I am Thankful for Lamb and Hong Kong!!!!

  Hello Everyone.  I hope you are all recovering from the family get together and the tryptophan induced stupor from too much turkey.  The question I have is, "If everyone loves turkey so much how come we only cook it once or twice a year"?  Before you go off the deep end and tell me that you buy sliced Turkey at the market and eat Turkey sandwiches, you know what I mean.  How come families don't have the whole Turkey thing once a week?  My grandmother used to make a big pot roast meal once a week for my grandfather.  Of course it had roast beast, potatoes, carrots, salad and homemade apple pie.  What if she had replaced the roast beast with roast bird.  Anyway, I digress which leads me to the civilization question for the week.

CIVILIZATION QUESTION:  This question is in honor of my brother Paul.  He loves turkey on Thanksgiving. He loves the entire process of injecting his bird with some amazing spices and sauce and then deep frying it.  So the question this week is,  "Are you a civilized country if you don't have turkeys to eat?" Hmmmm!!!  This week he thinks that China is downright barbaric.  Not a turkey to be found anywhere.

TEACHING:  This week's teaching is going to focus on the issues that seem to be universal in all parts of the world when it comes to education.  I think I mentioned in previous blogs that Cecelia and I have been asked to train staff and to help implement a new English acquisition program.  Cecelia has been asked to be the curriculum coordinator for the Primary Department.  I on the other hand  have tried to stay on the outside and help a bit when needed, besides it is the English Department that is making the changes.  I have been team teaching with the English teacher and we have done a couple of units together.  For example, her students read I Robot  and in math we created robots and did enlargements by learning about scale.  She then decorated her class with them.  So anyway, recently the team that has been doing the curriculum change has come to me regarding the new SMART boards.  Nobody has used one so I said that I would help to show teachers what they can do with them.  If I haven't mentioned it before, if you have a slight knowledge regarding something, you become the instant expert.  The problem with this, is that even though I have used a SMART board and like them, these are in Chinese.  So, this last week I had to spend my spare time configuring the boards and Windows into English in order to do a demonstration.  This would have been an easy fix except for one thing, I don't read Chinese yet.  As you can imagine it took longer than it should have because I needed to have a Chinese teacher with me in order to configure the boards.  Of course it took longer than it should have.
  That accomplished, I have now been asked to write a foundation for behavior management.  This foundation is to be developed in order for the new curriculum to be built upon it.  The only problem with this is that the administration doesn't feel that a behavior plan is necessary to implement the curriculum.  This is where I mentioned earlier about the universal problems with education that exist world wide.  Now, be patient with me because I am going to jump up on my soapbox for a minute.  Some of you will agree with me and others may not, but it doesn't really matter.  I am going to tell you what I think anyway, that is the beauty of writing my blog.
  The question to start is, "Why do administrators in education think that curriculum can exist without a firm and fair foundation of behavior?"  The reason I ask is because the administration here thinks that the radical changes that need to be made in the English can be accomplished without it.  It is the same issue that we deal with at school in the States.  Every teacher in the world will tell you that if they are dealing with discipline on a constant basis in the classroom the curriculum is going down the tubes.  There are so many examples out there that demonstrate that the foundation for good education is firm and fair discipline.  Not only for students, but for staff as well.  The best schools in the world are built on the model of firm and fair discipline with strong curriculum developed on top of it.  Someone give me one good example of a school that has been built otherwise.  When are we going to get a clue in education that we do our students a disservice by not encouraging them to be competitive and disciplined.  The most successful people in the world have a personal discipline that is beyond most of our comprehension.  A great example is Warren Buffet.  Why does he still live in the house that he bought years ago and drive used cars?  Does anyone know the answer? I do, he was extremely disciplined with money.  Did I forget to mention that he is extremely rich.  I know that was a rhetorical statement.  Anyway, the point is, "Why do people feel like they always have to reinvent the wheel?".  The last time I checked the wheel was still a pretty good invention.  I know I am rambling, but I get tired of beating a dead horse.  So, in my small way this week I get to give my opinion to a school that is run like a business and not like a social experiment.  My recommendation to the administration and to the people working on the new curriculum project is that if they don't build a foundation of behavior and performance outcomes that nobody should continue working on the project.  The teachers here complain that they don't have motivated I.B. students.  The reason is because they don't give credit for in class work.  The kids get their grades based on the final at the end of the semester.  This is just like saying to all of us that work, "come to work everyday, but we are not going to pay you". I am all for intrinsic motivation, but that isn't the way the real world works.  You cannot build a school on a house of cards.
  I learned a long time ago from an old teacher friend of mine about classroom management.  Her management plan included a clear plan for both discipline and  for their daily work.  She used to say that she was a witch to her kids until Christmas.  Now don't misunderstand the description here.  She was still herself and loving to her kids, but up until Christmas she wouldn't let a single student get away with anything that deterred from the education in her classroom.  She disciplined the supposed good kids the same as she did the obnoxious kids.  Obviously she didn't have to do that very often, but it made a huge impact on the obnoxious kids to know that the same rules applied to everyone.  After Christmas the kids came back and understood the expectations.  Her class ran smoothly the rest of the year and they always did well on standardized tests.  She must have done something right, because the last time I checked before she retired she was named teacher of the year 8 times.  Now at this point you may be thinking that I am just making it up, but I can tell you first hand that she is a living individual because I was her student teacher.  Not only was I her student teacher, but she applied the same standards to me as her student.  I will never forget her telling me, "Rusty I don't think I am ever going to let you take over my class until you get more organized".  After her telling me that, the following week I had all of my units organized for the year and my lesson plans set for the next month for each subject.  She was surprised and impressed.  To finish the story, I did take over her class for six months and even got my first letter of recommendation from her.  It wouldn't have happened without her being firm and fair.  So to finish, please if you are one of my administrator friends don't take offense.  But, don't give me some acronym or some study in which the numbers have been manipulated.  I am a math teacher, I can manipulate any percentage to make it sound in my favor.  I will just remind you of people like Jaime Escolante and Clovis Unified School District.  This is my opinion and if you don't agree let it slide off of your back like a duck does with water and we will just agree to disagree.  So  Enough of That!!!!!

ADVENTURES:  Ok this was a rather interesting week.  I played in my first Chinese Golf Tournament.  I got second place and realized that the local golfers over here either cheat worse that back at home or just don't know any better.  I tend to think that they don't know any better.  When I took a drop from a lateral hazard, one of the caddies asked me what I was doing.  I told her I was taking my two club relief and dropping my ball.  She promptly said that I didn't have to do that.  She said nobody does that, they just put the ball down in the fairway.  I saw this first hand two holes later.  After finishing the golf tournament we had a dinner and the prize ceremony commenced.  I learned a couple of very important Chinese words at the banquet.  The words are Gam bei.  Gam Bei means Bottoms Up.  Bottoms Up is a very big deal at dinner in China.  So before the dinner even started the beer glasses were filled and once all the players were seated around the table the first shout of Gam bei was given.  This is even before you have eaten any food.  Also, if you win prizes, you must do Gam bei in front of the banquet hall.  I thought I was lucky until I had to do Gam Bei twice because I won two prizes.  The first prize I won was because I shot 78 and 8 is a lucky number in China.  I won three foot massages.  Cecelia was very excited about those.  The second prize I won was because I finished second place.  I won a years worth of driving range coupons.  I didn't need those since I already paid for a years worth of unlimited range use.  I gave those to my new friend Michael.  There were so many Gam bei toasts that evening I thought I was back at my friend Michael Jilke's frat house at USC on a Friday night.  Fortuneately I survived and thankfully had a late class on Friday morning.
  Thanksgiving came so fast and unexpectantly that when someone wished me a Happy Thanksgiving, I kind of stared at them with a blank face and took a minute to process what they said.  You see, we had to work on Thanksgiving.  On top of that, we are a day ahead of our friends in the United States so we didn't have anyone wishing us Happy Thanksgiving from home until Friday.  It was weird saying Happy Thanksgiving to Cecelia, Paul and the Girls and then doing the same the next day as well.  The other thing is that there are no turkeys near where we live.  The closest thing to turkey is Goose or Chicken.  It just isn't the same.  We also went out for Thanksgiving dinner.  This is strange in itself because Paul and I usually do a lot of cooking on the big day.  He has an elaborate process of injection and frying.  I tend to be a non traditionalist and cook Oyster Bisque or something like that.  So for Thanksgiving dinner we went to a place called The Greenery Cafe.  It is an international restaurant that serves Chinese and other food.  We decided that we didn't want Chinese food for Thanksgiving.  We eat it everyday and decided that we wanted something special.  The Greenery was an excellent choice for doing just that.  Between the five of us we had two amazing steaks, one rack of lamb, lamb curry and a leg of lamb that would have fed at least three of us at the table.  We also had french fries so that we had some potatoes and salads.  Topped off with wine and Mango juice it was Awesome with a capital A!!!!!!  It was so good that we are already making plans to get some lambs for the girls to raise when we get back home.  We may even have started a new family tradition.  The turkey may have lost the battle in our house.  Who says that you can't be thankful and get stuffed over mutton instead of turkey.  Didn't the pilgrims have sheep as well?  During dinner we talked about being thankful for all of our friends and family.  We were also thankful for having the opportunity to do what we are doing.  The Lord has truly blessed us with this experience.

