The O's Odyssey to China: The Highs, Lows and Highs

This week I want to thank and dedicate this blog to three people that especially helped me this week. The first person I want to thank is my wife. I appreciate her and thank her for believing in and encouraging me when things get tough. She is my other rock, next to Jesus of course. I also want to thank my friend and co-worker Julia, who believed in me, even though I struggled to believe in myself. Finally I want to thank Mark Ndesandjo for his gracious words of encouragement and for the help he gave me without even knowing it.

SCHOOL: I had to think long and hard about how to describe this last week at school. Despite the fact that it was only three days long, it felt like two weeks. The best way to describe it is to say it was challenging. I mentioned before that I have been struggling with the high stakes testing here. It finally came to a head this week. Now without going into the gory details, lets just say I had to look hard in the mirror and determine if the man staring back at me had the guts to meet the challenge that was presented to me. The challenge took me to the depths of who I am as a person and as a teacher. At the age of 50 and teaching for as long as I have, I never realized I would have to dig deep to discover a new level that I am able to attain as a person and teacher.
I want you to understand that part of the issue stemmed from poor communication not only on my part, but on the part of the school in which I work.
So to end this very vague section, I want you to know that I had to change course in the middle of the stream and do the best I could to survive. I can happily say that I survived the swirling rapids of poor self confidence and have reached a new level of confidence in myself and in my teaching.
Thus the reason for the previous paragraph of thanks.
This paragraph is obviously the Low from the title, so let's move onto the Highs. I like them better anyway.

ADVENTURES: Monday started off on a really high note. I was invited by my friend Ken Li to attend the ribbon cutting for his 22 story high rise building that was just finished.

Mr. Seyedin, Secretary Sanchez and Shunde Official at Lion Ceremony

I met Ken through my friend Michael that I have shared with you about in the past. Since our introduction, I have coached Ken and his two young sons to play golf. Also, Cecelia and the girls tutor the boys once a week in English.
As well as attending the ribbon cutting, I was invited to speak with the Consulate General for China regarding some of the relationships that I have developed with my Chinese friends while being here. I felt very honored by the invitation and request. The ceremony was very nice and short. Other than the Lion Ceremony, there was not a lot of pomp and circumstance. The speeches were good and to the point, as well as pointing out the continued mutual relationship between the US and China in relationship to trade. After the ceremony there was a bit of picture taking and then a reception on the 15th floor.

The Entrance to Ken's Building

I didn't spend very much time at the cocktail reception because my friend David's uncle, Mr. Hui Liang Zheng invited us to go visit his furniture factory. The factory is called HUITU. You can check out some of their amazing work at www.sdhuitu.com.cn. I was very excited about this little surprise because I have seen some of his uncle's work and have been fascinated by the amazing quality of the craftsmanship. We drove to the factory and I was immediately immersed in hard wood heaven. For those of you that don't know, I have a small workshop at home and dabble in various woodworking activities like, woodcarving, cabinet making and creating some furniture. With that being said, you will understand when I say, "I love wood". I love the texture, the smell and the variety. If you ever visit our home in California you can check out some of my handy work.
We took a short tour of the huge workshop and they showed me all of the hardwood that they use. They use a lot of Teak, Mahogany and imported woods from all over Southeast Asia. By the way, they don't just get the boards to create furniture, they get logs imported to them. Some of the Teak logs were as large as most people's living rooms. They mill, cure and plane everything they need to make their custom furniture. One Teak log dining table they showed me would cost around $15,000 in the US. As well as tables, they make wine cabinets and miscellaneous other furniture. All of which is custom made to the specifics of the clientele that purchases from them. I was so infatuated by the place that I asked them to give me a sander and put me to work, but to no avail. I was directed by David's cousin to the main office for a little get together.
When we arrived at the office I got one other little surprise. I was to enjoy my first experience of Kung Fu tea. Before you stray too far and start thinking about Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Jet Li. Kung Fu tea isn't a bunch of guys fighting over tea. It is a formal affair with a traditional way of preparing the tea and also a way of drinking it. So the meaning of Kung Fu in this case is just to do it in an orderly way.

Mr. Hui Liang Zheng, Owner of HUITU custom furnishings, serving Kung Fu tea.

