What to write?

Now that I am officially "blogging" I have to come up with things to write about. Any friends out there actually reading this... let me know what you think is interesting to learn about in China.

Anyway, this week the weather is absolutely gorgeous. This is the time to live in Beijing. I'll add a picture of the Forestry University across the street from me. It is a fun place to walk around when I have time... whenever that is!

This week is the week of the Asian Tour's Beijing Open. My partner's and I went out there to see Jack Nicklaus put on a golf clinic for kids. One of our kids hit Jack's knee while practice swinging... luckily nothing broken. whew. It was a good time to see some players and meet and greet. I also had a nice surprise of seeing a guy from Iowa I used to play junior golf with. I hope Jason does well this weekend. Here is a pic of the "Golden Bear" on the left.

Next week is May Holiday here. Most people are off work for about a week. I'll work some as most people who want to play golf will. I'm planning on going to the Great Wall camping for a day with some friends.

Standing In Line Day

Today is what is called "排队日“ or what is known as "Standing in line day." As the Olympics draws closer, many things are being done to make way for the big event. In China, standing in line is basically an option. They have made the 11th of each month "Standing in line day". I took the following picture while standing in line at a subway station. The red flag in the background awares people to please stand in line. By the looks of the picture I took, it doesn't look like they are; however, for those friends living outside of China...standing in line is typically not a cultural habit here.

Thailand... hope i see you again soon

Well, I'm back in Beijing. Back to the grind. Chinese class and teaching golf:) The trip was great. However, it really wasn't a vacation. I look forward to going back sometime and being able to take it easy for about a week. Living in Atlanta, I always loved Thai food and when I went to Thailand I fell in love with the country. It is a great place. I think for future vacations, a trip to the beach or mountains are a good idea. I've been many places in the past few years but hardly have I taken a good break from everything. I think Thailand was a place I could finally relax. Here is a sunrise I enjoyed one morning...

While in Bangkok, I went to the largest outdoor market I have ever been to. It was amazing. They stuff they had there was incredible. And the food was amazing too.

Lastly, in Thailand, the greeting is interesting. I always felt very honored in their presence. Here is a picture of Ronald McDonald outside a McDonald's with him greeting you in Thai.

Thailand

I have always wanted to go to Thailand and this week I finally had the chance... there is a big Asian Junior Golf Tournament here this week and one of my clients asked me to go with them. It has been a great time. I absolutely love it here. I had my favorite food on earth tonight. I am not kidding... I used to crave eating Penang Curry in Atlanta. Now, I finally had a chance to eat it in Thailand. The beach is great and town (Hua hin) is really fun but I really like the mix of cultures and food here. In addition, this week I am traveling with twelve Chinese from Beijing. So, I am speaking mostly Chinese except for some translating, while I have no idea what people are saying in Thai. In addition, the amount of Europeans here is staggering. The food ranges from Swedish to Thai to American Ribs. It is crazy. I'm learning a lot about junior golf in Asia. We still have a long way to go in China but I think it is a unique time for China Juniors... in ten years I think we will see some really good talent coming out of China in the world golf circuits.

My ride to work...

Since the second week of March, things are changing twice as fast as they were around the Olympic Village area. Each day I go to work I take the lovely 466 bus (if it’s raining or just tired I may take a taxi) but I can go to work for less than nickel. If I take a taxi it is about $3. Really crazy. Anyway, I live on the west side of Olympic Village and work on the east side. I have taken this bus for more than eight months and have never seen another foreigner board. Each time as I take this bus to work, I just think how everything will change in the coming twelve months. Five hundred thousand foreigners are expected to arrive in Beijing for the Olympics. I think that in about twelve months, my dirty 466 bus will be transformed to a new, clean bus that will be hauling foreigners through the Village. As I look at progress on each side of the window, I sit in utter amazement. If such a project was tried in the US, it would take three years from now to finish. Even though it looks far from done, I believe if anyone can do it the Chinese will… and will be done right. Recently, the weather has changed and the tree planting campaign has begun. Thousands of trees are being hauled into to make instant areas of beautiful landscape. The world is changing before my eyes… it is such an interesting time to be living here

China Architecture

Many of my friends know I love architecture. If I wasn’t working in the golf business, I would love to be working for a landscape or building architecture firm. My favorite form of architecture is modern with a mix of Asian design. I guess this is an influence from living here. Anyway, architecture is changing rapidly like anything here in China. I will try to write more as I have time. I was at the Capital Museum with a friend recently and just snapped this picture. At the time, I didn’t think much about it until I downloaded it and realized it was pretty interesting. I am standing in a very ultra modern Chinese building looking through the glass through apartments that are very typical of the 1970 – 1980 time era here further looking back a small Chinese temple of some sort. To me, this represents three different generations of Chinese architecture and living. The furthest away, the ancient China, the middle being the era of Mao, and the current reform and opening up era of modern buildings and capitalism.

Wu Shu and Golf?

A good friend of mine in Beijing introduced me to a Wu Shu Martial Arts Master. You may think of this as Kung Fu in the US. Anyway, he studied at the famous Shaolin Temple since he was eleven. He has traveled the world and is a university student still studying Chinese Martial Arts. My partner’s and I (at work) want to see what kind of golf research can be done between the east and west. Today, I asked my new friend to come to the range and I started to teach him golf. We had a great time and he caught on very quick. Anyway, through the two hours of hitting balls and talking we came up with several similarities. I’m excited to research this more to see what else we can find. The biggest finding is where power is created. In Wu Shu, power is created from your legs and it moves up the body and out of the arms. The same the method is used in the golf swing to create maximum power. If a player, swings with their hips turning through impact first with their shoulders, arms, and then hands following, this creates maximum power in the golf swing. Unfortunately, most golfers don’t swing with this sequence. Sorry to bore you non-golfers. I am glad to meet another new friend through this crazy game… while learning more about Chinese culture and how martial arts plays into the mainstream.

Golf in the drpk

Would you believe there is golf in North Korea? I didn’t until two years ago when I read an article about a golf club in Pyongyang. After reading that article, golf in the drpk has always intrigued me. Well I had a chance today to teach thirteen North Korean University English professors how to play. They were in Beijing for some training and each time they come they want to do some kind of activity. This time, they wanted to play golf. A friend called me and I set it up. It was so much fun! They were very nice and hospitable. Also, very curious about what type of Chinese play golf. After this experience, I was just sitting and thinking… I was one of the very few Americans today hanging out and having fun with people from North Korea. I am thankful for the game of golf and how it allows me to connect and meet people from all nations and backgrounds.