Paul on the ferry to Hong Kong.

  On Saturday we got up early to go to Hong Kong.  We left at around half past 6 and headed up the street to catch the bus that goes to the transportation center.  No scooters for us because it was raining.  When you buy a ferry ticket to Hong Kong you get a free shuttle ride from where we live to the harbor.  The bus ride takes about 20 minutes and gets you to the ferry with about half hour to spare.  We decided to grab some coffee before we got on the boat.  We didn't realize that they were going to need to go out back and grind it first and then brew it.  It took us about 10 minutes to get a cup of coffee that ended up being too sweet and half full.  They obviously don't care that they are competing with Starbucks.  Anyway, after we got our coffee we headed for the border crossing.  One thing I am not sure that I have mentioned in previous blogs is that when you leave mainland China to go to either Macau or Hong Kong you have to fill out these forms and then present them with your passport.  The wierd thing to us, is that both Macau and Hong Kong are part of China now, and yet you still have to go through the immigration stuff.  It would be like having Baja become part of California, but they leave the border gates up.  So if there are not a lot of people in line this is a piece of cake, so when we headed up to show our passports we thought no problem there isn't anyone here.  We were thinking no problem we will breeze right through.  Oh, but not the Oetinger family.  We happened to get in the line with the border agent that kept looking at Taylor as if she was a miniature criminal.  He must of looked at her and then back at her passport four or five times before he finally put the stamp on it.  It must be because of her bad passport picture.  We told her she should have smiled when they took it.  Claire's isn't that much better.  The pictures are so bad that they should have the lines behind them like they do in the line up photos when someone gets put in jail.  This guy scrutinized the passports so long that we thought we were going to miss our ferry.  Paul had gotten in the other line and waited about 10 minutes for us.  He got through quickly because he kind of looks like a Chinese National anyway.  We finally made it to the ferry and got settled in our seats.  The great thing about the ferry is that it is very roomy and there are bathrooms and a snack bar.  It takes about two hours to get to Hong Kong and you can just relax and watch the scenery go by or take a nap.  I chose to do a little of both.  When we got to Hong Kong the entrance through that immigration crossing made the crossing on Mainland China look like a walk in the park.  It was much worse in Hong Kong and took us almost an hour to get through.

Hong Kong Skyline from Kowloon Ferry Dock

Heritage Plaza built 1881

  The time in immigration was definitely worth the wait.  In my life I would consider Hong Kong to be the second most beautiful city I have ever been in, next to Dubrovnic Croatia.  Hong Kong has this very cosmopolitan feel.  As you walk down the street you can meander into stores like Cartier, Tiffany, Versacci or Armani.  Paul and I considered getting tailored suits, but just couldn't find the material we liked.  Besides, just like my Rolex that I got a great deal, we figured we could get a better deal on suits in Guangzhou.  Heck we might even go back to the guy that I bought the Rolex from.  I think he had Armani suits in the back.  Remember the mall that I mentioned in one of the earlier blogs.  The one that I said was the largest and most impressive that I had ever seen, well it isn't anymore.  The mall that held the above mentioned stores had many more and was 10 blocks long and four stories high.  If I could use one word to describe this mall it would be SHINY.  The other great thing about this mall is that there are actually reasonably priced items to purchase as well.

On Canton Street

The biggest reason we went to Hong Kong was to buy some things that we couldn't find in our area.  Believe it or not electronics are of better quality and cheaper in Hong Kong than in Guangzhou.  I bought a printer and a one terrabite external hard drive for 1300 Hong Kong dollars, which is about $160 US dollars.  We bought a number of other items and then wandered around the Kowloon Ferry area.  One of the coolest parts of the Ferry area is the Heritage plaza.

The Heritage Plaza was built in 1881.  It has been converted into a shopping and eating area.  It houses a beautiful restaurant in the old carriage building as well as some fine clothing and watch shops in other parts of the plaza.  There are fountains and meandering stairs everywhere.  While we were visiting the plaza there were a number of wedding photo ops going on.  There was also a group of students that had just graduated from college.  There was even one modeling photo shoot going on during the hussle and bussle of the place.

Our own model at Heritage Plaza!!  Heather it is time to buy a bigger gun!!

We could be Super Models.  Well at least maniquins anyway!!

After wandering around the plaza a bit we headed for dinner.  We had to catch the ferry back to our home at 6 pm.  It was a short visit to Hong Kong, but we will definitely be back.  By the way, the border crossing back onto the mainland was rather uneventful.  I think Cecelia said it best, "Hong Kong is a nice taste of the west close to our home".  Don't get me wrong, we love where we live and are very thankful for the life we are living here in China, but it is nice to go to a place that feels a little like home.  When I talk about home I mean little things like people stopping at stop lights and walking with crosswalks.  Hong Kong just feels orderly, while where we are it tends to feel a bit chaotic.
 So to end this blog I wanted to take a moment to tell all of you how thankful we are for you.  I can't mention everyone personally, but I want to thank you for your emails and comments regarding the blog.  When we get notes from people back home or from some of our friends around the world it makes the world a bit smaller.  I think we would get homesick more often if we didn't hear from you, our friends and family.  I also want to express a grateful thank you to all of you that read my blog.  Since I began in August my blog has been read by more 2000 times.  I have never taken on a task like this in my life.  Let's just say that growing up blind in one eye, reading and writing were never really friendly or pleasurable.  I have found that writing the blog has been very enjoyable and holds a special place in my heart.  Just knowing that some of you are reading it motivates me to share more.  I also appreciate my English teacher friends for just putting up with my syntax errors.  As much fun as we are having we do miss all of you.  Last week was a perfect example of how much we miss you and feel missed as well.  When we facetimed Gabby at her party I don't think there was a dry eye on either side of the world.  We did have tears leaking into our lattes at Starbucks as well.  Yes, even I got choked up ladies.  Thanksgiving was definitely not the same without all of you around.  Finally, I want to thank the Lord for the many blessings he has bestowed about my life.  As I write this I will end the most adventurous year of my life so far.  I turn 50 on Wednesday and am amazed at what has transpired this year.  Anyway, I don't want to get into my birthday stuff just yet.  You can probably guess what the blog topic will be for next week.  Thanks again to all of you.  We love you and we will see you sooner than you think.  

We are thankful for all of you.  With love from Hong Kong

Dancing with Obama's Brother.

  This week's blog is dedicated to Mark Nesti and Wes Oetinger.  Mark, my brother, turned 55 this week, and Wes, my other brother, turned 48.  Happy Birthday again guys!!!

CIVILIZED QUESTION:  Is it more civilized to be politically correct or to tell it like it is? Hmm!!!  Case and point.  The other day, Cecelia and I were walking and we came upon an empty cigarette packet on the ground.  As I picked it up to throw it away, I noticed some large writing in big black letters covering the front of the packet that said "SMOKING WILL KILL YOU".  It also said on the side "PEOPLE THAT SMOKE DON'T LIVE AS LONG."  Unlike our country where the Surgeon General sugar coats it in number 6 font on the side of the cigarette packet.  I personally like the Chinese packet better.

TEACHING:  Teaching this week, as I mentioned last week, was rather uneventful.  I did a sample lesson on Monday for some teachers in my department.  I did a dynamic lesson on adding like terms.  I incorporated drawing and design into the lesson.  I also used the SMART board, which by the way wasn't very smart because it didn't work.  I had to scrap that part of my lesson and improvise.  Such is the nature of teaching and attempting to use technology.  Most of the comments were great.  The thing that you need to understand is that most of the teachers were English teachers.  The English teachers liked the lesson, because most of them finally understood the details regarding adding like terms.  The comments I received from the Chinese teachers were pretty good except the one in which they said it was too easy for the students and whether the lesson was actually in the book.  Anyway, my students enjoyed the lesson and most of the students finished.  For such an easy lesson there were still a couple of students that had a difficult time finishing.  So much for making sure that the students understood from the previous year.  Their teacher from the previous year was the same one that said it was too easy.  The rest of the week was uneventful at school, other than trying to reconfigure the touch screen smart boards to English on my days off.  Amazing how my part of the school is supposed to only be speaking and working in English and yet all the Windows versions on the SmartBoards are in Chinese.  They want me to do a training on the Touch Screen Smart Boards, but I can't until they change all of the versions of Windows to English.  Great way to spend three days off, not!!!!!!!

