New York New Years

Hi friends and family!

Wishing you all a very happy New Years from the heart of New York City.

For video updates of my Times Square experience visit: http://www.qik.com/schragoo

And for photos go here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2961645&l=d61970f5ba&id=2207325 

 

A Midwesterner's Take on the Big Apple

1:24 AM - NEW YORK

Hello all!

I have about a half hour commute from work and today I made some observations about the New York City Rhythm.  They are in a somewhat logical order.  Hope you enjoy.

It’s fast. You knew that already.  But did you know it’s faster to take the stairs because you don’t have people stopping in front of you?  Keep on moving, baby.

Guilt is useless. Sorry Catholic upbringing, but being charitable to every person that asks you for money is just not smart.  And you just waste time if you dwell on it.

Whatever goes, goes.  If you can get away with it, do it.  When someone begins to care – then you need to worry.

Everything is planned out. From where you eat to how you get there. Your steps are (subconsciously) planned 7 in advance, and when you walk through Grand Central during rush hour it’s amazing how effortlessly you can navigate the tides of people.

There are so many people!  You knew that, too. But did you know you can’t phone a cab because there is probably one passing by already?

Doormen are necessary.  Who else would Lenny Briscoe or Ed Green talk to when you disappear? They might be the only ones who notice you missing.

There is always someone worse off than you.  It’s really nice to be reminded everyday that your life is really not bad at all.

There is always someone better off than you. This actually helps keep you in check and live inside of your means.  You aren’t Donald Trump, buddy.

Constant changes.  If you want something done, do it yourself, pay someone else to do it, or shut up about it.  Which brings me to…

Whining is not acceptable. No complaining.  No one wants to hear it.  You could be in a subway car full of people for 20 minutes and not hear a word because unless you have something worthwhile to say, no one wants to hear it. 

Street performers are generally pretty good.  If you are entertaining, you’ll make some money.  Just stay out of the way. And don’t ever say “I’m sorry to interrupt” because you aren’t.

Lots of stuff happens here.  Including movies.  It’s cool to hear street names and actually be able to place them in your head.

And last but not least...

The rent is too damn high.

God Bless America. And you.  I'm going to go watch an eclipse.

I live in New York!

2:47 pm  EST – NEW YORK

Hi family and friends!

As I sit in my new apartment on this lovely New York Saturday, I can’t help but think this is a perfect time to find anything to distract me from football.  I was out earlier today sporting my Maize and Blue and garnered a few comments from Michigan and Ohio State fans alike.  Since kickoff though I have been holed up in my apartment and I don’t have any intentions of leaving right now.

Thus, a blog post.

I don’t think I have posted this yet, but I LIVE IN NEW YORK!  The Big Apple! The Empire State!  The City That Never Sleeps!

After about a month in the city, I am still very much enthralled by its every nook and cranny.   I walk to work with my head to the sky staring at the Chrysler building and the get off the metro with the hundreds of thousands of others making the commute each morning at Grand Central.  Everything keeps moving, it’s difficult to stop – which is why this holiday weekend has been a welcomed pause in the action. 

A lot of the people made the trek home, but I was able to spend some time with Sarah and some of her newfound city friends.  We had ourselves an orphans’ Thanksgiving and it was turkey-tastic. Plenty of food, football, EUCHRE, poker, and lots of laughs.  While the traditional family part of the holiday was noticeably absent, I was fortunate to have the next best things.  Also, even though I wasn’t at home for the holiday, it sounds like my family wasn’t really either – my brother Danny was admitted (and now readmitted) to the hospital for an abscess in his throat and is now undergoing surgery to remove his tonsils.  Poor little bugger.  He’s been taking a physical beating since being diagnosed with Mono a week or two ago.  I hope he starts feeling better so he can keep his grades up and get into a great school like the one his oldest brother went to.

What else have I been up to?  Well, I got a job.  I work as the Sales and Marketing Assistant for the world-leader in online tutoring.  Our headquarters are down near 40^th and Madison.  I have been catching up with some old friends that live in the city, and have already gone to see a few shows!  Sarah took me to go see the 5^th Anniversary of the Jersey Boys on Broadway, I went by myself to go see my buddy Dave Matthews and his band perform at Madison Square Garden, and this coming week I will be going to go see DJ David Guetta spin some tracks at a local club which should be a lot of fun. 

