Easter in the East

My attempt at Photographic Artwork.  I call this one "Crazy Girls in the Rain"

  Just as Mary Magdalene found the tomb open and Jesus gone ahead of Peter and the disciple Jesus loved,  we have rushed ahead of you and found the tomb empty as well.  But, unlike Mary, Peter and that disciple we are fortunate to know the meaning of that cold and silent rock chamber on Easter morning.  So we wish you a glorious Easter with the full meaning of "He is Risen" being shouted out to you from China!!!!  Happy Easter to all of you and we hope you have as an outstanding day as we did.
  On top of my joyous shout of Alleluia on Easter to you, I want to send a big thank you as well.  It probably doesn't matter much to anybody else, but I reached the 5000 read milestone.  This doesn't mean that I get any monetary benefits or anything like that, but when I started this blog I thought maybe there would be a few hundred people from back home that would read it out of courtesy.  But, currently I have people reading from all over the world.  It has really been something that I have taken great enjoyment and pride in doing.  So, thank you again for all the support and I hope to continue to give you some great stuff to read about.  So with that being said, onto the topics of the week.

This is actually about 4 o'clock in the afternoon.

SCHOOL:  This week was a rather interesting week.  The reason being is that I have had a few teachers and friends ask me how living in China is going to change the way I look at things.  The first answer as it relates to school is this.  Never again will I listen to some inflated story about how great the other kids  in other countries are doing in comparison to standardized tests throughout the world.  Never again will I believe stories talking about how much better Asian students are at Math and Science.  Now don't get me wrong, I still think our students at home should be working to do better in these subjects and we should promote the innovation that goes along with them.  Also, do I believe our kids can learn to have a better work ethic that competes with the rest of the world, definitely.  But in the end when it comes to test scores I will be a scoffer.
  After all of that you are scratching your head and thinking, here he goes again jumping up on the soapbox.  I am not, I am just going to tell you what is going on over here.  I am very frustrated teaching in 10th grade, because for the next six weeks I am not really teaching.  The process over here is to give students samples of the exact exam that they are going to be taking in six weeks.  Each week they get a new exam, they take it like a practice test the first two days of the week and then we give them the answers on Wednesday.  We then spend the next two days going over the answers that they got incorrect.  So, I guess going over the answers is teaching, but for six weeks really?  To me this is not teaching, this is the worst example of teaching to the test.  I am not teaching to the test, I am teaching the test.  No wonder they do so well on all of their testing.  Can you imagine what our test scores would be like in California if we got copies of the exact tests for the HSEE or CST's and went over them for six weeks?  Our test scores should go up, just by Osmosis.  My kids in class even got upset because I was still teaching the objectives that I was supposed to cover and not doing what the Chinese classes were doing.  I also had a Chinese teacher tell me that if a student fails, it is the fault of the teacher.  I told him that I was sorry that he felt that way, but I didn't feel his sentiment.  On top of that I showed to him how the homework scores of my four lowest students corresponded with how well they did on the practice exams.  The point I made to him and the other Chinese teachers struck a chord with them. They don't keep homework grades so they don't have anything to correlate with their exam scores.  There was no further discussion on this topic after I shared with them.  Anyway, I do enjoy my 9th grade class because they are not caught up in the testing frenzy.
  Cecelia, Claire and Taylor had pretty normal weeks.  The only thing that is bothering Cecelia is that she is being observed by a plethora of Chinese teachers.  The fifth grade teachers become the first grade teachers next year and they are trying to suck in as much as they can from the best, while she is still here.

On our way to the Railway Station and Metro

ADVENTURES:  This week's adventure is based around the week of Easter.  On top of that, the rainy season has begun.  It didn't come in a mild mannered way.  It rolled in like a brigade of tanks all at once.  One day, it is nice and sunny with a slight breeze and then the next it is dark and rainy with thunder and lightning like Zeus himself is sitting above our community throwing the lightning bolts himself.  It is actually quite cool.  The thunder and lightning shows are more spectacular that all the fireworks on Chinese New Year.  On top of that I have experienced a phenomenon here like none other.  As the storms roll in, usually in the late morning or early afternoon, the sky becomes darker than I have ever seen.  Literally at 10 in the morning on Thursday, the storm rolled in so dark and furious that it obliterated the sun.  When I mean obliterated the sun, I mean 10 am became 10 pm.  It got so dark that the street lights in the neighborhood around school came on and the evening lighting in the halls did as well.  The thunder and lightening then came crashing down on us.  It was quite the light show.  Finally the rain came in sheets.  There was so much water coming off the roof of my classroom that it looked like I was looking through the backside of a waterfall.  To put it into one word, it was AWESOME!!!!!!  The storms come in so fast that I was caught off guard the other day while riding my bike out to the golf course.  When I started off it wasn't raining.  I got about halfway and there was a little mist.  Three quarters of the way there, it started to get a little heavier so I waited under a road overpass.  The precipitation came and went so I headed out again.  I went up onto the bridge and got about half way across when I was struck in the side of the face with the largest raindrop I had ever experienced.  It felt like getting hit by a water balloon.  It literally exploded on the side of my face and soaked my neck and right shoulder.  Oh, but that was only the beginning.  After being assaulted by the sky I began riding for my life.  I had about 100 yards of bridge to make it to the other side and shelter.  Unfortunately the sky had other ideas.  Within 50 yards I was barraged by a sky that empty like a 50 gallon drum being poured over my head.  By the time I made it to the end of the bridge and sanctuary I was soaked from head to toe all the way to the bone.  The only saving grace, is that despite the rain it is still 75 to 80 degrees.  I think I mentioned it once before, but it is still a strange feeling to be sweating and getting rained on at the same time.
 

