Sensory Overload!!!!!!

  I am sending this post out a day after the last, because I am still trying to get caught up on my weekly blog.  The reason I am behind is because for some reason the Chinese do not want us to blog or Facebook.  I don't quite understand why they don't want information to get out, since almost all of the stereotypes and ideas about China and the people that live here are incorrect.  The biggest misconception is that the Big Brother Chinese government and the iron fist of Communism are holding these people down.  So far in our experience we have not seen any government control over anything except for Facebook and Blogging.  Even though this is restricted, you can tell by this blog that there are ways to get a message out.  As a matter of fact in many ways I would say that these people are freer than us.  It is refreshing to experience a people that are encouraged to be personally responsible for their own actions.  We have seen and actually been the cause of a couple of accidents since we have been here.  Nobody was seriously injured and nobody jumped out of their vehicle feigning a back or neck injury.

Claire touching something interesting, probably Crocodile.

Piranha for dinner anyone?

Getting ready to order fresh beef for dinner

  As far as capitalism goes, these people have a completely free market.  We experienced the most amazing open market that I have ever seen in my life.  There were clothes, backpacks, shoes, tools, honey and pretty much anything else that you might want.  On top of that they had a fresh vegetable and meat market that left a sensory impression that I will never forget.  The vegetables and fruit had vibrant greens and brilliant oranges and reds.  Cecelia actually bought carrots, mushrooms, cabbage and green beans.  The meat market had almost anything you could think of to eat and other things that you would never think of to eat.  There was shrimp, crabs, puffer fish, carp, goose neck clams, oysters and fresh water crocodile in the seafood section.  The regular meat section had your typical pork, beef and chicken.  The only thing about eating a chicken here, is that they are very fresh.  The butcher pulls the live chicken out of the cage, chops the head off, guts it and then pulls the feathers off while you wait.  At least by ordering a chicken this way, you know you are not getting rat.  The more exotic things that we have seen are Herons, Seagulls and hide the children, kittens.  Yes, I said kittens.  Apparently they are a delicacy here.  By the way, Paul and I did get brave enough to buy some fresh beef and eggs.  One morning we had quail eggs and chicken eggs for breakfast.  Taylor likes the quail eggs the best.  I tried the blue eggs here.  Don't try the blue eggs, you have to acquire a particular taste for them.  They are dark and mushy.  Not my style.  

  The most amazing thing about this place is that your senses are definitely put on notice.  Your eyes are overwhelmed with colors and patterns.  Your ears are bombarded with the din of people bartering and hocking their wares. The smells vary from putrid to exotic.  The tastes of the different items that one can try vary dramatically.  One minute something that you expected to taste delightful was very bland and then something that you thought would be mild was amazing and spicy.  Finally, the textures of the different items that we have touched has been unique to say the least.  We expected the crocodile to be rough, but it was rather smooth and supple.  The Koi in the ponds we thought would be smooth, and yet they are very scaly and feel like they have plate armor on their bodies.

  The people live by the philosophy of yin and yang.  The purpose of which is life in balance.  You see and feel it in so many different ways here.  It is also very infectious.  We especially like the part that they focus on work and peace.  Work hard, but take your leisure time away seriously.  I guess that is why they start early and take a two hour lunch in the middle of the day to relax and nap before the afternoon grind.  We could sure learn a lesson from them in this area.  Until next time, Bon Apetite.

“Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore”