Also, I had the opportunity to go see Ellis Island and head to the “Top of the Rock” with Sarah, her mother and grandmother.  There are never-ending things to do in this city and I have every intention of taking advantage of as many as I can.

I also have intentions of taking it easy and trying to find the right balance of work, play and rest.  It is certainly poised to be a grand adventure and I hope to share it with many of you – I currently live with another girl by the name of Sarah (I call her Sarah Roomy) who is a special education teacher in the southern part of Manhattan.  She helped me finish my first homework assignment last week which was to write a post for my company’s blog. Check it out here. We also have a couch with your name on it so get on over here!   

Thank you FTC!

In the spring of 1998 I had the luck of skipping a day of school and attending my first political rally with members of United Auto Workers at Hart Plaza in downtown Detroit.

I was twelve years old when I delivered this speech. I have notes handwritten on the side reminding me to use hand gestures and say things like 'good morning' and 'Welcome to the UAW's take your child to work day' so that I wouldn't forget.

It was also the day that I stood in the center one of the world's most historically industrialized cities and declared with 100% confidence that "[children's] opinions matter" and "that young people are capable of helping make this world a better place to live" .

I still believe those words. And I ended my speech that day confident that I could present my opinions clearly to anyone – regardless of age, gender, or sex.  

Four years after my grade school FTC days I applied for admission to The University of Michigan. I wrote one of my essays on our group and how much we were able to accomplish. To this day when talking about my life principles I cite my time in grades 5-8 as having a significant impact on who I am as a person.

Kids Can Free the Children has been a part of my life for almost as long as I can remember. It has shaped who I am as a person and will undoubtedly continue to be a point of reference for myself and my identity as I continue on to other things. 

Thank you to all who have made this possible and I look forward to continuing working with you in a new capacity!

Driving Home With Pops

I-75 - 11:03 AM

Howdy, y'all,

Happy Labor Day. As the title states, I am on my way home from the Riverhouse with Poppa Schrags and we are jamming to the XM Prime Country. Big fan. Aaron Tippin just took us through the top twenty American workforce country songs and now George Strait is asking us to Check Yes or No.
I guess now is as good of a time as ever to recount a little bit of the summer, seeing as it is coming to a close.
I finished up tour with Sara Brown, hit our last couple of schools in the Greater Toronto Area and managed to make it home for the end of June and out to New York for the Fourth of July. Sarah Miller and I managed to do the town right that weekend: we saw a play, celebrated her birthday (and Canada Day) with her friends and coworkers, I got to see (and ice) Cody, watched Joey Chestnut eat whole bunch of hot dogs, rode a rickety old wooden roller coaster on Coney Island, sang at a piano bar with Jake and McVey, met some fellow Wolverines and watched the fireworks over the Hudson river before hopping a bus back to the land of maple syrup and honey.
The summer in Canada was spent mostly heading back and forth from the recently opened Leadership Centre. Had a great summer and met some great kids and even snuck back to Detroit once more for my grade school 10 year reunion. Great to see some old friends. Recently, Fell, Solomon, and Kelly came and visited for the Tigers-Jays series at the Rogers Centre. I should have pictures of that up soon.
The days in Toronto for me are coming to a close. I have decided not to stay on as a tour speaker for another year and am looking forward to spending a little more time in one of two places right now: Detroit and New York. As a song by Dave Matthews states "Turns out not where, but who you're with that really matters". And while I have met some lifelong friends in Toronto and throughout the world the past several years, it is nice to know that home is calling and it most certainly is in the U.S..
While the task of finding work right now seems very daunting, I am excited for the possibilities and feel good about my prospects.
Tonight I will be helping my Uncle Marty and Aunt Donna in the Lions club tent at the Arts, Beats, and Eats Festival in Royal Oak and then tomorrow is the big draft day for my brothers and my fantasy league. Any ideas on who I should take?
I'll be getting off soon to see my sister's new apartment, so I must be on my way.
If you happen to be around Toronto, Detroit or New York in the coming few weeks, be sure to get at me! Go Lions! Go Blue!

Prairie land

Hello world!