The view from the first seat in the Church

  The highlight of the week was Easter.  We had a wonderful day.  The Easter Bunny arrived with his usual punctuality.  The girls received candy and socks.  I know, sounds like Christmas doesn't it.  The socks were not your typical socks.  They were crazy socks with different colors and the girls loved them.  We then got ready early and scootered over to the South Railway station to catch the metro to Guangzhou.  After getting to the railway station and then riding the metro for about 25 minutes we arrived at our favorite breakfast places, Starbucks.  At Starbucks we had a leisurely breakfast of lattes, hot chocolate and breakfast sandwiches and danishes.  With our bellies full of yummy goodness we headed out for our walk to church.

Father John and the girls on Easter.  Notice the name of the Church.

  Church was fabulous.  The choir sang like angels and Father John had a great message about our sinful souls dying with Christ and being reborn as new children of God.  The smell of the lilies on the altar and the roses outside the open window I was sitting next to added to the glorious morning.  Even though the sky was grey and threatening, our spirits soared like it was a brand new morning with fresh air and blue skies.
  After church we walked a few blocks and went to the art gallery/espresso shop that I mentioned a couple of weeks ago.  We all had a wonderful time sitting on plush couches sipping our espresso drinks and reading.  Even though we were all reading separate books, it was great family time just being cozy. (I know the guys in the audience are going, "Oh man really", but it is really cool hanging out with three blondes in a coffee shop.)
  The espresso/art gallery captured our attention for about an hour before we headed out to one of our favorite restaurants for lunch.

Claire getting comfortable

  The restaurant is called Rendezvous.  It is a French/Vietnamese restaurant that serves amazing food.  At lunch the orders ranged from Curry, to Lamb, and a nice Filet.  You can't beat the price as well.  I had a five course meal that cost about $20.  My meal at home would have cost a minimum of at least $60.
  After lunch we went home and hung out the rest of the evening.  All and all a great day.
  Finally, I want to let you know that we send prayers for all of you regularly and looked forward to seeing you when we return.

These are part of the reason Easter is so special to me.  I thank the Lord for them daily.

   If I have mentioned it please forgive me, but we will be returning home around mid July.  We love and miss all of you.

Magical Birthday Wishes in Hong Kong!!!!

At the Magic Kingdom.  What is the main difference between this photo and if we took it back home in Anaheim?

 This week I am going to start by saying that I am not a real big fan of the stretch between the middle of February and the end of March.  I don't know what it is, but the months seem to stretch on forever.  Maybe that is why St.Valentine and St. Patrick have holidays during this time of year.  Things need to be livened up a bit.  It could also be as simple as the kids have been driving us crazy at school for seven weeks in a row.  I mean come on, they even do Lent during this time of year.  What do you think that means?
  Anyway to get out of the duldrums of March we decided we would celebrate Taylor's birthday early.  We were not sure in June that we would be able to do what she wanted so this week was it.  Enjoy, because we definitely did.

SCHOOL:  Well after my rant last week about the drama that went on at school regarding Taylor, things quieted down a bit.  The school actually listened and did something to help take care of her classes.  Before you faint where you stand, someone did actually listen to me.  I know it is hard to believe, but I can make a clear, concise and relevant argument sometimes.  The school hired our friend Jenny from Wisconson to teach the class at lunch everyday.  On top of that, Taylor will visit my partner Pippa's class to do projects with the 9th graders three days a week.  She is much happier and will be challenged in her English.  The class started right out of the gate with a report on a Holiday.  She spent the rest of the week doing research and creating a PowerPoint presentation for her class.  For the rest of  us, things were quite normal.

ADVENTURES:  After another week at school we were ready to get out of Dodge.  While Cecelia tutored a couple of twin boys on Saturday, Claire, Taylor and I were invited to morning tea with my friend David.  Morning tea is a great family affair that we have really come to enjoy.  The food is great, the conversation, both Chinese and English is interesting and we always meet new people.  Tay really enjoyed tea this time because she met a little girl that she became fast friends with.  Her new friend's name is Ni Ni and she is the daughter of one of my other golfing friends, Mr. Zhou.  Mr. Zhou is a corporate attorney in Shunde.  I know, I couldn't believe it either when I first heard that he was an attorney.  You mean they actually have laws here and it isn't a totalitarian government.  That last part was for my friends that keep asking me the stereotypical question, "So how is it living in a Communist Country, better Red than Dead right?"  Yes, I still have friends that ask me those kinds of questions, despite the blogging I have done.  Mr. Zhou and I have played golf a number of times and have really enjoyed the time together.  He is very funny and a great companion on the golf course.  Even though I don't understand him when he tells jokes out on the golf course, he always makes me feel included in the conversation despite our language differences.
  After morning tea we went home and the girls took over for Cecelia.  Part of the job is that the girls play with the boys for an hour.  They usually play soccer in the street or watch a movie in English together.  Tutoring is good for the girls.  It makes them have to think about being descriptive in their own language.

The Four Points Sheraton, Excellent!!!!