ADVENTURES:  Obviously from the previous section you probably got the impression that I wasted the days that I had off.  I didn't really.  On Tuesday,  I took my girls out to lunch and played Badminton with the them.  After that I went with my new friend Tim and gave him a golf lesson.  We then went and had coffee for a couple of hours.  Tim is a great guy and is from England.  He is an entrepreneur and currently works in plastic design and manufacturing.  He has a goal to create a live in entrepreneurial school in the French Country Side.  I didn't charge him for the lesson, I just told him that one day I would call on him to do something for the family.  I was impressed that he got the Godfather reference and he said he didn't have a problem with that.
  Wednesday was spent working on an article that I wrote for a Golf Website.  It isn't just about golf so if you would like to read it, you can go to www.impactzone.com.  The article is called "Did you say 10 cm swing bottom or  qiu gan bai dong 10 li mi???"  I am proud to say that they published it and I got rave reviews from some of my colleagues in the golf industry.  Even if you are not a golfer, it is kind of a funny article so it is definitely worth the read.
  Thursday I did play golf.  I have to say I am touched and impressed with those of you that have been concerned about me not playing as much golf.  The extra practice on the chipping green and driving range has really been paying dividends.  I shot 76 and that was with two balls in the water.  I am hitting the ball better than I ever have.  I played with my new friend Michael.(There will be more later about Michael and the dinner invitation that he gave Cecelia and I.)  Later that day, I went and picked up my scooter buddy Paul.  We got back from the airport around midnight.  We are all glad to have Paul home in China.  He was missed while he was away for 10 days.
  Friday was supposed to be the lead into a quiet weekend, but the school magazine came out with an impromptu dinner party for those of us that were published in the magazine.  Paul and I both wrote articles that were published.  The magazine has a subscription of only about 6000, but it is a very nice magazine.  I think there will be an internet version very soon for you to check it out.  The editors were very impressed with our articles and we have been asked to be continuing writers for the magazine.  I was also honored with them wanting to publish parts of my blog in it as well.  I think they are using the Mr. Cute Squishy Fish story next month. (By the way Paul's real Chinese name is Bao Yu.)  After the dinner party we went out for a drink or two with some of our friends.
  Saturday!!!Saturday!!!Saturday!!!  I mentioned earlier that while playing golf my new friend Michael invited Cecelia and I out to dinner on Saturday evening.  We weren't expected to go out until 6:45 pm so we had a quiet morning and then went on a scooter ride with Paul.  He really loves his scooter and commented that he really missed it while he was away.  So we took him to the Cobra restaurant to show them to him and then onto the driving range and grocery store.  It was a beautiful fall day, if you can call the days here fall.  It was about 70 degrees with a slight breeze.  We actually got a little chilly riding the scooters in shorts.  I have been watching the weather back home each day, can't say I miss it!!!  Anyway when we got back to the house, Cecelia and I had planned on going upstairs and taking a short nap before we went out.  This was about 4:30.  About 15 minutes later I get a call from Michael asking us where we were.  I told him we were at home and that I thought we weren't getting together until 6:45.  Apparently it was supposed to be 16:45, which is 4:45 military time.  I obviously didn't imagine us going out to dinner at 4:45 so for some reason I didn't understand the 16:45 time.  So Cecelia and I threw ourselves into the shower to do a quick clean up.  We put on some moderately nice clothes and then headed out the door.
  At this point in the story I have to explain a little about the relationship I have with Michael.  When I first started going to the driving range I had an issue with my ATM card.  He was kind enough to help me out and speaks decent, but not great English.  Which means that since I don't speak great Chinese, when we are together it can be dangerous.  Michael is the owner of self service water purifying systems.  He supplies many of the factories in the area in which we live.  I began helping him with his golf game at the driving range and we have become fast friends.  So, as I mentioned it before when he invited us to dinner with him and his wife on Thursday, I told him that I needed to talk with Cecelia and then I would let him know.  I talked with Cecelia that afternoon and we confirmed the dinner date.  Now understand my wife was concerned about what to wear to the dinner party, so I sent a text to Michael to have his wife email Cecelia what to wear for the evening.  I should have known that when Cecelia didn't get the email that this was the first glitch in the plans.  So, anyway when Cecelia and I flew out the door that evening we were dressed nice but casual.  Cecelia was still concerned with her black velveteen pants and long grey shirt.  In my opinion she looked hot. When we got to where we met Michael's friends and wife she felt a little better.  Michael's wife was wearing jeans, Converse tennis shoes and a long sleeved shirt.  By the way, Michael was wearing a plaid dinner jacket with a totally different plaid shirt underneath and a tie that had diamonds on it.  He also had jeans on and black patent leather shoes that were as shiny as tux shoes.  I was good, since I had black slacks on with a nice matching golf shirt and grey cardigan sweater.  My wife thought I looked rather dapper.
  Enough about fashion.  We then loaded into Michael's car and headed out.  While on the road I said 'Dui Bu Qui", which means I am sorry and explained to them in English and my limited Chinese about my error in time.  They said it wasn't a big deal and we had a pleasant ride teaching each other Chinese and English.  I was enjoying the ride so much that I didn't pay attention to the fact that we had driven into Guangzhou.  As I have mentioned before Guangzhou is about 45 minutes from our house.  Cecelia and I realized at that point that we were in for a late night.

Sitting in the Rickshaw on the craziest night so far!!!!

