rock. A little further inside the quarry there are boats, with guides that can be rented to float the waters of the quarry and cavern. It was a very surreal feeling. At one point I looked at our guide standing in the back of our boat, and I must have had a moment of heat hallucination because I swear he was wearing one of those black cowels where you can't see the guy's face and he was pointing at things with a skeletal finger. I wondered if we had accidentally venture onto the river Styx. I was broken from my revelry when Claire splashed me in the back with the cold water from the cavern. The water was very cold and amazingly clear. We guessed you could see some of the bottom rock formations at about 20 to 30 feet down. After our short tour, we finished our hike on the first trail and met our intrepid guide, exactly where he said he would be. With a loud "Hallo!!" and a wave of his hand we were escorted to the sanctuary of the air conditioned van.

This was really cool!!

A short drive later, our guide pulled us over and sent us on another trail. This one was shorter, but definitely had its own unique qualities. There were many writings inscribed on the cliff faces and there was a bit of a harrowing trek through the crevice of a couple of rock caverns. The streams and waterfalls were definitely a treat. The water was cool and clear. We didn't drink it, but we saw many Chinese people having, what looked like a very refreshing taste. The water alone, helped to do away with another stereotype that we have had about China. Not all of the water is polluted and unappealing. Now granted, I didn't do a water test on it, but I would venture to guess that the filtration system through all of the limestone and volcanic rock does a pretty good job filtering it. I would even go so far as saying it is better than the radon and iron filled water that we get from Hillview at home.
Once again our fearless leader was waiting for us at the bottom. He then escorted us a few meters down the road and dropped us off. This next trek was to be the toughest of all. We were finally at the bottom of the hill that led to the Buddhist Temple and the giant Kwan Yin.
At this point I should tell you what the weather report was for the day. It was 93 degrees with 99% humidity. I had never heard of 99% humidity. Even when visiting my brother in Atlanta or Virginia during the summer, I never experience 99% humidity. When it reaches 100% does that mean we start drowning, because we are not breathing in air at that point, but water?
Anyway, we began our way up to the top of the mountain. Along the way, there are rest stops with different chapels and different Buddhas housed inside. It is a very peaceful and tranquil place and many people go there to worship and pray.
About a fourth of the way up, the monks have their residence and there is a little shop that sells incense, tea and ice cream. Taylor and Claire had to grab some on the way up. We figured that it couldn't hurt, since with the temperature and farther to climb, they would burn it off.
At this point we had yet to see the Kwan Yin, which is amazing, since it is the second largest in China. The one in Hong Kong is third and there is one on an island in China that is the largest. The one on the island is so large, that is why it has its own island.
After arriving at a large flat area, we rounded the corner and got our first glimpse of the Kwan Yin. At this point, the girls started counting. After 278 stairs, they arrived at the Kwan Yin. To put it simply, it is massive. I thought the one in Hong Kong was big, but this one was noticeably larger. It is 61.9 meters tall and stands on the pinnacle of the mountain. As big and as awe inspiring as it is, I didn't feel as much peace at this one as I did the one in Hong Kong. After thinking about it, I think the reason is that the one in Hong Kong is more remote. It is also tucked in sort of a canyon, where this one is out in the open and can be seen from the city miles below.

Those two little blue ants, are Claire and Taylor.

Now don't get me wrong, this is definitely a sight to see. Just being near it and taking in the massive structure that it is, can be difficult to comprehend. The other unique quality to this Kwan Yin compared to the other, is that the copper is brighter and it has some very interesting striations in the metal. Cecelia thought that the colors made it look like it had war paint on the face.
On the inside of the statue you can go up stair cases much like you can in the Statue of Liberty, but on each floor their are rows and rows of miniature Kwan Yin statues with candles burning in front of them. People can pay a small fee and place a prayer candle in front, much like you can do at many denominations of churches.
Thankfully after exploring around the Kwan Yin and the surrounding area, our guide had driven up the hill and met us at a midway point, so that we didn't have to walk all the way back down.
At this point we were all getting a little tired and were ready to call it a day. Our guide had one more surprise up his sleeve. He drove us a little way down the hill and dropped us off at a small lake. He then instructed us to take a leisurely stroll around the lake and meet him on the other side. It was a very pleasant walk and we had an opportunity to see the Loch Ness Dragon and sample some Dragon Saliva. We didn't actually drink the Dragon Saliva, but the girls had a nice cooling fight with the water. Nothing better than getting Dragon drool thrown on you to make you really appreciate how hot it really is outside. At the end of our stroll we discovered that the lake was actually a reservoir that formed in the mouth of the extinct volcano. I am also not kidding about the Loch Ness Monster, we did see it and I have definitive photos of it.
After our little stroll around the lake, we met our guide and he took us to one last trail. The last trail was beautiful. It was a park with ponds, waterfalls and brilliant flowers planted everywhere. It was finished off with a short hike through a bamboo forest, and to our amazement we finished across the street from the very first trail we started on that led us to the Nine Dragons Cavern.

Ok, so it might not be Nessy, and I know we are China but I told you we saw something.