  After tutoring we took off for the Guangzhou South Railway Station to catch the fast train to Shenzhen.  The adventure we were doing this weekend was in Hong Kong and we wanted to spend the night in Shenzhen and then leave for Hong Kong the next day.  We caught the train and rode it to the metro in Shenzhen.  I am still amazed at how fast it goes, I never tire of traveling close to 200 miles an hour on the ground.  It is kind of a rush just thinking about it.  After arriving in Shenzhen, we took the metro to a place called Fumin.  We had scoped out a hostel in the area that advertised a two bedroom apartment for about $50 a night.  I had a map, but didn't have the exact address.  We made it to the area that we were looking for, but could not find the hostel.  I remembered what the entrance to the place looked like, but could not find a sign or anything designating the place.  In the end, after searching for about 45 minutes we gave up and headed for the border.  As I have mentioned before we enjoy walking to explore cities.  So we meandered about half way to where we thought we needed to go.  We then stopped into an espresso shop that had wi fi and got our bearings.  After a short break and cup of coffee we headed out and found a cab to the Sheraton Four Points hotel that overlooks the crossing to Hong Kong.  It was a lot more expensive, but absolutely worth it.  It had so many great amenities that we talked about just going to the hotel to stay in it for a few days.  On top of all the amenities and the nice beds, the hotel had three really nice restaurants that varied in price depending on what you wanted to spend.  We made a reservation to have dinner at 8:30 and then went to use the pool and spa services.
  Now you may be wondering why we went to dinner so late.  Well the hotel was participating in the Earth Day 60+ Challenge.  The Earth Day 60+ Challenge was a challenge for people to turn all of their power off for one hour starting at 8:30 pm in China.  So, the restaurants were giving an additional 25% off of your dinner if you participated by turning off your power to your room and having dinner at that time.  Of course we were more than happy to participate.  So how many of you participated? 

Claire and Taylor got confused and thought we said Symphony instead of Disney.

  We returned  to the restaurant at our scheduled time.  Now when we went to the restaurant we didn't want to be too extravagant but there was a buffet that looked really incredible.  It also included wine so we decided to go ahead and splurge.  The dinner was great.  It had quite a bit of seafood and beef, which made Taylor happy.  She had wanted a steak for dinner anyway.  As we were eating dinner, I finished my first plate and went back to peruse the buffet for something new to eat.  While perusing I was checking out the desserts and lifted the lid on the bread putting container and scalded my wrist from the steamer.  It wasn't a big deal but I did need some ice to cool.  The management was very concerned and I told them that I was fine.  They brought me some Chinese medicated cream to put on the burn and were hovering so much that it was almost annoying.  I think I met every person in charge except for the owner of Sheraton.  When dinner was finished and they brought us the bill, the manager came and told us that the girls meals were free.  They also gave us an additional 15% off of the meals for Cecelia and I.  Even though I insisted that they didn't have to give us the break on dinner they still wouldn't let us leave without doing it.  So, I guess taking one for the team this time was worth it, but I wouldn't recommend it, the burn hurt like hell.  Thank goodness for the Chinese cream.  The next day there was a spot where I was burned, but it didn't hurt anymore.

Entrance to Hong Kong walking port

  By this time in the story you may still be wondering where we were going, but we got up the next morning and headed for Hong Kong Disneyland.  Of course we still had to make our way through the border and maneuver the metro system.  When we finally arrived at the Disneyland subway line you could definitely feel the presence of the Magic Kingdom.  One thing that you need to understand is that Hong Kong Disneyland is built out in the middle of nowhere.  They have to have their own spur on the subway line to get the people to the park.  The subway train is definitely Disney.  When it arrived the metro train had pixie dust on the outside and the windows were in the shape of Mickey's head.  On the inside the seats are plush blue valour and the handholds are in the shape of Mickey's head.  To top it off there are bronze statues of the Disney characters in alcoves of the train.  When we arrived at the station, it reminded me of an old English style train station, much like the one in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.  As you reach the top of the stairs, there is a huge open walkway that leads to a giant fountain that has Mickey surfing atop a whale spout.
  As you enter the park, other than the sign that says Hong Kong Disneyland it feels like being home in California.  The weather was great and everything is the same as being at home.  I have a friend named Larry who is a Disneyland officianado.  I would have loved to have him there with me to tell me if Main Street is the same.  It looked the same to me with the period shops on each side of the street leading to the plaza and Cindarella's castle.  Oh, wait Taylor just corrected me, it isn't Cinderella's castle, it is Sleeping Beauty's place.  I must be a real idiot to not be able to tell the difference between two princesses' castles.  Whatever, the plaza ends with someone's castle just like the one in Anaheim.  The park then branches off into the different sections, Tomorrowland, Fantasyland and Andventureland.  We started our day in Tomorrowland at Space Mountain.  The ride is basically the same, but has some modern twists to it.  The differences I noticed were that the roller coaster cars had speakers in the headrests to make the sound bigger and the pictures and video inside the mountain have actual pictures of planets and stars.  I missed the giant chocolate chip cookie floating in the air from the Space Mountain in Anaheim.

You can understand why we felt like we were so close to home, see what it says on the last line.