  The rest of this story is so surreal that Cecelia and I can't believe it really happened.  Anyway, when we get to Goungzhou we pull into The China Hotel/Marriott.  The China Hotel is the oldest and first five star hotel in Guangzhou.  It is very beautiful and very international.  There were many people from all around the world in the lobby.  Cecelia and I were feeling that old apprehension about whether we were dressed appropriately for a dinner in a five star hotel.  Michael informed us that we had arrived about an hour early, so he took us out walking in the city.  He showed us another wholesale clothing district.  This place not only has the clothes to buy, but has separate stores for the designer bags and tags to give to the customers when they leave.  There were also mannequin stores available.  They are a little creepy at night.  Anyway, we made our way back to the hotel and still had not met up with Michael's other friends, Ken and Mr. Lee.  Michael made a call and we then walked to another area of the hotel.  As we approached the front entrance to the Marriott section of the hotel, Cecelia and I realized we weren't dressed appropriately.  In the lobby there was a group of men wearing tuxedos and ladies with circa 1920's dresses on.  The were dressed to the nines as you would say.  We thought we had one last reprieve as they walked up a giant Paramount sign and we were directed to an escalator that went up a side entrance.  When we got to the top of the escalator, the reprieve was over and we were thrust into a 1920's Shanghai Movie themed ball.  We were promptly checked into the party and given sunglasses.  I was then grabbed by Michael to take a picture with one of the characters at the party.  Unbeknownst to me I had my picture taken with the most important man of the evening.  I didn't have a clue who he was, and he was apparently a famous American in the movie industry.  After that we wandered around and had some hourdevous and a glass of wine.  It was an open bar and originally we got the amount of wine that you would get at a wine tasting.  I learned one very important lesson that evening.  When you tell a Chinese bar tender that the wine is excellent he is very appreciative and will pour half a bottle of wine into your glass.  I walked back to Cecelia and she was amazed at the amount of wine in my glass.  I shared with her my lesson learned.  After having wine and some food, Cecelia and I started to loosen up about the dress code, because there were others that had been as surprised as us and were unprepared.  Cecelia and I took the picture in the RickShaw and then we finally caught up with Michael's friends.  Of course the conversation got around to talking about golf.  We then got to know Ken and Mr. Lee better.  Ken owns a company near our home that manufactures the lighting in large buildings.  His latest contract was with two airports in America and a train station somewhere else that I don't remember.  Mr. Lee is the CEO of a copper processing and manufacturing plant.  As teachers, we were beginning to feel out of place.  The only thing we had in common with these movers and shakers was golf.
  At this point the crowd began to move out of the rooms. We were apparently  going in to have dinner.  Now just imagine going back in time to the 1920's and walking into a ballroom all decked out with some minor 20th century touches added.  The tables were tricked out with five course dinner plates, fresh roses and these amazing bread sculptures that looked like Davinci sculptures.  I was afraid to touch them during dinner because they were so amazing.  There were also Chinese fans adorning the candle lit tables.  Linen table cloths and silk napkins finished it off.  Oh and I forgot to mention the water and two glasses of wine already filled waiting for the guests.  As we were escorted to our tables we had a personal waitress that pulled out our chair and adorned us with the silk napkins.  Finally there was 1920's music being played with a laser light show to dazzle the senses.  As you can imagine, this was definitely not what Cecelia and I had remotely in mind when we were invited.
  After we were all seated I had the good fortune of sitting next to a young women named Jessica.  Jessica spoke very good English and had gone to school at San Jose State.  Cecelia and I hit it off with her instantly.  Jessica was there representing her husband's business.  They own a solar power co.  She was the first one to explain to us what we were at and what the occasion was for the ball.  The ball was hosted by Guangzhou's version of their Chamber of Commerce.  It was their way of thanking some of the major businesses that used Guangzhou as their base.  Since 80% of everything purchased in America and the rest of the world is produced in this area, Guangzhou is very grateful to have the businesses that were represented.  Some of the businesses that you would know are Nike, Taylor Made, Midea and others.
  As the ball began a man came out with a spotlight on him with two Chinese girls dancing by his side.  According to Jessica he is a very popular actor in China.  He is from Hong Kong and was famous in movies.  I never caught his name, but he was the MC for the evening.  He began by doing a raffle.  The raffle prizes will give you an idea of the high rollers we were hanging with this evening.  The first raffle prize was a table prize.  This meant that every person at the table won the prize if your table number was called.  It was for a watch valued at 12,000 rmb.  So, quickly do the math in your head.  Divide 12,000 by six and you get the amount in U.S. dollars.  I know you are scratching your head and saying to yourself, did I do the math right? Yes, you did the math correctly.  Each watch was worth 2 grand.  The next was a pendant for everyone at the winning table worth $500.  There were a number of round trip plane tickets to the states.  Cecelia and I were hoping for one of those.  The most expensive prize was a one night stay in the Presidential suite.  It was only valued at 48,000 rmb.  $8000 grand for a one night stay!!!!!  They didn't detail what you got for that, but come on what could they really give you for that amount of money in one 24 hour period.  Even if Cecelia and I got massages, a manicure and pedicure for her, breakfast, lunch and dinner in bed it wouldn't be worth it.  Maybe I am too simple minded to imagine what you could get for that amount of money.  Plus, who wants to stay in a hotel room for 24 hours anyway.  Those of you with wilder thoughts than mine, feel free to go to town thinking about it.
  The next surprise was the representatives from the American Consulate came on stage to give a special award to one of the individuals at the ball.  Remember the guy I told you that I took the picture with earlier, yep that was him.  Apparently he has been the chairman for American Chamber of Commerce in south China for the last 20 years.  On top of that he has done it as a volunteer.  His name is Harley Seyedin and he was given a special award by the White House.  The award that he was given has only been given to 11 people in the United States since Thomas Jefferson designed and minted the award himself.  You can look him up on the web if you want to learn more.  After the award was given, I was then whisked from the table with the rest of the men to go give our congratulations.  I thought it strange that only the men went, but I went along anyway. (One note for you western women, the women are always pushed into the background.  It isn't a rude thing that happens, but the roles are just set and they are followed.  Of course there are some exceptions that I will explain about in a minute.  Remember this country has been around thousands of years, so don't think that womens' liberation is coming here anytime soon.  Now before you get ready to slap me across the internet for being a chauvinist  I am not saying I agree with it, I am just telling you what it is like here.  We may not agree with it, but the women don't seem to mind and are not unhappy. Remember, don't kill the messenger.)  While we were waiting to give our congratulations to Harley, a man stood up and introduced himself.  You won't believe it, but it was none other than President Obama's brother Mark.  Mark lives in Shenzhen and has done so for the last nine years.  He was very gracious and attentive.  He chatted with me for about five minutes before Harley came by.  Now, remember my blog is not a political diatribe.  It was a social event so I did not get into any in depth questions about politics or social issues.  To tell you the truth, all we talk about was China and learning the language.  I really enjoyed the conversation and it was a pleasure meeting him.  After talking with him I went back to the table where all of the ladies were sitting.  I told Cecelia who I had just met and she couldn't believe it.  At this point I mentioned to Jessica that as a man married to a western woman, I would never get used to leaving my wife behind when meeting people.  She said that it was great that I thought that way and grabbed Cecelia and took her to meet Mark Obama.  The spent quite a bit of time talking with him.  When she returned we agreed that he was a very sincere and interesting man.  Anyway, while all of this was happening we had dinner served to us.  It was amazing food.  After two large glasses of wine, I was thankful for the food.
  The last part of this story is going to be the hardest for you to fathom, but it really did happen.  If you don't believe me you can ask Cecelia.  She was living the delusion with me.  I have to premise this last paragraph by telling you that while all the visiting and eating were happening there were professional dancers in period costumes dancing on the dance floor to 1920's music.  We were then served an equally amazing dessert and then a beautiful young women in a flapper outfit came out to do a mix as a DJ.  If you haven't heard about Gangnam style yet, look up the edited version on YouTube.  This song has apparently been sweeping the world.  Anyway the DJ starts a music mix with Gangnam style as the base background and people that are filled with good food and alcohol begin to dance.  I decided that I had had enough wine to give me at least as much rhythm as Kevin James in his role as the buffoon in Hitch.  Now, after watching Hitch I learned that those of us that have no rhythm can dance if we do what he recommends.  He says to "Keep it in Here", which means the hands never go higher than the belt and you just move from side to side.  I am good with that, I have danced at Reggae concerts before.  So, as Cecelia and I moved onto the dance floor I began to get the rhythm and started to really enjoy myself.  After about five minutes I threw all caution to the wind and began dancing like the guy that was dancing like John Travolta.  I even threw in a couple of poses like him in Saturday Night Fever.  You know the one with one finger pointing in the air and the other pointing to the ground.  At this point Cecelia will tell you that I was getting totally out of hand.  I had a group of guys and girls around me dancing like me.  Even the Travolta guy was following along.  I could see Cecelia laughing and not believing what was going on so I got really bold and threw out the sprinkler.  It was an instant hit.  To top it off when I did a Kevin James spin I turned around and there was Mark Obama dancing along with us.  I couldn't believe we were dancing with Obama's brother.  I have to mention a weird thing that happens in China on the dance floor.  Remember how I told you that the women defer to the men, well they do the same thing while dancing.  So you can imagine how freaked out I got when I look around and all I have dancing near me was men.  All the women were dancing in a circle outside our man circle.  When the circle started to tighten up, I got sober really quick.  I grabbed Cecelia and headed out with the premise of using the restroom.  Now, this is the part that most of you will not believe.  The Travolta guy stands up as I walk by his table and gives me a knuckle bump and shakes my hand.  As I return to the table after using the restroom, Ken, Michael, Mr. Lee and their dates stand up and toast me.  They tell me I am a great dancer.  I was stunned and my wife was laughing hysterically   Finally, someone recognizes my talent as a dancer.  It nearly brought me to tears, I couldn't believe it.  To tell you the truth, I don't know that I can come back to the United States after that.  Mr. Lee, Ken and I continued to toast the rest of the evening and Cecelia and I danced a bit more.  This time we did some swing dancing, which I can really do.  I am actually better than most guys in that particular area of dancing so we really impressed them then.
  The cherry on top of the evening was I saw a few guys light up cigars.  So, I went over to ask them where they had got them.  The first guy I talked to said that he wasn't sure, but they came out of the box on the table.  I found the guy that owned the box and asked him where he got them, because I would like to purchase some.  He didn't give me any details, but opened up his box.  He then introduced himself as the owner of two places in Guangzhou called The Tavern.  He then proceeded to hand me a Cuban Cohiba Cigar, the finest Cigar Money can buy.  I thanked him and promised to visit his establishment.  He gave me his card and told me to look him up while I was in town.  I walked back to my table and showed my wife the cigar and she was as stunned as I was with such a generous gift.  I was going to save it for my 50th birthday, but my new dancing and golfing buddy Mr. Lee brought over a lighter immediately.  So I obliged and lit up.  There is nothing like a sweet Cuban cigar.  I took a couple of puffs on it and then handed it to Mr. Lee to share.  Mr. Lee handed it back to me and I had just taken a couple more puffs on it when Michael let me know that we had to go.  I handed the cigar back to Mr. Lee and told him to finish it.  He thanked me again and gave me a parting toast.  As we were walking out the door, Cecelia commented to me that she couldn't believe that I wasted that cigar.  I said to her "Oh Honey trust me it wasn't wasted", she then got my point and just gave me a smile.
  We then finished the evening off with a nice drive home talking to Michael and his wife.
  Like I always say, "Some of the best things happen on the golf course," can anyone argue with this example.  I think not, now get out there and learn to play golf!!!!!!!  I will be home in about eight months if you want a lesson.
  Sunday was all about recuperating   We went to Guangzhou and then to church.  Man, and here I was complaining to Cecelia that I wouldn't have anything to write about earlier in the week.  Like Paul and I keep saying "Everyday is an Adventure in China"!!!!!!!!!!