The best thing about the entire day was all of the little surprises. From the Gaudi like bridge that went across the little hidden pond full of lilies to our joyful little tour guide. It was amazing and blissfully intoxicating to the senses. This is the kind of place that if we lived here longer, would be at the top of our list to explore more. I had visions of riding my mountain bike here as well. Cecelia thought it would be nice as well, except for the uphill climb to the beginning of the first trail. Oh well, not everything is perfect to some people.
Sunday was a nice end. We went out to Junon Golf with Mr. Qiu and his family. They have hired me to be the coach for their daughter. The payment is a membership for me and my family with all expenses taken care of at the club. We practiced in the morning, had a great lunch, took a nap and then played golf. After golf we headed back home. We arrived at home to a rousing thunder storm and rain shower.
All and all, it was a nice way to start the week.
I have put together a little slide show to add to the story for this week. Enjoy, and don't forget to pray for June 4th. Here is the link for the video. A Paradise in China

Mothers Day in The Inner Kingdom

2013-05-13T15:45:00.000-07:00

Well I hope this day finds all of you thanking the mothers in your life. They are all special and this blog is dedicated to all of them. So, here's to all of you Mothers out there that take care of not only the little kids, but the big kids as well. I wish you a great day and may you feel appreciated the way you should.

SCHOOL: My Ordeal is Done!!!! Thank you Lord and Nate for helping me to get through this difficult time.
Claire had a great week, but I can't tell you about her AOI week. Just like a typical teenager she went on a three day field trip but couldn't give us any details about where she went or what she did. This is a sample of the kind of conversations we had.
Claire: Hey Dad.
Dad: Hey Claire, how's it going?
Claire: Oh it is going just fine, but I fell down the stairs and sprained my ankle again.
Dad: Are you OK?
Claire: Yeah, they put some cream on it and gave me a big bandage.
Dad: Is it feeling better?

My Favorite Statue

Claire: Yeah, it was good enough that I went on a really cool zipline today.
Dad: Oh great, where was that?
Claire: I don't know?
Dad: What do you mean you don't know?
Claire: I don't remember the name, it is just some lake.
Dad: Did you write it down, or get a pamphlet?
Claire: No
Dad: How come?
Claire: I don't know.
Dad: Well, did you at least get some good pictures?
Claire: No.
Dad: How come, was there a problem with the camera?
Claire: No, I accidentally left the camera in my room with my backpack.
Dad: So, do you have any idea where you are?
Claire: No, but we did see a cool Dinosaur museum as well.
Dad: What was it called?
Claire: I don't remember.
Dad: Is there anything else you can tell me about your trip?
Claire: Nope, that's about it. I need to go it is almost lights out.
Dad: Ok, well I love you.
Claire: I love you too Dad, I will see you in a day or so.
Dad: Ok, well keep having fun.
The scary thing is that based on the conversations that I had with my daughter, even if I had the special skills that Liam Niesson had in Taken, I don't think it would have helped. Thank goodness they have special VIP kids on these trips that have their own security force and some of them are Claire's friends.

Starbucks in the French Quarter

ADVENTURES: This week was geared around the upcoming Mother's Day weekend, you may or may not be surprised to know that Mothers Day is celebrated pretty much the same here in China as it is in the United States. Mothers are showered with flowers, cards and taken to wonderful dinners. So, I was pretty much planning for the traditional day, by setting up the weekend to come.
We got a special surprise during the week and went to dinner with my friend David and his family. We met him, his wife, son, mother and friend from Schenzhen at a restaurant not far from our home. The dinner was amazing, but to top off the evening we took a walk through the restaurant. The restaurant is an art gallery in itself. There were sculptures, fountains and paintings that were a festival of color and texture. The favorite of the family was a sculpture that was on the floor. It was a raised relief of clouds. It was designed to be walked on and David told us that the reason in China to walk on cloud sculptures was that they clouds take your troubles away and give you peace and tranquility. His story about it while we were walking amongst the clouds was great. We actually felt peaceful and satisfied. That feeling could have come from the wine and good food we had before our walk, but I am sticking with the clouds.

French and Chinese Together

The rest of the week was pretty quiet and we had a real nice Friday, just hanging out watching movies. On Saturday we all slept in and continued to recuperate from our seven day work week. Saturday afternoon we packed up and headed for Guangzhou to begin celebrating Mother's Day weekend. We rode the scooters over to the metro and and then took it to a place that we have been wanting to explore. When Paul was with us here in China we kept wanting to go to this place called Shamian Island.
According to Wikipidia, Shamian Island was an important port for Guangzhou's foreign trade from the Song to the Qing Dynasty.^[2] From the 18th to the mid 19th century, the foreigners lived and did business in a row of houses known as the Thirteen Factories, near present Shamian,^[4] which was then an anchorage for thousands of boat people.^[5]^[6] Shamian became a strategic point for city defense during the period of the First and Second Opium Wars. In 1859,^[2] the territory was divided in two concessions given to France and the United Kingdom (of which 3/5 belonged to the British and 2/5 to the French).^[7] It was connected to the mainland by two bridges, which were closed at 10pm as a security measure.^[4]^[8] The English bridge to the north was guarded by Sikhs, and the French bridge to the east was guarded by Vietnamese French troops.
One of the really cool things that we found here was The Chapel of Lourdes. The chapel was a working Catholic Church with a grotto that was created to look like Lourdes itself.