 We then made our way to Adventureland and Grizzly Gulch.  We wanted to ride Big Thunder Mountain before it got too crowded.  This was my favorite roller coaster.  It was very exciting and had a great element of surprise.  At one point the roller coaster is being pulled up to the top of a hill as many of them do.  You could hear the clacking sound as you were pulled skyward, but just before you get to the top they have a pulley break lose and you begin flying backwards.  It really gave you the impression that the roller coaster had broken and you were plummeting  backward into the car coming from behind.  Fortunately the coaster is diverted to another track and eventually ends up in a cave where a  momma and baby bear are trying to get some food while standing on a keg of Dynamite.  The resulting comedy of errors by the two bears ends up igniting the Dynamite and shooting the roller coaster out of the cave at a couple of G's.  The girls loved it so much that they rode it four times.  Of course I only rode once because I had to take photos.  Aw the sacrifices I make for the sake of my blog.  Actually to tell the truth, I am just not the roller coaster rider that I used to be, I get dizzy and too nauseas.  I don't understand why I have a hard time riding them now.  I used to love to ride them over and over again.  I hate to admit it, but it probably has something to do with age.
  After riding roller coasters we hit the Lion King show, which was spectacular by the way.  We also enjoyed our ride on the Jungle Cruise.  While in Adventure Land the one ride we missed that they didn't have was the Pirates of the Caribbean.

Come on, don't I look like I could be a King?

  The rest of the day we meandered around Fantasy Land and Tomorrow Land again.  While in Fantasy Land we did do our traditional rides on the Carousel and It's a Small World.  If I asked 10 of you could you sing all the words to It's A Small World?  Think about it, I will bet most of you can't remember word for word.
  Of course I had to make another attempt at getting that damn sword out of the stone.  I was denied being king once again.  I don't understand what the deal is, my wife says I am the king of our castle.  Anyway, the girls wanted to ride Space Mountain one last time before we headed for Main Street to do some shopping.  We finished our shopping and headed home.
  The main difference for us coming from the US and growing up with Disneyland is that this park is definitely dedicated to the Disney experience.  What I mean by that is that there were a lot of great things for little kids and there is an entire section of the park dedicated to meeting the characters.  The reason that it didn't seem as crowded to us was because we spent a lot of time on the big kid rides and most of the people that were there, stood in line to see characters or ride on Dumbo.  This park did feel fresher and new, but it was still a little slice of home for us.  It was a great weekend overall.
  Have a great week and just remember April and Easter are only a few days away.  I look forward next week to sharing the celebration of our risen Lord with you from China.
 Finally enjoy this Disney slide show and Happy Spring Everyone!!!!!

Intrigue and Hidden Agendas in China!!

More than just Temples in China

  OK, before you start thinking that we have been thrust into a spy novel here in China, we haven't.  We just work at a school, like many of our teacher friends.  I swear to you that they should make a reality TV show about teaching.  It doesn't matter where you work, whether it is in the United States or in China.  The same types of things happen, because people are involved.  Man, I think that sometimes we would have been better off, if God had chosen Elephants to be the smart ones.  Anyway, here is a little bit of the intrigue that has gone on this week.

SCHOOL:  This week found us going along our merry way, teaching and going to school as normal.  Unfortunately, Taylor has lost her favorite and best English teacher this semester.  We have been waiting around for her replacement for the last couple of weeks.  Apparently he isn't coming because he cannot get out of his current contract until September.  Obviously this doesn't do Taylor any good.  After a couple of things that happened I had to finally step in and get involved.
  I am jumping ahead, so I will digress a little bit, because I need to give you a little bit of background.  If I haven't mentioned it before, part of the contracts that Cecelia and I signed included a provision that our children's education would be truly international and that we would be paying 20%.  I initially negotiated to not take more money and to have the school not charge us anything, but the school didn't want to do that.  So when we arrived in the fall our kids were to be placed in international classes where they are taught in English and then have a Chinese class as well.  Sounds reasonable right?  Well, it didn't work out that way.  Claire has pretty much an international education with a few shaky teachers, but with her we have had that in the past as well.  Poor Taylor on the other hand has been placed in a situation in which most of her core subject classes are taught in Chinese.  So, Cecelia and I have been home schooling her a bit.  We work together to do her Math and English.  She then had this wonderful English teacher that would do special projects with her and about 14 other students that speak, write and read English well.  She was happy and doing well, but then came the end of the semester and we find that we lost the great teacher.  Now I probably wouldn't have had a problem with the situation if they had a teacher ready to go when the semester began, but they didn't.  Especially in PYP, the teachers are told who the VIP students are and they get special treatment. We found out that Tay lost her English teacher because the school is servicing some of those VIP students and trying to implement leveled reading in first grade.  Taylor's old teacher is teaching one student for eight periods a week and then spending four periods doing reading groups for the higher level readers in year one. What set me off was that some grand kids of someones nephew's, sister's, cousin's, brother or something like that were admitted into the advanced reading group because they were VIPs instead of purely by their reading levels.  That was the straw that broke the camels back for me.
  You all know me, I am not one to just sit back and take things as they are if it isn't right.  So, I simply went into the foreign affairs office and calmly stated that I feel like my daughter is a VIP and that the school has violated our contracts.  All I requested is that we not be charged for Taylor's tuition, or to work out the problem in a timely manner.  I also mentioned that the cost of my services for all of the changes that they are making has just gone up drastically.  So much so, that I equated it to the amount of money that the parents of the VIPs have in the bank.  Now, I know that sounds like I am making myself more important than I really am, but I have spent a bit of time writing papers, sitting in meetings and discussing the changes that they don't really want to make, without any compensation.  I have done it because I enjoy working with a few of the people that are in charge of the project and I believe this school could really be better with some dynamic changes.  This school lives off of its reputation, but has lost sight of the fact that they are starting to get pressured by other international schools in the area.  Besides, Taylor's education and happiness are most important to us.
  The ironic thing, is that during my interview last April, the staff member that interviewed me was worried about me coming and wanting to make changes.  I told them then, that all I wanted to do was come to China and have an experience with my family and teach.  I mentioned that I would sweep floors for them if they wanted me to do that as well.  I was really looking forward to not having any extra curricular garbage.  I really don't know how I get sucked into this stuff.  I know that they say that your problems follow you wherever you go.  Trust me I have looked in the mirror, I really don't think I brought this one on myself.  I am just defending my daughter, isn't that what I am supposed to do?
  Well enough of that.  So now we can get on to the reason we came to China in the first place.  The culture and experience.  I didn't want you to get the impression that everything is beautiful through rose colored glasses.