My beautiful girls with their Sunday Going to meeting hats on after shopping in Guangzhou.

Oh by the way, for those that I told that they would have to wait to hear about the special surprise.  Cecelia apparently told some people already so the cat is out of the bag.  In January and early February I will be sending you the blog from Thailand.  You'll have to wait for the details then.
 

What is my Chinese name again?

  Well this week I hope that my blog gives you a minute to take your mind off of the things that are happening back home.  So after this first paragraph, I promise not to talk about Elections, Taxes, Corruption, Global Warming, or The Ryder Cup(ouch!!!).  Being here we tend to get a little insulated from the minutia that is happening back home.  Even though we heard about the election and sent our votes in, we didn't have time to follow along and weren't bombarded by Fox, ABC, NBC or MSN.  So, we have heard who won and nothing has really changed in America politically.  Obama won, the House gained more seats and the Senate pretty much stayed the same.  So, what is different.  The status quo is the same.  I did hear that I am going to have to pay more taxes when I get home.  I heard that basically teachers voted to tax themselves more so that they can work.  Does that sound funny or is it just me.  I am going to pay money to the government so that I can keep working in order to pay for the tax to keep me working.  Hmmm!!!  I don't quite get that one.  I would love to have someone enlighten me on that one.  Wasn't the lottery supposed to take care of that a number of years back.  Sorry to hear about the Perfect Storm on the east coast.  The only thing about The Ryder Cup is that I don't have to hear about, or relive the pain every time I go to the golf course in Oakhurst.  I don't have people asking my opinion or for analysis here because nobody even watched the event.  The only jab I got was from Ian Poulter at the clinic for Claire.  He made a sly comment about it to the press and kids.  It didn't hurt anyone in the crowd except for me, since I was the only American on the entire golf course that day.  Stick the knife in and twist it Ian.  Even his caddy gave me a hard time.  Finally, about the corruption.  We know there is a lot of it in our politics back home, but here in China this last week they got a new President as well.  They don't go about it the same way as us obviously, but when the transition was made apparently the old president has been socking away US dollars for a rainy day.  That is a no no in China.  I think the only thing that happened to him was that he had to give one limo back.  Hmm.  Come to think about it, that does sound a little like back home.  Enough said, onto mindless things in China

TEACHING:  This week was a normal week in which I had the opportunity to teach regular classes and get back on track with the units I am working on with the kids.  Just in time for them to be gone for three days next week.  My ninth and tenth graders have China week.  They go on a three day field trip in which they do community service for a poor school and an elderly community.  They then go to a couple of museums and onto a fishing boat for a day.  They return on Friday.  So that leaves me with three days off in the middle of the week.  That would be great, if Cecelia and the girls didn't have to be at school or if Paul was back to go on a moto adventure with.  No, I am going to be in vacation purgatory.  Also, you might think "Oh I would love that", but on Saturday and Sunday I have to work at an I.B. Clinic all weekend.  Guess where the blog for next week is going to be written.  Anyway, I will come up with something to share during my time off.  Come on I already found King Cobras and a water buffalo didn't I?

ADVENTURES:  This week we didn't really have any great adventures so I decided I would share with you something that happened to Paul and I a little while ago.  Also, I am going to use this time to give you a slide show that shows a bit more pictures.
  Anyway, they have a tradition here of giving Chinese names to Expats(That's Us) while living here.  It is funny because they are allowed to choose their own English names, but we have to wait until we are given one by a Native Chinese person.  It can come to you from Chinese friends or acquintances.  Or in the case of Paul and I, it can be given spontaneously by someone you have just met.  So what happened was, we were riding the train back from Zhuhai and we met a couple of college students.  We struck up a conversation with them talking about America and various other subjects.  We shared with them about learning Mandarin and how difficult it is and they commented about how tough it was to learn English.  We had a few laughs together and then one of them asked us if we had been given Chinese names.  We said that we hadn't and they asked if they could give them to us.  Now you need to understand, Paul and I wanted to get Chinese names given to us and we thought that our students would give them to us after getting to know us better.  The Chinese name that you get is supposed be about who you are and not just on the fly, so you can understand why we were a little apprehensive.  Also, once you get your name you are supposed to keep it.  We had just met these college kids and they wanted to give us names?  Was this going to be a college prank and were we going to regret it.  Anyway, they put their heads together for a few minutes and then were ready to present us our new names.  I was first and no matter what it was going to be I was going to be polite even if my new name meant Buffaloes Ass or something like that.  Paul had told them about my buffalo encounter so I thought my new name might have something to do with that.  I would have been happy with a name like Dances With Wolves like Kevin Costner got in his movie. I was first, so I sat up straight and took my name like a man.  I was holding my breath and they said James, your Chinese name is Lou Si Wen.  When I heard them pronounce it the first time, I thought "Oh NO, not a girls name", but then they said it with slower pronunciation and I felt better.  When you sound it out it goes like this, Lo U Szi Wen.  I was even happier when they explained the meaning.  It means Gentleman.  I was so amazed at the chance encounter and the first impression that I made to merit such a honorable name.  I am proud of my name, so from now on please address me as Lou Si Wen, or Lou for short.  Oh by the way, I don't remember Paul's Chinese name but the meaning is Cute Squishy Fish or something like that.  It seems to fit him well though!!!!
  With such an uneventful week I decided that I would put a slide show together for you.  These are some of the pictures I have wanted to share, but haven't had the opportunity to, because of the lack of room in the other blogs.
  So enjoy the next few minutes and take your mind off of everything.  The pictures on the video are best viewed on a small screen.

Uh! I'll have the King Cobra for lunch please!

  To begin this week, I want to dedicate it to all of you that sent well wishes and comments regarding last week's blog.  For those of you that have been following along you know that this week began on a sad note,  but, by the end it was extremely gratifying.  So without further delay here is the blog for this week.

This week's civilized question:  Is it more civilized to have fast food restaurants that serve processed food or to have restaurants that have live animals in cages in which you point to them and then they cook it on the spot in front of you?  Hmmm!!!!

TEACHING:  Teaching this week was all about getting ready for midterms.  Monday and Tuesday I spent the time finishing up the last of the topics I wanted to get done before the exam.  Wednesday I was with Claire representing the school at The HSBC Champions event.  I will share more about that later in the blog, because I can't wait to tell you about the most exciting part about teaching this week.  On Thursday and Friday I had the distinct pleasure of Invigilating.  I commented to one of the staff members that the term Invigilator is one of the reason the colonists separated from England.  Invigilating is a very English custom.  In the states we call it proctoring. With proctoring we go sign out our tubs from Cindy Vining and then return them at the end.  When you Invigilate you go to the sign out room, get a briefcase with handcuffs attached and then walk down the hall to the classroom.  I felt like James Bond delivering secret documents.  By the way my real name is James.  Anyway the students are then all seated and a Chinese teacher comes in with the key to the handcuffs and the briefcase.  The Chinese teacher then passes out the test ten minutes before the time begins and the students just sit there facing forward.  When the time begins the students start diligently working on the exam.  While the students work on the exam, you would think that the teachers would grade papers or work on planning.  But oh no!!!  The teachers sit facing each other, one at the back of the room and the other at the front.  You are not allowed to do anything for an hour and a half.  Oh, and unlike standardized tests at home where the kids finish in fifteen minutes, these kids actually work the entire hour and a half.  So, a message to those of you that complain about the standardized testing process.  "Just shut up!!!"  Until you Invigilate you will never know the pain I felt over the three tests that I had to do.  Oh, by the way,  when you Invigilate you don't do your own class or subject.  So, when I get back to the states and do standardized testing I will do it with a cheerful smile and thank my lucky stars that I am back where testing is more like a three day vacation, rather than a stay in solitary confinement.  I occupied my time by  the way by having conversations with myself in Mandarin.  You would probably think this is a good idea, but my Mandarin skills are so limited the conversations didn't last that long.  By the way, the James Bond reference is rather fictitious, but the rules for testing are still pretty strict.  I know I shouldn't have to state the obvious, but you never know in this world today.