The inside of Shamian Church of Our Lady of Lourdes

Shamian is a very popular place. There were many photo shoots happening while we were wandering the central garden. We will definitely be back to explore a bit more.
After Shamian we made our way over to our favorite shopping mall and book store. We had about an hour and a half to kill before we met some friends for dinner.

Our Lady of Lourdes built in 1890

Dinner with our friends Nate and Erin was outstanding. We ate at a restaurant called Element Fresh. I have mentioned it before in previous blogs. It has some great Western cuisine to take care of our fix for food from home. You can't eat Chinese food all the time.
We then made our way to a hotel that we like in Guangzhou. We were spending the night so that we could have a leisure morning before church.
The next morning we woke up and headed to our favorite breakfast restaurant, Starbucks!! The girls did a good job the day before picking out cards for Cecelia. They found some very unique ones, made out of wood. They also had great messages on them. We had a nice time together before we headed off to church.
Church was very nice and the theme was obviously Mother's Day. The priest did a great job comparing the love that Christ has for us, to the love that a mother has toward her children. It is pure and unconditional. The message was a great way to start off our day.
We then ventured over to Haizu Square and met another one of our friends for Sunday brunch. The restaurant we chose is called Rendevous. The buffet was outstanding and came with a main course. I know I have said it before, but you gotta love eating out in China. I paid for lunch and it came to about $60 for six of us.

This is the Mother we celebrated on Mothers Day!!!!!

After brunch we headed out to do a little shopping for our usual monthly staples, cheese, butter and cashews.
We then headed home and topped our weekend off with a nap and a quiet dinner. It was a very enjoyable weekend.

An Extraordinary Cetacean Experience - Bonus Blog

2013-05-08T18:00:00.002-07:00

I know, another Christmas family picture!!!

Hello Everyone. This is a bonus blog from the Philippines. This would have made the previous blog a novel so I decided to break it down into two parts. I know you will enjoy this one, and it is OK to get a little teary eyed during the video. Cecelia and I did, but maybe that was because Claire is our daughter, but I don't know. Maybe it was because this is just one of those really cool experiences that doesn't happen very often. Kind of like, anyone other than Tiger winning the Masters. I always tear up when someone else wins, I guess because I just expect him to win every time. Come on, I had to get a golf plug in somehow, I haven't given you one for a while.
Anyway, this blog is dedicated to our new friends at Ocean Adventure Water Park in Subic Bay. We particularly want to thank Paulo for his personal care and education that he gave Claire on her special day. The entire staff treated us and Claire to one of the most amazing days that we have had thus far. That is really saying something, since we have had so many great experiences so far. So, onto our story.
Thursday morning in the Philippines we had to be up early in order to get to Ocean Adventure. This was to be Claire's big day. She had been waiting for this birthday present for eight years. I was just hoping that it wasn't going to be a disappointing day. I was soon to be pleasantly surprised.

Paulo surfing two dolphins at once. Awesome!!!!

The staff emailed me and told us to be there at 8:15, but when we arrived, nobody seemed to know that we were coming. It didn't matter, they gave us a personal guide to view the aquariums and let us know what was going on until the main guide arrived.
The first thing on Claire's agenda was to learn how to train a sea lion. We went to the Sea Lion area and were met by the trainers there. She was first instructed in hand motions and then how to use the positive reinforcement clicker. I wanted to ask if the clicker would work in the classroom, but I refrained. I figured if it worked for sea lions, it should work for kids in the classroom right? I don't know, maybe sea lions are smarter than our kids. She was then introduced to her trainee Taguila. Taguila was a young south American Sea Lion. He was a very nice sea lion. Up close he reminded us of a dog with flippers. Anyway, Claire had Taguila clap, roll over, shake and then do a flipper stand. The best part of the training was when Taguila gave all the girls kisses. Nothing like a wet, sloppy squid smelling smooch first thing in the morning. I didn't get one, because someone has to be the photographer.
After the encounter with Taguila, Claire was then taken over to the dolphin class. She got some instruction on Dolphins and Whales, like she didn't know the stuff already. Next, she was given a life vest and ushered to the water's edge. At this point Cecelia and I were a little disappointed to find out that she was meeting the dolphin with four other people. As far as we knew, Claire was the only one signed up to be the trainer for the day. Apparently though, there were people that signed up for the dolphin enounter, so they combined the group. Even though there was only one dolphin and five people, she spent quite a bit of time with the dolphin, because the other people were so timid. During this encounter she rode on the dolphin's belly to the dock, had a splashing fight with it and got to do some dancing as well. The really great stuff happened after this.
When Claire finished with the dolphin we had to hurry over to see the African Acrobats. This was a unique show that featured amazing acrobats that did all kinds of balancing positions with up to five people. The theme of the show was based on how we need the rain forests to balance out the warming of the planet and to recycle. It was a very good show and some of the moves were amazing.
We thought we had some free time until the dolphin show in the afternoon. We figured that Claire would be doing the same kind of thing that Cecelia did at Sea World. When Cecelia was in the Dolphin show at Sea World, she got to stand on stage in her matching trainer wetsuit and clap while the dolphin show was introduced. We were soon to find out that Claire's experience was going to be a bit more extensive than that.
We had a bit of free time, so we decided to head over and get a bite to eat. While we were walking over to the cafe, one of the park guides came up to us and told us that they needed Claire right away. Claire didn't even think twice about getting something to eat, so Taylor, Cecelia and I went foraging for food. While we were standing in line, we happened to look out the window and there was Claire standing out in the middle of the tanks meeting the rest of the dolphins and the false killer whale that is at the park. We found out later that she was being guided around to meet the animals by the head trainer Paulo. Paulo was great. He spent quite a bit of time teaching Claire about the animals and doing some of the hand signals that they use while training the animals. While with Paulo, she got her first bath from a dolphin. Claire and Paulo then left the tanks and walked back over to a different beach than the one in which she encountered the first dolphin. We followed and tried to stay back to be unobtrusive as possible. We then got a great surprise, the trainers had taken Claire to the different beach because they called in two more dolphins. She was asked to come into the water with Paulo and she fed the dolphins that were to be in the show later. Can you say BONUS!!! It was awesome watching her feed and pet the animals.
After feeding the dolphins she was given back to us, with strict orders to be back at the dolphin arena 30 minutes before showtime.