                What a week!  We finally made it to Guangdong Country Garden School, but not without some adventure.  We left for Sacramento on Sunday to pick up my brother.  We spent the night in Sac and then left to spend a couple of evenings with the Mulkerrins.  We had a wonderful stay visiting with them and waiting for our papers to arrive from China.  The papers came Tuesday morning and we promptly went to the Chinese Consulate to hurry up and wait.  Because of the Memorial Day weekend the Chinese Consulate was busier than usual.  Cecelia and I waited in line for four hours, to finally get our paperwork turned in so that we could pick them up the next morning.  The next morning we arrived at the Consulate at 8:15 and  got our visas at 10:30.  We were excited, because we were then rushing off to the airport to get on a plane to Hong Kong.  But, hold on a second we couldn’t have a plan without some flexibility.  When we arrived at the airport to buy tickets, they wouldn’t let us buy the cheap tickets because we were inside the four hour window before the flight.  Who knew such a rule existed?  So, we spent one more night near the airport in San Bruno.  At least we had a nice meal at a Brazilian steak house near the hotel.  The next day we had a leisurely morning and then took our 500 pounds of luggage to the ticket window.  There was some time spent transferring clothing between bags so that we didn’t get the overage charges on the bags.  At this point we received our boarding passes and passports and made it through security.  My brother and I were still too superstitious to say that we were actually on our way because we still had two hours to wait for our plane.  The two hours went quickly and we finally arrived at our seats in the Cathay Pacific 747.  As the plane lifted off the runway, the five of us gave each other high fives to commemorate the fact that we were finally in the air to Hong Kong.  The 14 hour plane ride wasn’t too bad in the coach seats.  The flight wasn’t full so we had the opportunity to move around to other seats.  Despite the move it was still difficult to sleep across two seats.  I think I slept for half an hour.  There was a lot of game playing and movie watching to kill time.  We arrived in Hong Kong at 6:20 in the evening and then made our connecting flight to Guangzhou.  After the connecting flight and our 1 hour drive we finally arrived at The Country Garden School.  The interesting thing about the trip is that when we arrived in Hong Kong and Guangzhou we felt like we hadn’t really left the states.  The airports are clean and modern.  They weren’t what I expected.  Even the highway in which we drove to get to the school was wide and well lit, much like driving in LA without the traffic.

Claire and I eating pastries on the streets near our home.

The family waiting for the bus near our home.  No driving for a year!!!

                The next morning is when I felt for the first time like I was in China.  The smells of exotic food mixed with the septic system and then the 130% humidity slapped me in the face and made me realize for the first time where I really was.  It is a rather surreal feeling when taking a walk and realizing that everything you know as familiar is completely gone.  Even the 7-11 at the entrance to the community couldn’t ease those feelings.  I walked down in hopes of getting a nice cup of coffee and the familiar coffee bar was completely gone.  What a strange world I have thrust my family into.  (By the way, the Starbucks at the Hong Kong airport served me a latte that tasted exactly like the one in Oakhurst.  It only cost me $8 dollars.)  After my walk in the morning I said to my family when I returned, “Despite the smell, the humidity, the trash and the abandoned houses I love it here.  I am so looking forward to becoming part of the community.  The next step is finding an apartment.  Stay tuned for next week’s adventure.  By the way, starting next week I am going to categorize the blog into three sections.  Teaching, Adventures and then a summary.

On the Slow Boat to China

Sierra Star Photo by Tiffany Tuell

  I know that last week I said that I would be sending my next blog from China, but that is just not the case.  The week started out promising, by our tenants moving into our home and us saying goodbye to our pets.  We then moved into the Gallagher's home expecting to leave on Tuesday for San Francisco.  We were then to register our paperwork from China with the Chinese consulate in San Francisco.  We would then be jumping on a plane with my sister in law and niece on Wednesday.  Well, it didn't quite work out that way.  As I write this, I am still sitting in the Gallagher's living room.  Who knew that the Chinese government would not follow our plan.  They held off the paperwork on the very politically vocal part of our family, Cecelia and the Girls.  The background check on Claire and Taylor must have been intense.  Thank goodness though, we received the email that all of our paperwork was complete and that it is on its way.  So we are going to Sacramento to see my brother for an evening and then spending two nights with friends in San Francisco.  It is then onto a plane out of San Francisco on Wednesday.
  You can imagine how stupid we felt sitting in front of Starbucks on Thursday morning reading the article about us leaving for China while we were still here.  At least the boat is moving toward China again.  Thanks to those of you that kept encouraging us while we were frustrated.  We want to especially thank Dan and Tricia Gallagher for their generosity.  It sure made the wait bearable to be able to sleep in a bed.  Other than some unforeseen error that is out of our control I will be writing you from China next week.

Are You Excited????

  "Are you excited?"  This has been the obvious and most asked question since we found out that we were actually embarking on this odyssey.
  The answer up until today was, "I don't know".  Now,  you might think it strange to say "I don't know," but considering the summer we have had getting ready you will understand the answer a little better.
  My goal at the beginning of summer was to keep you updated on a weekly basis on our preparations, but since my first post was on June 30th it hasn't quite worked out as planned.  You would think being a teacher that is off for the summer,  I would have plenty of time to keep our blog up to date.  Obviously I didn't do a very good job with it, but here are a few of my excuses.