Come on you have to let me share some golf!!!

ADVENTURE:  This week we had a pretty ordinary week, except I played in another Chinese golf tournament.  So, you may think of this as just another story about golf, but it has its pitfalls.
  I took the day off on Friday and went with my Chinese friend David.  We went out to a golf course near Xipiquio Mountain Park.  It was located in a city called Gao Ling.  The drive took us about an hour to get there, but was nice.  This was the first time I had truly seen mountains here in China.  Living in a giant delta, it is difficult to see anything taller than a hill around our home.  It was amazing  how quickly the mountains thrust themselves out of the ground.  One minute we were in a flat delta area and then the next I was next to a 2500 to 3000 ft. peak.  It was a very overcast and misty day so I didn't get an opportunity to see the place in detail.  Cecelia and I have wanted to go visit the Mountain Park they have there, but everyone says to wait for the rain to come first.  Apparently there are amazing water falls and streams there after the rainy season.  They also have the largest Guanyin Statue on mainland China.  It is even bigger than the one we saw in Hong Kong.

Confucius in the clubhouse, or is it Confusion?

  When we finally arrived at the golf course I was not impressed.  The entrance was not very nice and when we got to the clubhouse they were doing construction.  The golf course had been built in 1997 and  is currently being renovated.  The driving range is a platform with green mats on it built over the edge of a lake. We didn't get to warm up, but I wasn't sure that I cared to after seeing that you hit off the mats into the water and the balls float.  I guess taking a few swings wouldn't have hurt.
  After having a quick lunch of you guessed it, Chinese food we headed out to the course.  Out on the course my attitude changed completely.  The course was outstanding and very difficult.  The reason it was so difficult was that it was a mountain course with narrow fairways and lots of elevation changes.  On top of that I have never seen a golf course in which there are so many out of bound stakes.  I am not sure the course superintendent understands the concepts of using the appropriate stakes to define certain areas of the golf course.  Maybe they just ran out of red paint from Chinese New Year.  They had out of bounds on the edge of cliffs, separating fairways and encircling par threes.  There was one par three that had so many white stakes that I thought it was stadium seating for the crowd that was supposed to be there watching.  I only experienced the white demons a couple of times.  Surprisingly I played very well and had a wonderful time playing with my partners.  Apparently it was a team/individual tournament.  Our team played pretty well and in the end I think I shot like 76 or 77.

They tell me it costs about $150 to play here.  Thank goodness I got to play for free!!!

  Upon returning to the clubhouse I changed, took a shower and finally looked at my phone.  To my chagrin I had a number of texts from Cecelia letting me know that I needed to get to Guangzhou as soon as possible.  I had her ATM card and she had no money for the birthday party that she was going to in the city.  I was going to meet her after the golf tournament, but she needed money to buy the birthday present and to order dinner.  She was worried that I would not get there before the dinner ended.  I called her immediately to let her know that we were done and then we were leaving immediately.  To make matters worse my phone ran out of minutes while I was talking to her, so I could only receive calls and texts but not respond.

   I let my playing partners know my predicament and we rushed off immediately to the after party dinner.  Of course I wasn't going to be staying for dinner and I let them know that I would be catching a cab as soon as we arrived at our destination.  We were making good time and I was feeling like I was going to be alright, until we received a call in the car while driving.  My friend David then informed me that I needed to attend the dinner, because I had won a prize.  I still wasn't going to attend, because I figured that I would just have David pick it up for me.  One thing that you need to understand is that over the last few months I have been working with a couple of the Chinese businessmen in the area and have been very concerned about insulting someone because of not knowing the culture.  So, at a lunch meeting I asked my friend David to coach me in this area.  With that said, David looked me straight in the eye and said, "This is one of those times in which you need to attend, I will get you out as soon as I can."  I said alright and we made our way to the dinner.  It was being hosted in a grand ballroom of one the large hotels near our home.  Fortunately when we sat down I got a text from Cecelia saying that the bus was really slow and that it took her an hour and a half to get to Guangzhou.  The party had not started yet, so I figured I had about a half an hour to spare.  Dinner started with flair.

Now that is the way I like to start off dinner.  It doesn't help to absorb Brandy very well though!!