Forget about it boys, Claire has a new boyfriend and he bites!!!

In the meantime we took a break from the sun and went to watch the Sea Lion show. Taguila wasn't in the show, but it was fun and entertaining anyway. Before the show ended, one of the park guides was motioning for us to come with her. I took Claire and we followed her to the Dolphin Arena. She sat us down and then we waited until it was time for her to meet with the trainers. We waited and waited and waited. This was the only time that we actually thought they forgot about her. The crowd started to fill up the stadium and then a different guide came and took Claire from us.
The show began with a drum line from the local tribe and then one of them blowing an amazing sound through a shell. The MC then came out to do an introduction of the dolphins. They came flying out from their enclosures and started jumping and flipping. They then made their way over to the little dock where all the trainers had walked out onto. To our great delight Claire was there in the middle of them. As we watched, the MC talked about the dolphins and how amazing they are at learning and doing tricks. Unlike Cecelia's experience, Claire was giving the dolphins the hand signals and they would go do their commands. They would then come back and she would feed and love on them. She then left for a little while and the trainers brought out the false killer whale. The trainers did some wild acrobatic moves, like being flipped up in the air. My favorite activity that they did was surf on the back of the dolphins. After the wild and crazy acrobatics, they brought Claire back out and then asked a little boy to come down from the stands. Claire was now working with the false killer whale named Tonka. While working with Tonka, Claire did some hand motions and she got soaked by the whale this time. By now, Cecelia and I were having a very difficult time watching. The reason we were having a difficult time was, because Cecelia was tearing up and then I noticed her and then teared up myself. Sometimes it's emotional watching your kid have an amazing, lifetime experience. It is also very difficult to take pictures while tearing up. The show ended and we went down to finish meeting all the trainers and staff. We thanked them for the wonderful day.
After all the excitement we decided to take a break by having some lunch and snorkeling at the Cayaman resort nearby. We ended our day at six pm and headed home to have dinner with Sonny and Leslie.
The last surprise of the day was another homemade meal from Sonny when we arrived. Unfortunately Leslie was not feeling well that evening. We shared our day with Sonny and then headed off to bed. All in all it was an amazing day.

View from Leslie and Sonny's deck in the morning.

The Philippines is an amazing place in its diversity both ecologically and economically. There are supposed to be better tourist areas, but I am glad we had the experiences of a lifetime in the Subic Bay/Olongapo area.
Here is the link to the video for the week. Enjoy!! http://sdrv.ms/12if3EO

Renewal and Relaxation in the Philippines

2013-05-06T19:44:00.003-07:00

View from Leslie and Sonny's front Porch

Hello Everyone. I hope you all had a great week and pray that everyone is happy and healthy. I haven't dedicated the blog to anyone in a while, but this week I am dedicating it to our friends Sonny and Leslie that live in the Subic Bay area, north of Manila. Their grace and hospitality last week were outstanding. They really helped us to recharge our batteries both physically and mentally.

This is what hangs from their awning. Beautiful!!!

SCHOOL: No School last week, we were in the Philippines if you haven't figured that out by now. I am going to use this space to tell you about our amazing hosts Sonny and Leslie.
I met Leslie in Oakhurst during the summer of 1996. She was a board member on the Bass Lake School Board at the time. She was one of the people that actually hired me to teach at OCI. After that, Leslie and I became friends. We collaborated or conspired to pull off one of the greatest practical jokes in the history of the district. You can either ask her about it or check with me later to get the details. Anyway, over the years we have kept in contact through various means of communication. While we were in Thailand this year, we just missed her and Sonny. Sonny, who is a very gifted musician was doing a concert in Thailand and we weren't able to get together, so she invited us to their home in the Philippines for our next vacation.
Many of you from the Oakhurst area know Leslie and her background. I am going to focus on what she has been doing for the last six or seven years. Leslie has been a leader and trainer for YWAM (Youth With A Mission) and in the Subic Bay area she has created a program called Project Life. Now I cannot even begin to go into all the details about YWAM. They have an outstanding website that you can go to in order to get more details. I do want to tell you a little about some of the amazing things being done in Project Life which Leslie and Sonny are involved in near where they live.