Ian Poulter and Martin Kaymer with Chinese Jr. Golf group.  Claire is on the far right.

Yes,  Those are red bunkers!!!

ADVENTURES:  This week's adventures begin on Wednesday.  Claire and I were chosen to represent the school at the HSBC World Champions Golf Tournament in Shenzhen.  Shenzhen is the home of the Mission Hills Golf Facility.  The Mission Hills Golf Facility is the largest golf facility in the world.  I know I mentioned in previous blogs that China doesn't do anything small and this is another example of that.  There are 22 golf courses, with 396 holes to play!!!!!!!!  Claire and I thought we had gone to golf heaven when we arrived.  It is amazingly beautiful and the golf courses are immaculate.

Guanyin, Buddhist Goddess of Mercy.  Rather appropriate for a golf course!!!

Entirely made of Marble

  We arrived very early that morning and there was some confusion as to where the clinic was going to be that morning.    Apparently we were the first participants and nobody knew what to do with us.  So to our great pleasure we were sent to the Starbucks at the resort to wait and have breakfast.  Now for those of you that know me, I have this saying.  "Good things always seem to happen to me at Starbucks".  This morning was no exception.  For those of you that are not golfers, this will be a good time for you to open a tab in Google to research, while the golfers in the group can just sit back and enjoy and imagine the scene for Claire and I.   While having my latte and Claire her hot chocolate, who should walk up but none other than Phil Mickelson.  He was dressed casually and was wearing a San Diego Padres baseball hat.  While he was waiting for his coffee, I introduced myself and asked if he wouldn't mind meeting Claire.  He said he would be delighted and spent about 5 minutes with us discussing China and North San Diego County.  He also asked Claire how she liked getting her picture taken randomly.  Claire said that she didn't mind and that it is kind of funny.  Phil mentioned that his daughter didn't like it very much.  Phil politely said that he needed to get going so we said good bye.  I was thinking to myself, how can the day get much better.  We are out of school for the day for a golf event (Which to many of you know is normal for me.  Come on, somebody has to do it.), we get Starbucks and we meet Phil Mickelson.  Well the story just keeps getting better and better.  We had just sat down to enjoy our drinks again and who should walk up to talk with some gentlemen sitting next to us, but our hometown boy Nick Watney.  Nick was there fresh off of his win the previous week, in which he beat Tiger down the stretch.  He noticed Claire when he was done talking with the men and said hello.  He then stayed and talked with us, much like Phil did.  We talked about China and how we were living here for the year and that Oakhurst was our home.  He asked Claire a few questions about the differences between China and home, as well as how her golf game was progressing.  He and I talked a little about The First Tee of Fresno.  After breakfast we wandered out into the HSBC activity center.  I hit some balls out of a bunker and Claire got a quick lesson from one of the Shenzhen instructors from their golf academy.  He was a nice lad from England named Stewart.  The instructors were all very friendly and impressed with Claire.  We finally made our way to the China Junior Golf Clinic.  The clinic was hosted by IMG and featured Ian Poulter and Martin Kaymer(Last year's Champion at this event).  Claire was in the group with Martin Kaymer and he watched her swing to analyze it.  It makes a father/coach proud that one of the premier players of the game can only suggest that she stand a little away from the ball.  Claire did very well and Martin told her that he would be watching out for her on the LPGA tour in a few years.  After the clinic, we walked around the golf courses and chatted with a few more awesome players like Luke Donald and Ernie Els.  At this tournament there are so few people that are out to watch, the players feel like they have the time to chat.  Most tournaments in the states the crowds are two to three people deep.  There was one final episode that was rather funny toward the end of the day.  There was a small group of Chinese people standing near the 17th tee to get a picture with Graeme McDowell(He was the last US Champion at Pebble Beach).  We were standing nearby while they took the picture with him.

Claire and her new coach, Martin Kaymer!!!

As soon as he walked away, they saw Claire and asked to get a picture with her as well.  I commented to Claire, "See you don't even have to win a U.S. Open to be famous, you already are famous".  She kind of snickered and gave me a little punch in the arm.  We finished our afternoon by walking to this huge marble statue that overlooks the golf courses.  I am not quite sure what it was for, but I will find out when I can.  It was a great father daughter day!!!!

Cobra for lunch Anyone?????

  The next part of my blog is about some of the finer culinary adventures that you can have while staying in China.  As I was on my scooter on the way to the driving range the next day,(I can't believe I got scooter and driving range in the same sentence. It seems like a vague theme that runs throughout my blogs)  anyway,  I was feeling the pangs of hunger during my little excursion so I decided to stop at this restaurant that I had seen on many of my travels near our home.  As I drove into the parking lot, I could see all of the tanks of seafood that were available to choose from.  So, I parked my scooter and went to take a look.  As I got closer I came to realize this was not the same as some of the other restaurants I had seen before.  It was more upscale and had more to choose from.  Not only were there tanks with every kind of seafood and fish to choose from, I was astonished to find three cages that had live snakes in them.  The two bottom cages had multi-colored snakes in them, but it was the top cage that surprised and unnerved me the most.  In it were three large King Cobras.  Now understand these cages that they are in do not have plastic on the outside to prevent people from sticking their fingers in to touch the snakes.  Also there was nothing there to prevent the King Cobra from spitting at you.  While I was there one of them was up in the traditional position with its hood open waving back and forth like it was ready to bite something or someone.  I did manage to get a picture of it without getting viper venom on me.  After seeing the snakes I was too creeped out to eat lunch there so I went to a coffee shop nearby and had a personal pan pizza.  I needed some comfort food after that shock of the cobra.  The next day I took the girls to see the restaurant.  They were creeped out as well.  We do plan on going to that restaurant one evening with a group of friends.  The group has said that when we go, we have to order non traditional dishes to share.  I don't know if I can bring myself to order the king cobra.  I may have to go with the gooeyduck.  If push comes to shove I would order the King Cobra over the Puffer Fish.  At least ordering cobra doesn't come with a waiver that you have to sign, like you do with the Puffer.  One person dies per year eating Puffer Fish on average.  Come on, can it really taste that good?  I bet it just tastes like chicken anyway.

Goungzhou Pearl River Walk Outside Symphony Hall

This was also the view from 22 floors up!!!!

  To end the week we spent  early Saturday shopping in Goungzhou together   We spent the day in Goungzhou because Cecelia and I were going to go on a romantic evening to dinner and the symphony.  When we found our hotel, the reservation was not exactly what was shown on expedia. First of all the desk clerk was arguing with me regarding the fact that I asked for two beds and not one king sized bed for our family.  Apparently, they made an exception for us and gave us the penthouse.  As we excitedly rode the elevator to the top of the hotel, we had visions of spa tubs and a spacious room with an incredible room.  Instead what we got was a small room with moldy,peeling walls, two twin beds, and a view of the backside of the hotel.  One of the things we have discovered is that you get what you pay for in China.  I thought I was getting a great deal at 535 rmb per night.  That is roughly $85.  We weren't real pleased with the room, but I booked it on Expedia and we just chalked it up as a lesson learned.  We went to go get the girls pizza for the evening.  On the way back, I told Cecelia that I wanted to go see what the rates were for the Ramada across the street.  I figured that next time we would just make a reservation there.  While talking with the front desk, they said they had a room available and that they would let me see it.  They took me to the 22nd floor and opened the curtains to the room to show me the view.  It didn't take more than a second to turn around to the bell boy and tell him that I wanted the room and to call the front desk immediately.  It may have been a rash, non thinking moment on my part, but the view and the room far surpassed the room across the street.  I called Cecelia and told her to have the girls help her pack up, because we were moving across the street.  The room cost me an additional 950 rmb($110), but it was totally worth it.  The look on Cecelia and the girls faces when they saw the view was priceless.  The view overlooked the Pearl River and the entire skyline of Guangzhou.  It also had a direct view of the Guangzhou tower.  While we got ready for dinner and the symphony, the girls set up camp in front of the picture windows.  They were going to watch movies, but the view was so amazing they couldn't break away from it.  When we left they had just ordered dessert from room service and were settling in for the night.