David's uncle prepared the tea, which wasn't a huge ceremony, but a way to purify the tea so that it tastes the best for those who are participating. We then partook in the tea. So you may be asking what is the special way to drink Kung Fu tea? Well there isn't a special way, it is just the idea that you drink tea out of small cups and you spend relaxing time having great conversation with friends. The idea is to slow down and take it easy for awhile. So, that is exactly what we did. I really enjoyed my time sitting around a tea set with four men and having tea and cookies.
I know what the scoffers are thinking at this point. They are thinking, did you have your dolls and teddy bears sitting around with you as well? Of course I didn't, it was exactly the opposite. This is more like being at home and sitting around with a few buddies drinking bears and talking sports. (Did I really have a Freudian slip and say bears?) Anyway, sitting around drinking tea is serious business as well. Many business deals are made while having Kung Fu tea. There was quite a bit of discussion regarding business and the importance of networking just like in golf as well.
After tea we did not go home and snuggle up with our teddies and blankies. David and I headed back to the E building and met up with Ken. We were driving with him to the evening's festivities at the AmCham formal dinner to honor Harley Seyendin.
We arrived at the China Hotel and were ushered into the grand ballroom where cocktails and appetizers were being served. The ballroom was really decked out with the china and crystal, as well as linen table cloths and napkins. The decorations to my surprise were all in red, white and blue. It is amazing how moved I get on seeing a beautiful United States Flag. The flag that was at the presentation was absolutely stunning. Maybe it is because I have not seen one in so long, but this one was shiny and brilliant. The entire thing looked like it was made of silk, and the embroidered stars just popped on the blue field that they graced. Even though I live in China and enjoy many things here, I am proud to be an American and love my country.
After milling around a bit Ken's secretary escorted us to our seats. The dinner was pleasant and the company was outstanding. We had quite the international mix at our table with an American, Argentinian, Chinese/Canadian and Chinese Nationals all sitting together enjoying the company of one another.
The ceremony began and there were a couple of speeches regarding the cooperation between the United States and China regarding trade. They were pretty good and I could see the truth in some of what was said. I am no politician and can't remotely speak regarding trade and fairness so I can only tell you what I heard in general. Besides, I was really focused on hearing what the Secretary of Commerce, Mr. Francisco Sanchez had to say about Harley Seyedin and the history behind the "To Peace and Commerce" medal. I won't go into the history of it, but it is a very rare award given by the United States.

"To Peace and Commerce" medal. First Commissioned by Thomas Jefferson.

After dinner was when the evening got really interesting. This is when I was introduced to the Consulate General and her staff. I had a great discussion about some of the things I have been doing with my friends in Beijou. I have another appointment with them upcoming in a week or so. After my discussion with the Consulate folks, my friend David and his brother left for the evening.

Photo Op with Harley Seyedin and Secretary Sanchez

While waiting for Ken to say good bye to his friends, Mark Ndesandjo was walking out and made a point to stop and talk with me. If you don't remember or haven't followed the story in China up until recently, Cecelia and I met Mark in October. For the sake of space, because I know this week is a long one, you can read about us meeting him in the blog titled, "Dancing with Obama's Brother". Mark remembered us meeting in the fall and wanted to take a moment to share with me how much he enjoys reading my blog. He said that it was honest and really showed the experience we were having. As you can imagine I was surprised and felt very honored by his comments. His words really helped to uplift me during the week when I was struggling at school.
Following my chance encounter with Mark, Ken was still saying goodbye and I thought we were getting ready to leave. In the dining hall the only people left were Harley, Ken, the Secretary of Commerce and his staff. It was around 9 pm and I was getting tired so I started walking toward the door, thinking maybe I should say goodbye to Ken and take a cab home. I made the decision to take a cab. As I turned back to let Ken know I was leaving, everyone previously mentioned was heading for the door as well. While standing just outside the banquet hall I met Ken and Harley. The Secretary of Commerce had excused himself and went up to his room. I thought, finally we can go home. But oh no, Harley grabbed both Ken and me by the arm and escorted us upstairs to the martini bar. When we arrived, there was a group of about 10 men sitting around a table on the patio already starting the after party.
I sat around that table with those men listening to the stories of the history of the trade between the US and China and how it has progressed over the years. Many of the older gentlemen had ridden the up and down waves of our two countries for decades. It was an amazing experience and I learned a lot that you won't read in history books or hear on the news.
The Secretary of Commerce joined us towards the end of the martini session. At that point I had to look around to figure out if I was in America or in China. Sitting around this table with the movers and shakers of Chinese/American commerce was a rare experience that I am not soon to forget. The final thought that I left with from this was that these American men love their country passionately and they love China as well.
Needless to say I finally arrived at home around 1:30 in the morning. Fortunately I didn't have to teach class until 10:30 the next day and had been a very good boy in regards to drinking martini's. Despite that respite the next day was my worst day in China for teaching.
I know this blog is a bit longer than others, but I wanted to finish off the week letting you know what happened to our family on the weekend that lifted me out of the low.

Hotel lobby reminded us of the Tenaya

On Tuesday morning I was summoned to the head office to meet with Mr. Qiu. Mr. Qiu is the assistant principal of the section in which Cecelia works. He is also president of the parents group at our school. The parents group is like our local PTA. Anyway, I made my way to the head office and Mr. Qiu and an interpreter were waiting for me. I wasn't quite sure what they wanted me from so I was a little apprehensive. Come to find out, my feelings of apprehension soon turned to feelings of gratitude and joy. Mr. Qiu hired me to be the golf coach of his daughter and a young friend. I was given three options for payment. The first being a salary, the second being pretty much a membership for my entire family at the golf course in which they were members, and finally the membership just for me and a salary. I didn't even need to think about it, I took option number two immediately. To seal the deal Mr. Qui and his wife took Cecelia, the girls and me to the Country Garden Phoenix International resort for our holiday weekend. This is a five star resort with two amazing golf courses, lakes, pools, restaurants and even a Chinese History Center.
The weekend was amazing and we were treated like special guests. The golf was great, our rooms were amazing, the food was outstanding and the tour of the Chinese History Center was really a highlight. It was a great end to a week of highs and lows.