The poor fishing village in which Leslie and Sonny do some of their work.

I hope that Leslie forgives me for abbreviating the project. In a nutshell, Leslie, Sonny and their team are teaching people how to fish. I don't mean in the literal sense of that phrase, but in the terms of helping people to change their way of life in order to fend for themselves and to help lead their community out of poverty. While we were staying with them, Leslie and Sonny shared many stories about how people have changed their lives through education and training. Here are just a few things that I can remember from our conversations. Leslie is very knowledgeable in regards to health issues and has been teaching the people about how to take care of themselves and to stay away from bad water. She is teaching mothers about the benefits of breast feeding rather than using formula. Most of the families cannot afford the correct amount of formula to give the infants proper nutrition. It is better for the baby to breast feed and the families can save the money to by more food and basic supplies.

Her crew is also teaching the people skills like sewing. They make bags that can be sold to help out the families and community. Not only has she taught them about physical skills, but leadership skills themselves. I got chills when she told the story about how she wanted to accomplish something in the slums and the people that they had trained, said that they would take care of it. The reason I got chills is because she isn't doing it all, the people are beginning to take pride in themselves and want the community to change. They can see the hope and are willing to do the work. Leslie said it best when she mentioned that by having the local leaders take the lead, they are more effective than outsiders coming in and telling them how to do it. I was very inspired and touched by many of the success stories.
This is an impoverished place. Probably the worst I have seen in my life. One of the biggest problems that they face is the annual flooding. The rains come and the estuaries begin to fill with the rain water and the tides from the nearby bay. If this was fresh water it wouldn't be so bad, but the water that backs up into the slums is all the sewage water from the nearby housing community and slums.
God has definitely used them as tools to not only spread his word, but create hope in a very impoverished community. I know that I have probably done a poor job glossing over all the great work that they have done, so here is a link to follow that will give you more details. The video on the blog is exceptionally good. Project Life Blog.
By the way, if you go to the website please encourage Leslie to continue to share the frustrations and the wins of the ministry. It does us all good to see the struggles that go along with the hard work. It makes the rewards that much sweeter. I only say this, because Leslie mentioned that what she appreciated about my blog is to hear that I am going through some of the same stuff she deals with. She is not the only one that has commented about this. Another person said to me that the struggles are what make it real and personal.
I have to confess, despite volunteering in the ministry for many years I have always felt a compulsion to keep my money at home because I could keep tabs on the success of the mission work being done at home. I guess I grew up not appreciating what goes on with missions in the rest of the world. I also, think it is because when I was growing up my parents and grandparents got scammed by people that said they were doing work abroad and really never did anything. Isn't always that way, the few ruin the reputation of the many. Maybe I needed an eye opener like this to renew my faith in people like Leslie and Sonny that put their heart and soul into what they are doing. I thank the Lord for this opportunity and really appreciate what he is doing with them.
One final thing. I am encouraging Leslie and Sonny to start a retreat slash B and B at either their home or a nearby home. Sonny and Leslie are outstanding hosts and some of the money that they make would probably benefit their ministry as well. They have the potential to create something very much like our Caboose. Subic Bay is a great place to not only go on an Eco Adventure but a Human Renewal Adventure. If you want to go and stay or support Leslie and Sonny, you can email, Facebook or call me, as well as visit their project on Facebook or the blog link I gave you above.

ADVENTURE: Well if you thought that the previous section was enough adventure, guess again!! We are the O's and we try to pack as much life into one week as possible. One of our friends that has taught here for a few years describe us best. He said and I quote, "You have done more in nine months, than some people that have lived here have done in five years." I don't know if that is true or not, but it sure is funny how people that have lived here for a couple of years ask us how to get to certain places. Also, Cecelia described our adventure here like this. She describe our adventures here, as a Chinese person going to the United States and trying to see it all in one year while working full time. Not happening, but we are damn well trying!!!! Onto other things.

I think one of them is Dracula.

Much of what I mentioned in the previous section was learned from Leslie and Sonny as they took us adventuring around the Subic Bay, Olongapo area. The day after we arrived from our marathon travel adventure,(if you didn't read last week's blog, then you have to go back and read it first to get that story). Leslie and Sonny greeted us with coffee and breakfast. Sonny makes an outstanding cup of coffee by the way. After breakfast Leslie took us out for a tour of the area and had a couple of special surprises for us.
We first headed out to the old Navy base and she showed us some of the improvements that had been made. Along the way she pointed out the slums where she and Sonny do ministry. Near the old Airbase we stopped to get our first glimpse of some of the natural inhabitants in the area. When we first got out, they had us look up in the trees. Hanging in the trees were thousands of these huge black things. At first we thought they were large seed pods from some of the local trees, until they started moving. They weren't just moving, they were dropping out of the trees and flying. We realize that we were looking at thousands and thousands of fruit bats. Now if you are squeamish about bats, this is not the place for you. When these things drop out of the trees, they are so big that they remind me of the Batman movies when he comes swooping down out of the darkness to take out some bad guys in a darkened ally. They also call them flying foxes. They are aptly named. Just imagine a jet black small dog with leathery wings flying around while you are sitting out on your deck in the evening. Yeah, Creepy with a capital C!!!!
The next leg of our adventure came when Leslie and Sonny took us to the Zoobic. The Zoobic was small, but really cool. It was kind of a combination walking zoo with a driving safari.