Small Cocktail

  Cecelia and I left the hotel dressed to the nines.  I in my fitted tux and fake Rolex feeling like James Bond with a Bond girl on my arm. ( I did mention that my real name is James didn't I?) Cecelia, was dressed in a flowing blue gown with scarf and heals, looking like Grace Kelly.  We then made our way by taxi to the restaurant where we were meeting our teacher friends that were also going to the symphony.  The restaurant was called Rendevous.  It is a French/Vietnamese restaurant right on the Pearl River.  We had an amazing meal.  I had seven courses that included scallops and a very nice steak and Cecelia had lamb chops and a salad.  We also shared a bottle of wine.  The amazing thing is that it only cost us about $60 for dinner.  We then took a cab to the symphony hall for the concert.  The symphony was excellent and featured the most animated piano soloist I have ever seen.  He was part formal pianist and lounge player all wrapped up in one. Some of his motions while playing were so exaggerated that it was rather comical.  The symphony itself was outstanding, particularly the string section.  After the concert, we hopped in another cab with one of our friends and went to the Party Pier to have a late night cocktail.  The atmosphere was amazing.  We sat in a giant wicker ball that had plastic furniture that had lights in them, that would change colors while you sat in them.  At around 12:30 Cecelia and I took our final cab ride back to the hotel.  When we got to the room we had one last look at the view before going to bed.  I commented to Cecelia, "Are we sure that we are in China?"  After the evening we had, I wasn't sure if we were in New York or San Francisco.

Leslie P. dream!!!

  The next morning we woke up and headed into the city on the metro.  We have become quite adept and getting around.  We made our way to the wholesale clothing market to buy underwear and shoes.  The shoe market would make Leslie Peterson go out of her mind. Her head might just spontaneously combust because there are so many different varieties.  Either that or she would buy so many pairs that Eric would have to get two more jobs to pay for them.  We also bought cheese and wine before we went home.
  Earlier, I mentioned that I wasn't sure if I was in New York or San Francisco.  On the way home realty struck and we knew that we weren't in either of those cities, because after a weekend like we had in which I got to pretend I was a high roller by wearing my tux, my fake Rolex (It keeps great time by the way) and treating my smoking hot wife to dinner and the symphony,  I still had money in my pocket.  A weekend like that would have cost me a couple of grand in those cities.  All told, I spent around $500.  That included the room that I had to pay for, even though we didn't stay in it.  I also forgot to mention that the symphony tickets that I paid for were the best seats in the house.  Hmmm!!! I believe I have an inkling for the next civilized or un-civilized question for next week.
  After a weekend like that, I know my mom and dad are looking down on me and saying.  "What a great son we raised, I hope he remembers to thank God for all of the great things he has been given."

 Oh, I will mom and dad, I will.  Thanks for everything that you have given me as well.  I love you both.

Birthday Wishes and Big Fish Dreams

  This week's blog is dedicated to my Dad.  Please be patient, because this one is a long one.  I think it will definitely be worth your time.

  I don't know how we do it, but it seems like we continue to pack a lot of life into each week.

Civilized or not civilized question for the week: Are you a civilized nation, if you are supposed to be like Vegas and you have a McDonald’s that closes down at night and doesn’t re-open until 7am?  Hmmmm!!!

TEACHING/SCHOOL:  This week at school was Taylor's week to shine.  She started the week off by giving a speech to the entire student body and staff.  Roughly there were 5000 people at the opening ceremonies of her sports week.  She did an awesome job and was not overwhelmed in the slightest by the large amount of people.  Cecelia and I were so proud of her.  She worked hard to memorize her speech, but they had the kids read their parts.  Cecelia and I stood with the teachers and staff.  When Taylor said the names of the Chinese students on the committee she was introducing, their was an audible sound of amazement.  Many teachers commented to us on how well she did with the Chinese.  Both Taylor and Claire are amazing at their sound pronunciation of the Chinese language.  I can't describe to you how difficult learning this language is for us adults. I commented to Taylor that I am not sure that I would have been able to speak to so many people without being really nervous.  She just shrugged and said that it was actually kind of fun.  This was nice to hear, since she was a little reluctant at first.  I can't imagine her ever being nervous about talking in front of anyone in Oakhurst, like Taylor needs an excuse to talk more.

Tay winning the 400

  After doing her speech, she then competed in two track and field events and three swimming events.  The difficult thing for her this week was that despite the fact that she is actually a fourth grader, she is in a fifth grade class and had to compete against the fifth graders.  She did well against the fifth graders, but to be fair we compared her results to the fourth grade times.  In the 400 she took first and won by two seconds.  In the 25 meter freestyle and backstroke swimming event, she beat the fifth graders and won.  Her swimming relay team got second place.  As far as her other events, she did pretty well and placed well in all of them.  On the final day of events, the afternoon was taken up by Cecelia and Taylor competing in parent/child events.  Cecelia and Taylor won four events.  They were rewarded with bars of soap and paper towels, both highly  prized in China

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Taylor Phelps winning the Freestyle!!!!

  Cecelia had a nice week.  She only taught on Monday and Tuesday.  She did go in and work occasionally, but it was on her own time.  Paul and I had regular schedules and actually I was planning for mid - terms so it was a week of review.

ADVENTURES:  This week's adventure revolves around Paul's birthday on Friday the 26th.  Initially we were going to take him out to dinner for his birthday in Goungzhou and shopping for some clothes.  But, he decided that he didn't want to spend his birthday in Goungzhou and wanted to do something more exciting, so he and I went to Macau.  So, on Friday afternoon after school was out he and I rode our scooters to the South Goungzhou Rail Station.  From there we took the fast train to north Zhuhai and then a cab to the Macau border.

  If I haven't explained to you yet, Macau is called a SAR.  Hong Kong is also a SAR.  These two countries are actually part of China, but they act independently.  So when you go into these cities you have to cross a border leaving China and then another one going into Macau.  When you do this you get two stamps in your passport going each direction.  Macau is also the Las Vegas of East Asia.  It generates  five times the revenue that Las Vegas does and is bigger.  The casinos are spread over three distinct islands.  Macau is amazingly beautiful and has quite a bit of the historic Portuguese landmarks still remaining.  When you walk around the historic part of town, you get a very European feel.

  Anyway, when Paul and I got to town we made our way to a hotel where I had made a reservation.  Apparently there was an error in my online reservation, so we did not have a room.  Now you might think that this would put a damper on the weekend, but Paul and I look at every trip as an adventure.  So he and I wandered around to a couple of other hotels and found one that made us a great deal.  Initially, they had told us 800 Macau dollars per night, but when we looked at the room Paul talked them down to 650 a night.  So in US dollars that is about $100 a night to share a room.  So what kind of room do you get in Macau for 650 a night.  Paul and I ended up describing it as a Hostel Brothel Sorority.  It was a small room with two single beds with mattresses that were hard as the wood floor we stood on.  The shower and toilet were all one fixture and the window to the room was wall papered over.  The other thing about the hotel was that it was also a massage parlor.  Our room was the only one on an entire floor of massage rooms, which you would think wouldn't be a problem after a certain time of day.  But, apparently the massage studio stays open 24 hours a day.  More to come about the Brostel Sorority.

  After Paul and I dropped our bags off in the room, we walked up to The Grand Lisboa for dinner and gambling.  Paul was really enjoying himself at dinner, because he was having a steak filet with an amazing mushroom gravy sauce, veggies, drinking a beer with his good friend and brother (me of course) and listening to Foreigners song "I Don't Want to Live Without You".  It was hard to imagine that we were in Macau and not in Vegas.

  We then made our way to the casino floor and got totally hosed at the slot machines.  When we got back to the Brostel Sorority at around midnight, Paul thought it would be good to sit in the sauna and get a massage.  At two in the morning, we finished our man spa and went to bed.  Both of us had fallen asleep on the massage table, which was a good thing since we didn't get much sleep in our dungeon.  But who needs sleep in the Vegas of the east, right?