  There was a large ice sculpture for each table with sashimi covering the ice below.  We were served dinner quickly and then the presentations started.  The great thing about Chinese golf tournaments is that once things get going it goes pretty quick, unlike compared to the United States in which the dinner, raffles and speeches drag on for hours.  As the ceremony continued on they called up the closest to the hole, longest drive and the guys who had the best score for 9 holes.  I figured I was in the running for one of the back nine scores, since one of my playing partners was one of the front 9 recipients.  Finally all of the back nine awards were given out and I just figured I had won a raffle prize or something.  The last of the prizes were given out and they called two guys up onto the stage and gave them large crystal trophies.  I was starting to think there was a mistake when the music got louder and the announcer shouted out my name.  Apparently, I am the Champion for the year.  I was shocked and David was lifting me out of my chair and pushing me to the podium at the front of the banquet hall.  I made my way to the stage and there was lots of hand shaking, slaps on the back, picture taking and toasts with Brandy.  To tell you the truth I don't honestly know how I won, because I don't know who was keeping score.  Anyway, after leaving the stage there was much toasting at the various tables and many Chinese calling out my name and raising their glasses to me.  They also shouted something out in Chinese, but it happened so fast I can't rightly tell what anyone said.  In the end, I finally had a moment to sit down and David let me know that it was OK for me to leave then.  Before leaving I had David go with me so that I could thank his uncle and the directors of the tournament for allowing me to participate.  In a Brandy induced fog I made my way down to the street and jumped into a cab.  I managed to tell the driver on my own in Chinese where I wanted to go and off we went.  It took about 45 minutes to get to Guangzhou and I was thankful for the break.  It gave my head a little bit of time to clear before finding Cecelia and the gang at the restaurant.  The rest of the evening was spent sharing stories of the week and of my supposed victory.  I even drank beer out of the crystal trophy.  The trophy has some Chinese writing on it that is supposed to say Champion of the year, I just hope it doesn't say something like "Number one village idiot".
  The rest of the weekend was pretty quiet.  We just hung out on Saturday and then went to church on Sunday.  We had a very pleasant walk to church on Sunday and made a couple of discoveries along the way.  I have added them and the remainder of the pictures from Macau in a slide show at the end.  By the way, Taylor picked the music out for the show this week.

  Look forward to next week's blog, because I will be sharing stories and images from a magic kingdom that we will be visiting this upcoming weekend.  Until then, we miss all of you.  Weeks like this we wish for our friends and family at home to be around.  Thanks for all the prayers.

Exorcising the Demons from Macau

Macau Architecture

  Hello, I hope this  blog finds everyone getting ready to spring forward.  I love Spring, but don't like springing forward and losing that hour of sleep.  It always takes me about a week to get my body clock to switch over, even if I prep for it and go to bed an hour early.  Fortunately this year I don't have to go through it, but on the other hand we are going to be wrecks when we return from China with a 16 hour difference.
  Spring has already begun in China and we had an amazing week.  We awoke each day with blue sky, birds singing and the plumeria and flowers blooming everywhere.  The smell of orange blossoms is very heavy as well.  The temperatures and humidity have also been very moderate,  mid 70's to low 80's all week.
  This week wasn't as boring as last week, so enjoy.

SCHOOL:  This week we started falling into a routine and were starting to really enjoy our new schedules, until they changed Cecelia's.  So instead of having the mornings off to work out, they changed the last two days of the week to her working in the morning and then having most of the afternoon off.  She was not happy about it, but she is a trooper and just carries on.
  Taylor went on a field trip to the Guangzhou Science Museum.  At first she didn't want to go, but we made her and she loved every bit of it.  She came back a Chatty Cathy and we couldn't get her to stop talking about the cool stuff that she experienced.  She shot things with a water cannon, watched a four D movie, in which a Dinosaur drooled on them, and finally got to pretend she was hang gliding.  She had such a wonderful time that we are probably going to do it as a weekend adventure.
  I had a pretty regular week, but was just recruited to train the Subject level teachers in English.  I will be training and tutoring them once a week on various subjects.  The training will last for roughly nine weeks.  They will then give a presentation at the end using one of the techniques they have learned.  Some of the topics will include, using Technology in the Classroom, Differentiated Grading, Dealing with Special Needs Students and other exciting topics.  Sounds fun right!!!  Well it may not sound fun to many of you, but it is cool to watch people that don't speak English fluently step out of their comfort zones and give it their best shot.  Many of them are so enthusiastic about learning new things.  They salivate for ways to teach that take them away from the drill and kill, teacher centered mentality.  I never thought I would enjoy doing training like this, but because of their enthusiasm it is infectious.  After the presentation we will be choosing some of them to go on a trip to the United States during the summer.  I was very honored to be chosen to help with this project.
  Claire didn't have anything special going on, but she is still working hard to juggle the many subjects that she has in here schedule.  It has been good for her and will definitely help down the road.  If I haven't described her classes to you, she is taking English, Algebra, Physics, Biology, PE, Art, Music, Chinese, Geography and Psychology.  Keeping up with the homework is a little challenging, but she seems to be managing.

