Home Cooking and Horse Racing!!!!

 

Time to go surfing!!!

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

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

I'll Race Coach

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

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

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

Cecily

Aw, that's a good boy

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

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

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

"And Their Off!!!!"

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

Dad and Claire studying their racing forum.

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

Let's Get Ready to Race!!!!

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

"Culture Shock" and Relaxation

 

The way summer should begin

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

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

What I have always loved about Solana Beach!!

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

Claire and Tay enjoying freezing water!!!

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

 

As Homer Returned From His Odyssey!!

 

The Battle Zone!!!

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

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

Ah, fresh paint and no carpet.  Much better

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

Almost there!!!

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

The Sweet and Sour of Coming Home!!

 

Tay enjoying her last inexpensive Mani/Pedi in China

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

Waiting at Ferry Pier in Zhuhai

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

400 lbs of luggage!!!

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

Waiting at Hong Kong airport

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

Home Sweet Home!!!!

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

Christmas in July!!

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

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

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

The Girls and a new friend

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Yang Shuo, Simply Beautiful

Spa Treatments already!!!!

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

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

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

Rows and rows of soldiers

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

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

Tay doing her best to sell Yosemite to Chinese tourists

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

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

All 6 ft. tall

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

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

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

An archeologists dream job!!!!

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

Notice the mustache.  I have one of those.

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

The concubine dancing or the Emperor

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

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