Claire, The sand sculptur

  After doing the Mammoth hike, which by the way was almost a disaster, we went to Cecelia's parents house for one last visit as a family.  While there, we spent quite a bit of time visiting with family and friends one last time and finalizing details regarding the business we have together.  We spent the days being very busy and enjoy the many late nights chatting around the dinner table.

Camping with The Jilkes at San Elijo

  We then returned just in time to unpack and head to for The Nature Valley First Tee Open.  Those of you that know my involvement with The First Tee of Fresno will understand how important it was for me and my family to be there supporting Jordan Keyser (Jordan is the number 1 player on my girls golf team and also one of my many oldest children) and Clayton Vannata.  While at the tournament I also had an opportunity to meet many members of the Clampett family.  I have been discussing with Bobby Clampett and his wife Marianna the possibility of bringing the Impact Zone to China while I am away.  After returning from the tournament, it was a quick trip with our Nor Cal team to Modesto to play against all of the other Northern California Chapters of The First Tee.

Lord Byran Nelson at Advanced Academy

  I then returned home and had just enough time to wash clothes, repack and then drive down to spend an outstanding evening with my wife celebrating our 16th anniversary.  I then boarded a plane for Dallas Texas to coach at The First Tee Leadership Academy, held at The University of Dallas and The Four Seasons Resort.  It was an amazing ten days working with some of the best golf coaches and professionals that I know.  I always like working with the home office staff and Eric, Dedric, Trish and Marian did a great job organizing the camp.  It is also very rewarding working with Eric, Dedric and some of the other coaches from chapters all over the country, like Chris Dewar, Tina Barrett, Jeff Donovant, Craig Watson, Sacau from Kansas City and a few of the newer coaches.  It is great to collaborate about lessons and really get creative with some of the activities.  Put Eric Clark and myself on a practice range with a bunch of noodles and some supplies from The Home Depot and we will put together an activity that is fun and develops golf skills at the same time, as well as resembling some giant Erector set.  I'm just saying, we get a little funky with props sometimes.
  After all of that activity it was time for me to drive north with my brother Paul to see my Dad in Medford, Oregon.  We visited with my Dad and relatives for a couple of days and then Paul and I drove back to Sacramento and picked up my brother Mike and his friend Rick.  All of us then drove to Tahoe to play in The TKKD golf tournament.  Don't bother asking what that tournament is, it is just too hard to explain.  I then said goodbye to my brothers and drove home and just arrived this past Sunday.
  So if that wasn't enough activity, when Cecelia arrived home Sunday evening we began to pack the house up so that our new tenants that are renting our house could move in the following weekend.  We are moving into a friend's house for a few days, while we await the work visas that are supposed to be here early next week.
  So as I write this at 3:40 am on Saturday morning August 25th,  the last morning before we move out, I can answer the question, "Are you excited"?  "Hell yes I am excited!!!!"  I can't wait for this next part of the adventure to begin.  I just haven't been able to really think about whether I was excited or not, because this has been one of the most amazing summers I have ever experienced and it isn't even over yet.  I don't know, maybe I could fit one more activity into it.  What do you think??????

  This is the first entry in the O's Odyssey to China Blog.  As many of you know, my wife and I have accepted positions to teach at Guangdong Country Garden School in Southeastern China.  You can Google it if you want to know more about the school.  You can also Google Map it and it will give you the area in which we will be living.   We will be an hour north of Macau.
  I am not going to try to write everyday.  I will give a report once a week as we go along.

  So here we are so far in our progress leading to August 24th when we leave.

• Passports are done for Cecelia and Myself
• Contracts have been signed
• Leaves have been granted from both of our districts

  We are now in the process of finding someone for the house and fixing the little things that will make us feel like we can go without too many worries.

  Along with getting ready for China, we have hiked across the Sierras to Mammoth.  (This trip was an Odyssey in itself).  We spent a week in Solana Beach helping out Cecelia's parents.  We are spending time at The First Tee Nature Valley Open at Pebble Beach this next week.  (We have two participants from our chapter in the tournament, Jordan Keyser and Clayton Vannata.)  Finally, I will be coaching in Dallas for a week at The First Tee Player Advanced Academy.  We are kind of like Finneas and Ferb in trying to do something everyday.

  Check out my blog for more updates next week.