ADVENTURES:  This week found us going to Macau.  Cecelia had really wanted to go, and I had not been there since Paul and I found out our father had passed away.  So with a bit of trepidation we jumped on a train Saturday morning and headed for the border crossing.
  One of the main things that we always have to consider when we plan on going either to Macau or Hong Kong is the border crossing.  To put it frank, it is a pain the butt.  On average it takes about an hour and a half to cross from China into either of Provinces.  I guess I should look more thoroughly into the details, but my feeble mind cannot comprehend why it is such a pain.  The last I checked both places had been given back to China, Hong Kong from the English and Macau from the Portuguese in 1999.  So if they were given back and they are now part of China, why two separate border crossings, two separate currencies, driving on the wrong side of the road and other such menial things.  It would be like flying to Hawaii and having to wait for two hours, just to get in the state.
  Anyway, the nice thing about going down on the train this time was that they completed the station next to our community and also completed the tracks all the way down to the center of Zhuhai.  When we first arrived in China, we would have to ride our motos to the South Railway Station, take the train to North Zhuhai and then take an additional 45 minute cab ride to the border crossing.  We decided to try going through a different entry that a friend told us about, so we got to Zhuhai and took a cab to Heng Qin.  The border crossing wasn't as crowded, but it still took us a while to get where we were looking to go.

Street near Tai Lei Loi Kei

  When we finally arrived in Taipa and Cotai, districts of Macau, we headed out to look for an eating establishment our friends Jenny and Luke from Wisconson told us about.  It was a little greasy stand in old town Taipa called Tai Lei Loi Kei.  It was made famous by Anthony Bourdain on one of his television episodes.  The restaurant specializes in greasy pork chop sandwiches.  We bought some and and had a nice lunch in the village square on a bench a midst some shady oak trees.  We were very hungry, so I don't know if the sandwiches were just that good or our appetites didn't allow us to be very discerning.  I will say that the pork chop was extremely tasty and the fresh bread was great.  I will admit that to this date it is the best pork chop sandwich that I have ever eaten.  Don't put too much stock in that statement, because up until then it was the only pork chop sandwich that I had ever eaten.  I did have one other on our way out of Macau and it wasn't as good as the one at Tai Lei Loi Kei.  So until I can empirically state otherwise I would have to agree with Anthony.
  After filling our bellies with greasy pork products, we topped it off with some Hagen Daz ice cream and were ready to adventure and explore Macau.  We first walked around old Taipa town and enjoyed the atmosphere of the quaint shops and narrow cobblestone alleys.

From Tapai to Macau Proper

  We then hopped a cab to go find St. Paul's Church.  St. Paul's Church isn't really a church in the way that you would normally think about a church.  The only thing that remains is the front facade and a long stairway that leads to Jesus's Square.  It at one time was a church, but after it caught fire the second time, the people decided to just not rebuild.  Apparently the inside was spectacular.
  An interesting fact about the church was that it was the first Catholic Church to incorporate Eastern and and Western architecture into the construction.  There is even a Buddhist prayer and incense chapel right next to the church.

St. Paul's, notice Buddhist Temple to the left.

 One of the other real interesting thing about the area is not only that the facade is still standing, but there is a fort standing next to it.  The fort was built by a bunch of Jesuit priests in the 1600's.  I don't know about you, but the idea that a bunch of priests built a fort, with canons and the whole bit seems like an oxymoron to me.  The more and more I learn about the Jesuits, the more and more I think that if I became a priest I would love to join up with this group.  Anyway the fort was really cool and had the actual canons facing out over the top of the wall.  One tidbit of fact is that at no time were there ever any canons facing mainland China.  Now they face things like the Grand Lisbo and the casino area, now isn't that ironic.
  When we left the fort we walked down into the main part of Macau.  I have wanted to replace my old camera with a new version that shoots video.  I did a lot of research and decided to by a new Canon 60D camera body.  The great thing about buying the body was that my favorite lens that I use to take most of our pictures with fits on the new camera.  This camera is also a bit more advanced and allows me to get a better quality video and pictures.  So, I shopped around and purchased exactly what I wanted.  I will tell you I fell in love with the new technology immediately.  I think you will really see a difference with the photos and video that I post on the blog.

This is the front, I wish I could have seen the whole thing when completed.  It would have been magnificent.  Reminded me of St. Mark's in Venice.

  We then headed out to find a hotel.  We wanted to have a bit of a rest before venturing out into Macau for the evening.  I wanted to share with Cecelia and the girls how special it is at night in this little town.  We actually found a nice hotel just around the corner from the Brostel.  If you don't recall or didn't read the previous blog in October when Paul and I went for his birthday, the Brostel is the name for the place we stayed that we considered to be a Hostel and a Brothel all wrapped into one.  So, the first demon I cast out was the sleeping arrangements for the family.  The hotel we found wasn't large, but it was very nice and the beds were soft.  Even though they were single beds, we were comfortable.  Cecelia and I of course could cuddle together and Taylor likes to sleep on the floor curled up in a big comforter that the hotel supplied.  That left Claire with her own bed, so she was happy about that.

The old and the new

   After resting for a couple of hours we headed back out to Macau.  The city is so vibrant and alive in the evening.  The neon and lighting create a tapestry that weaves together the old and the new.  We walked down to the casinos to see all the elaborate hotels decorated in all their evening finery.  We visited the Grand Lisbo, which I think is the ugliest building in the world and the MGM.  The girls thought the Grand Lisbo lit up at night was really cool, so I took them to dinner at the restaurant that Paul and I went for his birthday.  This was my second demon taken care of, since it was at that restaurant in the morning in which we found out our father had passed away.  We had a nice meal and headed out to look around a bit more.  The stroll down to the old town center was pleasant.  The atmosphere there is soft and comforting, which is in stark contrast to the casinos which are loud and glaring.  The cobble stoned streets really shine at night as well, with their black and white mosaics of sea animals.  It is very peaceful.  The girls were tired at that point so we walked back to our hotel and fell asleep.  Demon number three was taken out at that point.  I slept well and didn't hear some dude getting a massage in the next room or the dorm mom yelling at the masseuses.

