Cecelia had a good week, but had some difficulty with technology. She does an amazing job of winging it. I helped her out one afternoon. Her job is very challenging. She has such a large range of students learning English. Our school is just like any other in that trying to service every type of child is challenging. The main difference here than back at home is that the middle group of students is definitely the driving force. They definitely have the attitude that the group is greater than the individual. I have been asked to write an article on how to teach vocabulary. I am going to collaborate with Cecelia. We have already been having discussions with the way I am training their elementary staff. My focus is to have the math teachers reinforce the vocabulary through math. Even though they have internet available, the teachers rarely use it to create or get ideas for lessons. I assigned each grade level to find a new website they can use for their classes. They present to each other this week.
Golf has been a little slow around here, until this week. I am getting ready to present to the PE staff and administration a comprehensive golf program for their school. Also, on Friday I thought I was giving another presentation to some important people at the school, but ended up going with a family to a golf course and giving lessons to their two children. I was also invited to dinner afterward in the clubhouse. I guess I passed the test with these really important people, because I was invited back next week. They also requested that I bring my daughters with me.
In an effort to share some of where we are I am trying to add the slide shows. If they don't work, I will just continue to add them to the blog.
While thinking about the blog for this week. I began to think about how grown up my oldest daughter seems to be getting. She went on her first overnight field trip this week with school. As a parent, it was a nervous and gratifying experience all at the same time.
It was nerve wracking because the details of the trip were lost in translation. Here we are in China and she is going to spend the night with people that we have only known for five weeks. We did know the people running the field trip, so we felt comfortable that she was in good hands. Besides, the way they keep track of the kids while on campus is like being in a military camp. They are so protective that one evening it took us about 20 minutes to get Taylor off of campus, because she didn't have a student card. Even though it is a hassle sometimes, we really love that about our school.
Anyway, she went away with a smile and didn't look back. Cecelia had given her the phone she uses so that she could call and let us know how she was doing. It was great to get those calls in the evening and hear about the exciting things that she had experienced. Over the two days she went to a poor school and gave money and books away. She was chosen to be the giver of the items, because the kids in the village rarely have an opportunity to visit with foreigners. She got to experience what it was to be a rockstar for a day. The kids were asking her for autographs, holding her hand and wanting to touch her hair. She then went to a fishing village and went out on a fishing boat. She also went to a museum and a Buddhist Temple. The excitement in her voice while she was describing her adventure was infectious.
We went to Zuhai and Macau this weekend. Zuhai is about an hour away from us in the south on the fast train. The train to Zuhai is amazing. It is so quiet and fast. Paul and I watched and clocked the train going 198 kilometers per hour. We were hoping to hit at least 200, but it just didn't happen. When you are going roughly 120 miles an hour on this train, you really don't notice the speed. It is amazing to watch the countryside go by and realize that agriculture and city can totally coexist. After getting out of the taxi somewhere in the area we wanted to go, we went and had lunch. So far, I can say that I have ordered the most exotic meal so far. It was called "French Vanilla Sheep Who Fight Fire". I couldn't resist and took a chance. Come to find out it was half a rack of Lamb with this amazing sauce and vegetables. Who knew that I have been ordering it wrong in the states all along. I can't wait to get back home and order the same thing. When we got to Zuhai we made our way to the beach. Needless to say our first beach experience in Southern China was disappointing. The tide was out and we walked along the rocks of the bay we found. I promptly took a step onto the sandstone and quickly found out that it was mud. No wonder all of the Gobi fish were having such a good time. My Nike running shoes will never be the same. Paul had a good time watching the rats run in and out of the boulders near the shore. After that, we decided to go ahead and visit Macau. Macau is supposed to have a nice beach. We took about an hour getting through the border. For those of you that don't know, Macau is part of China, but it is still a separate country. So you have to get a new stamp in your passport when you leave China and then enter Macau. I commented to Paul after we were done, that I have done a good job as a dad, because my kids now have more stamps in their passports than I did when I was 40. I guess that would be a feather in my cap. Anyway, I digress. We then took a shuttle to the Sheraton Casino so that we could see the strip. It is supposed to be larger than Vegas. When we arrived we were not disappointed. The Casinos in the area are extremely large and sprawling. The Galaxy and Venetian are particularly large complexes. It was still early so we took a cab from the Sheraton to find a beach. We finally found one and the girls had a great time frolicking in the 80 degree water and playing in the black sand. After cleaning up we headed back to the strip and ate dinner at the Venetian. The inside of the Venetian is just like the one in Vegas, with the water and Gondolas inside the Grand Canal. Paul and I gambled for a little while, and Cecelia and the girls went window shopping. After a bit, we switched and Cecelia gambled and Paul and I took over with the girls. I was the big winner of the night. I started with $120 Hong Kong dollars and finished with around $320. It was a nice little chunk of change that helped me pay for my new Rolex. Yes, I did by a new Rolex. It is amazing how far your money can go out on the street. I got mine for 100 Yuan, while the suckers inside were paying $85,000 for theirs. Man can I spot a deal. I was so excited about the deal, I bought two. One for me and one for a friend.
On the way back that evening we got to see the other strip lit up. It was beautiful. There are three bridges that connect the different sections of Macau and they had lights on them as well. The whole place is rather surreal.
MISC. That evening, when we returned home Cecelia found an article on Yahoo. It was the ten places that people should go that would change their lives and attitudes about the world. I can honestly say that we are experiencing one of these places. The daily living here makes us realize how lucky we are to have the opportunity to share this with our children and my brother. Our lives have already been enriched and the world just seems smaller. I hope that by us being here, it will give some of you a little wanderlust. It is truly an experience that I would encourage all of you to do.
PAUL'S CORNER: Rusty has done a great job explaining a lot of what is happening in our part of the World. However I wanted to share some of my thoughts on our experiences. It is an absolute blessing to be sharing this time with my brother, sister and my two wonderful nieces. They always make me feel as one of the immediate family.
Going to Guangzhou, Zhuhai and Macau have been wonderful but there is so much history right where we live that we actually would not have to travel far to see something of interest. This area was once all considered to be part of a territory known as Panyu. It was settled by the Qing Dynasty in the 1600's and now is the 3rd largest financial district in all of China. It definitely is an area where the combination of industrial, municipal, residential and agriculture come together.
Although we all continue to work on speaking Chinese we still are a long ways away from being fluent. I have had some degree of success ordering food, and having conversation with any Chinese citizen who is willing to listen to me. I especially enjoy matching their tone and inflection when they become frustrated with me. I am committed to learning the language and will continue to joke with the taxi drivers who do not understand English.
Lastly I will mention that anytime Rusty, Cec, Claire, Taylor and myself take off on our scooters it is always an adventure. From driving the wrong way on major streets (the Chinese Way), to having taxi drivers dropping us off because we lack the skills to give better instructions, or finding a Church in China filled with beautiful voices from Africa. I am loving China. I told Rusty that I actually feel less restricted here than in the states. I would also like to say that the only thing that would have improved all these adventures is if my wife, Shannon was here to share these special memories with me.
Still looking and praying for a Church home.
Awesome!! Thank you for sharing your experiences and heart with us. Miss and love you all.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
David Sachs