  We did get up at around 9 and headed out for breakfast at McDonald's.  Nothing like Macaroni, Sausage and Egg Combo to start your day off right.  We then did a bit of site seeing and at some of the old Portuguese landmarks.  We finally made it to the Wynn casino.  This was one of our main objectives, because it is the only place we have been able to find a good cigar.  A couple of Romeo and Juliet cigars for later in the evening and we were off to the casino floor.  Without much success at the Wynn, we headed to the MGM Grande to gamble and go to Octoberfest for dinner.  Again we just got killed on the gambling floor so we took our bruised pocketbooks to Oktoberfest.  On the way to Oktoberfest we walked by the most amazing seafood buffet that we had ever seen.  There was this glass that had racks of ice with seafood piled on top of it.  There were whole scallops, oysters, shrimp, snails, and sushi.  The final selling point to us was the piles of Atlantic Lobsters.  Oktoberfest then became an after thought.  There were other amazing things at the buffet and they were equally as good as the seafood buffet.  We stuffed ourselves full, topped it off with a nice Shiraz and then headed back to the hotel while smoking our fine cigars.  On the way, we stopped and enjoyed a water and light show at the Wynn.  It was an exquisite evening.  The city really comes alive at night, as you can imagine.  In the old Portuguese square we took some pictures with some friends and then headed back to try and get a decent nights sleep.  We had planned on getting up early the next morning and catching a train.  Paul also wanted to try to catch the Oregon Duck game that was going to be on early.

  We actually went to bed at a decent hour.  Right around ten, but sleep was not to be in the cards.  The Brostel was hopping.  We maybe dozed until around 12 and then the fun started.  Paul's back started to bother him so he got up.  Then the mother hen of the Brostel came up and started yelling at the girls that are masseuses there.  This went off and on for about two hours.  Finally I got up and was answering some email until about 3 am.  I told Paul it was pointless and we packed up and headed out to find a goof wi fi connection.  We were not successful at the first casino, so we walked up to the Grande Lisboa.  While at the Grande Lisboa we got some news that would change our lives forever.  Paul received a phone call from his wife Shannon informing us that our dad had died that evening.  We then spent the rest of the morning getting a hold of family on Skype to try and help take care of things.  It is probably an understatement to say that it is difficult to take care of business from the other side of the world.  Fortunately  for Paul and I, we have two outstanding brothers that are working to take care of business in our absence.

  Some of you may be wondering why I would save a piece of information like this for the end of the blog.  The reason is, because my Dad would have wanted it that way.  At no time in my life have I felt so good about someone passing away.  I know that may sound strange, but what I mean is that my Dad and I had a long talk before we came to China. He told me in no uncertain terms that if something were to happen to him while  we were away, we were not to come back.  My Dad was extremely proud of Paul and I for taking the risk to come here.  He was following the blog every week and was getting a lot of enjoyment out of our adventure.  My Dad must of had a premonition, because even as of a few weeks ago when we had a nice Skype conversation he reiterated the same instructions.  I feel comfortable that my Dad is in heaven with my Grandparents and Mother.  The next section is a tribute to my Dad.

SAM OETINGER:  To describe my Dad, I am going to give you first a brief synopsis of a movie called "The Big Fish".  "The Big Fish" is the story of a son that has a difficult time relating to his dying father.  The son feels that he never gets the whole truth from the stories his father would tell.  In the end when the Dad dies all the people that he told stories about came to his memorial.  They had been embellished a bit in the stories, but who they were was true.  So, my Dad was "The Big Fish".

  Growing up in our house was a rather interesting experience.  We were like rolling stones.  You can ask Wes, Paul and I and we will probably tell you different versions of how many schools we attended, but I know for sure that I attended 19 different schools before I graduated from high school.  Those 19 schools included a two and a half year stay at San Dieguito High School in Encinitas, CA.  Mike can tell you about the many schools he attended, but mom and dad had settled down a bit more for him.

  Anyway, the reason that we moved so much was because my Dad was trying to do the best he could to provide for his family.  I know this, because he and I didn't exactly see eye to eye on certain things and during a rather tumultuous time in my early adult life we had our very first heart to heart that changed our relationship for ever.  You see, I was much like the son of "The Big Fish".  My dad had told me so many stories I didn't know what to believe and I blamed him for a lot of things that happened while growing up.  It was at that time that he told me about what he had tried to accomplish while I was still living with them and apologized for not helping me more with college and all of the responsibility he had heaped on my as a young boy.  I realized then that the man wasn't afraid of hard work and was always looking for the next best thing to help him with supplying for his family.  When my dad got involved in the movie industry the stories he told us were way out there, but for the most part true.  I will never forget when we moved to California from Eugene, OR.  The six of us drove during the summer in a Chevy Vega station wagon with no air conditioning through the Central Valley to meet this guy named Chuck Norris in Hollywood.  I will never forget the day that I met a young Chuck Norris.  My Dad had been hired to promote this movie called "Good Guys Wear Black".  I am convinced to this day that if wasn't for my dad's hard work, Chuck's career would not have gotten off the ground as fast as it did.  Now, don't misunderstand me, Chuck Norris was going to be a big star no matter what, but because of my dad's hard work his career took off like a meteor.  I remember driving with my dad out to the most obscure towns in the middle of the Central Valley and Mojave area to deliver the film cans for the movies at some podunk drive in theater.  Those damn film cans were heavy, man.  There were times I hated lugging those stupid things around.  From that point I kind of lost track of what my dad was doing in the industry.  I was experiencing the angst of those teenage years.

  Occasionally I would get involved with what he was doing.  We got invited to go sailing on Thanksgiving Day out of Corona Del Mar on some rich guy's 60 ft. sail boat, but I don't remember who it was.  Over time as I was beginning college and moving out on my own he would tell me about some thing he was doing, but ignorantly I felt like he was just flaunting money and throwing names around.  One time, while he was working in Utah he came into L.A. for a meeting and asked me to meet him for dinner.  We met at some restaurant called The Brown Derby.  He was excited about our meeting, but I was still pissed at him for breaking his promise about helping with college so I didn't really appreciate what I was experiencing.  When I finally grew up and became my own man, proud of my accomplishments for the sake of me doing them and understanding where he came from I started to experience some of the great people he had told us about.  I had heard stories about Burt Reynolds, Dom Deluise, Jerry Reed(The Waterboy).  One day I went to visit mom and day in Vegas.  We were sleeping in a motor home in the parking lot of some casino and Dom Deluise comes banging on the door to play a practical joke on my parents.  I couldn't believe it.  My mom had a special relationship with Michael Landon up until his death from cancer.  Finally, all of my dad's stories really came to life when Cecelia and I moved to Oakhurst.  We were looking to relocate and my dad set us up to meet a friend of his that lived in the area.  We arrived in Oakhurst and were shown around town by Richard Keel.  If you don't remember Richard Keel, he was best known for his role as Jaws in the James Bond movies with Roger Moore.  He was larger than life.  He put us up in a bed and breakfast in Ahwahnee, introduced us to the principal at Wasuma and treated us to dinner.  He was a huge part of why we moved to Oakhurst.  The thing that most impressed me about Richard Keel was that he wasn't just an acuaintence.  He and his wife genuinely spoke about the friendship that they had with my mother and father.  I had never heard any stories about my dad working with Richard.  Richard shared a few amazing stories about my dad.  When my mom passed away, the Keels sent a note of condolence.

  So you see, to me my dad used to just tell tall tales and I didn't believe him.  He would always embellish everything to make it sound important.  Even as he got out of the business and moved to different things he would always make everything sound so much bigger than it really was.  We used to tease him about how he should become a tour guide because of the great stories he could bring up off the top of his head.

  Recently I was with a group of men that could talk fondly about what they had in common with their dads.  I felt envious because even now I have felt like what ever I have done in my life has come from my own efforts, through my faith in God, and hard work.  I would never attribute any of that to my father.

  That changes from this day forth.  In thinking about my dad, I give him credit for giving me the drive to look for the next thing that will help my family.  I thank him for being "The Big Fish", because I am one of his "Little Fish".  I may not embellish as much as him, but I do exaggerate and have a creative mind.  This blog is a perfect example of that.  Finally, I give him credit for instilling a work ethic in me that helps me to work hard and be proud of my accomplishments. In his nearly 70 years of life, he experienced quite a few amazing things and I appreciate that wonder of discovery that he and my mom shared with us.  Why do you think my family is living in China and experiencing this right now?

  Thanks Dad for giving us the ability to take risks in life.  I love you and am happy that you had the opportunity to have two loving women in your life.  You were lucky to have Mom and Chris to share your life with.

  Finally, as I was snuggling with Taylor tonight before she went to sleep she asked me if I was going to be alright.  I told her I was great, because I believe that her grandpa is in heaven with my Grandparents and his wife.  She said that she had seen two butterflies together today and that they looked like they were dancing for joy.  When my mom died and we had a memorial for her, a huge swallow tailed butterfly landed on my head and stayed there for a long time.  Since then, we have always associated that butterfly with my mom.  You can make your own connection for what Taylor and Claire saw today.  I know I have my own conclusion.