Yes, that is Tiger drool on my lens!!

The first thing we did was see some tigers up close and personal. We saw the typical tigers in cages, but then we went on a short but crazy drive through an enclosed area in which the trainers fed chicken to the tigers through the wire mesh of the vehicle in which we were enclosed. Thank God for strong wire mesh, because when you get up close and personal with a hungry tiger, it is a totally different experience from the cute and cuddly places we have been before. You know it is serious when you get tiger drool on your camera and shirt, as well as a full view of fangs and tiger, chicken breath blowing into the vehicle. I have included some pictures that say it all. Remember a picture is worth a thousand words. I just saved you a bunch of reading.

The faces say it all.

After the experience of Tiger spit on my camera lens, we were then led to where the tigers wait until it is their turn to go into the chicken feeding compound. Now, we have experienced tigers in various settings in our travels, but I can honestly say that this is the only time I have been scared. The reason I got a little scared is because in two of the cages their were a couple of tigers that were the biggest and most powerful animals we have seen. The largest tiger we saw was over 300 kilos, which in our measurement system is about 700lbs. But, the size of the tiger was only a part of why it was frightening. The other part was that it was pacing and roaring at a tiger that was outside of its cage. Let me tell you, when a 700lb tiger roars, it scares the hell out of you and it feels like chain link isn't enough protection. Finally the one thing that the trainers really warned us about was that when the tigers are pacing, watch out for them raising their tales. If they raise their tales they told us to run like hell, unless you wanted to smell like the backside of a tiger all day. They have a tendency to spray innocent bystanders outside of their cages, because they feel like the bystander is violating their territory. Thank goodness nobody ended up with a musk shower.
After our tiger experience we drove through the park and saw some of the tamer animals like, ostriches, goats, camels and pot bellied pigs. It was a nice reprieve after the tiger encounter.

The Warrior Dance

We then headed to the next surprise that was in store for us. We had a private viewing of some of the indigenous people dancing. They gave us a demonstration of the Monkey Dance, Warrior Dance and the Dragonfly Dance. Cecelia and I were most impressed with the Dragon Fly Dance, because the guy did this thing with his shoulders that would have put me out of commission for a month. The really cool thing that we learned about the dancers and some of the vendors is that the Zoobic is run solely by the indigenous tribe. They take great pride in their work and it shows. The other thing that is impressive, is their use of the old ammunition bunkers that are littered all over the park. Some of them are houses for animals and others are used for animal supplies. One had actually been turned into a baby animal hospital.

Look at them chompers!!

Finally, we made our way to the crocodile fishing pond. Now, you are probably thinking to yourself crocodile fishing, never heard of that. Well, crocodile fishing is a huge pond full of crocodiles with a walkway going over it. Now, all of the crocodiles were docile and not moving until they handed me a pole with fishing line on the end of it. I promptly tied Taylor's ankle to the end of the string and threw her over the walkway. You should have seen how quickly the crocodile woke up. I was just kidding about the Taylor thing, but they did give the girls poles with chicken tied to the end of a line.

Here Croccy, Croccy, Croccy!!

The girls then proceeded to dip the chicken down into the crocodile pen. The crocodiles would sit mesmerized for long moments, just focusing on the chicken. Taylor even got to the point that she was trying to hypnotize them and turn them into vegetarians. It worked well until one of them jumped really high and stole her chicken off the string. After pretending that we were Captain Hook from Peter Pan, we then drove down to Ocean Adventure. We were going to be spending Thursday at Ocean Adventure so Leslie wanted to make sure we knew where to go.
On the way back home, we spotted some of the wild monkeys on the side of the road. They were very cute and there were a couple of babies in the group. This is the first place we have been in which there are actual wild monkeys.
Just before we got back to the house, Leslie dropped us off at a beach resort that had a place to sit and swim. We hung out there for a few hours and then met Leslie and Sonny for dinner. That was the end of our first full day in the Philippines.
The next day was just a beach day. We hung out all day at a place called White Rock. It had a private beach and water park. We spent the morning swimming in the bay and playing on a giant blow up slide. The water park then fired up and we spent most of the afternoon playing on the slides and wave tanks. We ended the day by swimming in the bay again and then headed for home. We were excited because Sonny was cooking us an authentic Philippine dinner.
That evening we had Chicken Mango soup served over rice. Chicken and Carrot Lumpia and finally ice cream and cake to celebrate Cecelia and Claire's birthdays. Oh by the way, we had this amazing meal on the top deck of the house, watching the sunset over Subic Bay.