Look what the Jesuits aim at now!!!!

  The next morning we awoke to an absolutely gorgeous day.  The sky was clear and crisp and the sun was shining off the ocean with a million diamonds glittering on the water.  It was one of those spring mornings in which everything just seems to be more vibrant.  The birds' songs were clearer, the flowers were brighter everything was just fresh.
  We packed up and headed to the Starbucks that is in Senado Square.  We had a quick bite to eat and then headed out to walk to the border crossing and explore the city on foot.  I will tell you that my Starbucks, Venti, No Foam Latte tasted much better than usual.  There is just something awesome about drinking a great cup of coffee while walking around a city that was established in the 1500's.  Like I said, everything was just better this morning.

Those are my Angels at the bottom

  I have found that the exploration that Cecelia and I have done together has been one of the most rewarding things that we have done.  There is just nothing like being on foot exploring the ins and outs of a city.
  Our trek took us to the base of St. Paul's one last time and then over a hill in the city to the base of the fort. Along the way we got to experience a lot of the Portuguese architecture that defines this amazing city.  One minute we were walking through high rise apartments and then the next we were walking down a small street that had more decorative cobblestones, flanked by brightly colored buildings with Roman arches built into the front.
  As we meandered through the streets we also found hidden gardens and temples all along the way.  One of the temples, The Kun Iam Temple in particular was very interesting because it was used after World War II to sign a treaty between the United States and China.

The streets of Macau

  The streets of Macau finally led us to the border crossing and to our train home.  All and all the trip was excellent and I would say all of the Demons were destroyed.  Macau is a great city and Cecelia and I are going to try to make one last trip there to explore more for a romantic weekend.  We shall see, and if we do I will share more with you.

If Boring Could Be This Relaxing

So Pretty

  Hello Everyone.  Hope all of you had a great week.  This week's blog is going to be all about sharing photos and reminiscing about the last month.  We had the quietest week so far, so I want to share with you some of the images around our area and Guangzhou.

Part of Guangzhou Architecture

SCHOOL:  This week we just taught classes.  The only thing to really report is that my tenth grade class was getting ready to mutiny.  The reason was that they are really stressed out about the IGCSE exam in May.  They felt like I was going too slow and not prepping them enough.  I have never had a class ask for more homework, so I gave it to them.  I printed them out a practice test that had eighty problems.  They have to do it for homework over the weekend.  I am then going to evaluate each student independently and give them work in the areas that they are the weakest.  So much for quality versus quantity.  Cecelia had a week in which her schedule changed constantly, but she is pretty much enjoying it.  She doesn't begin teaching until 11:20 each day, so this gives her the opportunity to exercise in the mornings like she has always wanted.  The only bummer is that I work most mornings and am done usually by lunch.  I usually hang around for lunch and then head out to the driving range to practice.  That's pretty much it for school.  Overall the week was very relaxing without much going on, Thank Goodness!!!

Beautiful Garden

ADVENTURES:  Well we didn't really go anywhere this week.  We were trying to keep a close eye on money, since we were getting a little low after our month of traveling.  The exciting thing is that Cecelia and I have picked up bit of part time work on the side.  She is tutoring the twin sons of one of my Chinese friends in English.  I have been offered a position to teach English to a group of executives in Beijiou.  For both of us, it is a nice way to make some extra spending money for our upcoming travels.
  We did have a party this week with some of the staff.  The party was called "This Ain't Your Mom and Dad's Slide Show Party!!!"  The theme and goal of the party was to get together and share our travels over the holiday in a video format.  Our friends Marileze and Adam hosted it at their house and I was kind of the coordinator for video presentations.  We ended up with about 15 to 20 people and seven videos.  The places that were represented were Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Tibet, Philipines, Bali and of course China.  Many of the videos had music and a story.  Others just shared their experience and discussed what they did.  It was really great to see the variety of things that people did.  There were vacations for resting and vacations for adventures, but everyone really felt like they had an outstanding experience.  Our video was a recap of the many things that we did during our time off.  I am including our video.  Many of you will have seen the things that we did in previous blogs, but it will give others a chance to catch up with our adventures of the last month.

Lion Dance

  Finally, I would like to send an invitation out to you to ask any questions about China that you would like.  It is funny how we get questions from people at home that are stereotypes of China.  Things like, "How is it living in a communist country".  Only 4% of the entire 1.8 billion people are registered in the Communist Party and they are more democratic than communist.  The majority of Communists live near Beijing where the government works, kind of like our government, where most of our elected officials live off the government in Washington D.C.  A lot of things have changed in China since Mao left office.  We saw some of the little red books that people used to carry around.  A larger number of the population follow the teachings of Confucius.  The government here is trying to balance the Legalism of Communism with the care of the people like Confucius.
  So ask your questions and I will do my best to give you factual non biased answers.

  Until next week, enjoy the video and the pictures.