View from the deck

This is not the end of the story. I am adding a bonus blog that will be out later this week about a special event that happened. Stay Tuned!!!!

Planes, Trains, Taxis, Busses and Ferries!!!!

2013-04-30T18:06:00.000-07:00

My intrepid traveling companions. There are none better than these!!!

Well Hello!!! Sorry that this one is late, but haven't had the time to sit down and write. This will be a short, but interesting one. Enjoy!

SCHOOL: Nothing to report, other than a very long seven day work week. We were definitely ready for a vacation.

ADVENTURES: This week found us having dinner with my friend David and his family and then preparing for a week long excursion to the Philippines. The adventure truly began on Sunday afternoon when we finished teaching and headed for the train station to catch the fast train to Schenzen. We had packed up all we needed into our backpacks and were ready to go as soon as school was finished at 2:40. When we travel to the islands of Southeast Asia we always pack very light.

On the first bus

When you are on a tropical island, what more do you need than a swimsuit and a couple of shirts? I typically wear one and then switch to the other the next day. I wash the first one by hand and then lay it out to dry while I wear the new one. Besides, we are in and out of the ocean so often that they really don't get all that dirty.
Enough about my tropical laundry routine. When we road our motos over to the train station at roughly three in the afternoon, we discovered that the only train tickets available were for seven hours later. We decided to buy them and then go have dinner, rest and then return. When we got back to the front gate of the community in which we live, we decided on a whim to check the bus schedule for Shenzhen. It just so happened that there was a bus leaving in ten minutes and that there were seats available. We decided to bail out on the train and jumped on the bus. We figured a three hour bus ride was better than waiting seven hours. Besides, the idea of trying to find a hotel at midnight wasn't very appealing.

We made it to Shenzhen at around eight and took a cab to the nearest metro station. We then rode the metro to a place called Sea World. Sea World isn't a theme park with whales and dolphins. It is just an area that is near the sea, that has some nice hotels and restaurants. We have stayed there before and the girls really wanted Mexican food for dinner. It is the only place in China that we have found good Mexican food.
We enjoyed our meal and then headed for our hotel. We learned a very valuable lesson that evening. The lesson is this, just because you have stayed at a place and it was very nice the first time, always make them show you the room. The room we got was not as nice as the first one and it smelled of mold. We ended up having a restless night of sleep and getting up early to head to Hong Kong.
We were heading to the Hong Kong Airport early to see if we could catch an earlier flight. We had mistakenly booked our plane for the wrong time and wanted to get to Manila earlier than 12 o clock at night. We decided to take the ferry from Shenzhen to Hong Kong. It was very pleasant and took us closer to the airport than riding the metro all the way from Shenzhen. After arriving in Hong Kong and clearing immigration we jumped on the metro to the airport. We arrived at the airport at around 11 am. We were hoping catch the next plane out, which was at 1:30pm. Philippines Airlines was very gracious and accommodating. They made the change for us and didn't charge us extra. On top of that, they got us seats all together. By the time we were finished we had just enough time to rush through security and then get to the gate. Thank goodness for packing light, it really does make a difference when traveling. Also, the nice thing was the plane was late arriving so we had time to catch our breath and grab a bite to eat. The bonus at this point, was there was a Starbucks located very near the gate. I know I have mentioned it before, but Starbucks is really a Godsend in this part of the world.

The ship set sail on a 3 hr. tour ..............

After a short wait we jumped on the plane and headed for Manila. We arrived in Manila around two hours later. When we got to Manila I had a couple of messages waiting for me from our friends Leslie and Sonny. These are our friends that we were going to be staying with for the week. You will hear about them in more detail later. Leslie gave great directions and we ended up taking another cab to a bus station. We got on the correct bus and proceeded to leave Manila. At least we thought we were leaving Manila. The traffic was so bad that it took us nearly three hours to get to the first stop that was supposed to be only an hour and a half away. We finally made it to the Subic Bay area and met our friends. A short ride to their home and we were finally at our destination. It was quite the adventure just getting here. I will share with you in the next blog all of the cool stuff we are doing while here in the Philippines.

Our bus from Manila to Olongopo. Just Kidding!!!!

Despite the time and delays, I considered it a rather fun trip. I kept thinking, even when we were in traffic, it still wasn't as bad as the 30 hours our friends the Madsens were experiencing on the train going to Xian without a sleeping car. 30 hours in a train seat isn't appealing to me. I know my brother Paul would have looked forward to that, NOT!!!!!!!!
Until next week, Adios!!!!

Oh No!!! A Teenager in China!!!!

2013-04-22T04:43:00.000-07:00

Looking over our neighborhood from the bridge.

Hello Everyone. I hope you had a great week. This week's adventures centered around our oldest daughter becoming a teenager. I know, just the word teenager strikes fear into the hearts of many. No worries, Claire promised us that she wouldn't turn into a monster. Taylor is not quite sure that it isn't going to happen yet. Anyway, I had one or two experiences along the way but the weekend was Claire's. I have also included a couple of photos from the neighborhood. It was such a beautiful week, I felt I just needed to share. So, here is this week's news.

SCHOOL: Not much to report other than an apology was given. Enough said!!

This is only half of the Canton Fair Facility.

ADVENTURES: The week started off with an adventure with my friend James to the Canton Fair. Now, this is not your typical fair that you might think in the sense of carnival rides, deep fried everything and cotton candy. The Canton Fair is the largest import/export fair in the world.

For those of you that have been to the Del Mar Fair, put this impression in your mind. Imagine the gadget section of the Del Mar Fair, but with four buildings the size of the entire fairgrounds. Inside the buildings there are four floors each. Now imagine everything that you can possibly purchase to repair, build or manufacture. In one day, I made it with my friend James through two floors. We spent most of our time on the building tools floor. This one floor was like going to the tool section at Home Depot, but now the tool section is the size of the entire store with three more stories above. Finally the other section we went to was the manufacturing section. Ask me how something is made and I probably saw the machine that makes it. One of the coolest machines was the machine that recycled plastic and turned it into the plastic fencing stuff that you see around events. You know the stuff that is bright orange and has holes in it. I can honestly tell you that I was happy to sit down when I got on the metro that evening.

Who says I don't have a green thumb!! I don't even need to water.

The rest of the week was pretty quite until we got to Claire's birthday on the weekend. On Saturday the girls tutored and hung out and then we prepared for the evening's activities for Claire's Birthday. Early in the day Cecelia and Taylor ran out to our little village. They came back with a beautiful cake covered in

chocolate powder and chocolate flakes on the side. This was Taylor's birthday present to Claire. Cecelia and I did not buy Claire any presents, because her present is coming up next week when we go on a special trip. You will just have to wait a couple of weeks to find out what she received!!! Nothing like a little plug to keep you tuning into the blog. In the evening, we did allow Claire to choose dinner and a special activity. She chose sushi to the chagrine of Taylor and Cecelia. Claire and I like the place that she chose, because it has one of those bars that has the sushi on different colored plates revolving around a center island. You just grab the type that you like and stack the plates up in front of you. When you are done eating, they total up the amount of your plates. At least Cecelia and Taylor could order beef skewers to meet their nutritional needs. After we ate our fill of sushi and other delicacies, we broke out the birthday cake. Of course it was delicious. On the inside it was a very light cake with pineapple filling. Yum Pineapple!!!!!!

After dinner the girls met our friends the Madsons to see the movie "The Croogs in 3D. Unfortunately I was not able to attend. Because of my visual impairment, I am unable to see 3D because I get headaches from watching. There has to be a lawsuit in there somewhere for not accommodating those of us that have the inability to see 3D or those stupid 3D pictures that everyone stares at in order to pick out the picture. I think there is a conspiracy by my friends to try and drive me crazy when they see those pictures. They all smugly say, "Oh yah, I can see the elephant in there." "Can't you see it Rusty?" as they laugh behind their hands. I bet there isn't anything really there. I do have some friends that would do that, they are called brothers.

Anyway, I will get back to the present. After I dropped off the girls at the movies, I rode my moto over to the driving range to pick up my golf clubs. I was picking them up, because I was going to be coaching the family that took us to the amazing resort I mentioned a few weeks back. Just before I got to the range the wind started to blow heavily. Thunder and Lightening began to develop as well. As I parked my moto, a large lightening strike hit nearby and a huge thunderclap ensued. With that done, the rain came down like a shower head. Fortunately I was spared the rain, but I ended up being stuck at the driving range. Now you wouldn't think in my case that this would be a bad thing right? Wrong!!!! As a golfer I have read too many stories about golfers being struck by lightening, because they happened to be holding up a stainless steal lightening rod in their hands. Along with the continued rain, the thunder and lightening intensified. It was quite the storm. It rained so hard that I watched the driving range change from grass to a lake in literally ten minutes. Even if I was stupid enough to hit balls, when you hit a ball it wouldn't have mattered. There was so much water coming off the roof of the driving range that it practically knocked the ball down when they were hit. How do I know this without hitting balls? There were a few intrepid Chinese golfers still whacking away while the storm was going on.

I thought that the rain would stop a little while after the rain started, but three hours later I had to be saved by my friend Michael who came to the range to practice. After the movie, Cecelia put the girls in a taxi with the Madsens and then rode her scooter home. At least she had a poncho and raincoat. On the way back she told me a story while laughing about one section that she rode through that came up to her ankles while she was on the scooter. It was a good thing that she was riding Paul's old scooter at the time. We realized later that if she had been riding her scooter that she would have probably shorted out the batteries on hers, because the batteries on her scooter are in the floor. We all made it home and dried off. Claire had a great day and is looking forward to her present. I have included a little present I made for her as well. I have been waiting a long time to make this slide show. The reason is because I found this song from Paul Simon and have wanted to use it for a special occasion. I think becoming a teenager is a special enough occasion. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it.

Remember, you should just be able to click the link below to see Claire's slideshow.

https://skydrive.live.com/redir?resid=7749A94CA3CEB724!115&authkey=!AFo0yW78w8DmMhA