I am sitting in the middle of a dirt road in front of the St. John's United Church 'Field of Honour' (Canadian for cemetery) in Bonnyville, Alberta. It's 11:24 and I was hoping to catch some stars out here before I head back to the bright lights of the big city on Tuesday, but because I am so far north it is still light out! Crazy, hey?

It is very peaceful where I am right now. You can hear all the sounds of the night animals and the rumbling of the cars from the highway out in the distance.

I figured I'd take a few minutes to reflect on these past few months I have spent traveling and really take it in. Since the beginning of the year I have traveled with two partners to four continents, six countries, sixteen states/provinces, and over 80 schools. I have hiked six state parks, climbed the Great Wall of China, drove a Lamborghini, poked a jellyfish, Rick-Rolled an entire restaurant, and warmed up with snuggies at a baseball game. I have met friends new and old and even picked up a new portable computing device to help me keep in touch with them. It's wild to think that I when I get back to Toronto that I will even be prepared to face a summer all in one place.

And while I know that I will never be able to truly get rid of this travel bug bite (I will especially miss the fact that every night I get a new little bottle of shampoo and conditioner), I am looking forward to spending more time in one area and having a selection of clothing bigger than one suitcase.

I am excited to watch the World Cup, cheer on the Red, White & Blue, watch a few Jays games at the Rogers Centre and grill out with my new roomies.

I am excited to see what role I will be taking on throughout the summer, excited to watch as FTC continues to grow and we prepare for another We Day extravaganza, and excited to take some time off and go home to see family and friends.

And while I sit here with the grasshoppers chirping, the coyotes/wolves howling in the not too far distance, and the stars finally starting to show themselves in the prairie night sky, I can't help but think of how fortunate I have been - not just for the places I have visited, but also for the people I have met. I have learned so much in the past year but one of my biggest takeaways will stem from a comment I heard several times at schools in Hawaii referring to families that lived on the beach:

Families may be houseless, but they sure aren't homeless.

Even though I have been houseless for pretty much the whole year, I have always felt close to home through emails, late night Skype sessions, phone calls, and rendezvous with friends and family in far away places. The Hawaiian kids know what's up. And I couldn't do it without you so I just want to say thanks.

Oh, and there is an open invite to come visit Toronto this summer. I'll take you to a Jays game.

Goodnight!


- Sent via Schragooster

Baseball As America

To Commissioner Selig and baseball fans everywhere:

Every so often we, as humans, are given the opportunity to catch a glimpse of perfection. As paths cross and stars align, the perfect storm of fate and coincidence allows us to forget the limitations of humanity and peer into heaven for a brief moment before we are snatched back down to earth (sometimes abruptly).

Baseball fans around the globe experienced that tonight. As the outs started stacking up for Armando Galarraga and the Detroit Tigers, the entire baseball community held their breath for their chance to witness the rare events that make up a perfect outing. Some had seen it before, others had just heard about it, and when Austin Jackson made a super-human effort mirroring past heroes of the game, there was no doubt that magic was inevitable and that history would be made.

And while the hushed voices were whispering amongst each other seeking confirmation that they were, indeed, observing the same events unfold; none were prepared for the reality check that occurred after having reached baseball's equivalent of perfection.

Mr. Joyce's botched play call reminded us of our humanity. It reminded us that baseball, just like life, cannot be perfect. And that is why it represents us. In what other sport are human errors counted and tallied? In baseball, when a mistake is made, players and coaches make note and then move on - there is work to be done.

As many baseball fans across the country continue to clamor for expanded use of an instant replay system it is my wish that they will consider the effects it will have on a game that, at its roots, was designed to mimic the simple and complex nature of our being. And while we examine the use of technological aid in determining the intricacies of a game, the simple question must be asked: should we?

In a game that was conceived in romanticism, should we take on the themes of the 21st century and openly embrace the use of technology to correct our errors or should we rely on the fact that we are human and make mistakes? What place does baseball hold in American society? Does it change with the heart of the nation like it did in Jackie Robinson's time or does it allow us to escape the complexity of our modern life and bring us back to a simpler time?

These are questions that I think will undoubtedly lead to the greater use of an instant replay system and by examining them, gives us the opportunity to look at ourselves from a different perspective: to see how much we are willing to adapt and what effects it may have on our understanding of human nature.

In answering these questions, the path that baseball takes will almost certainly reflect the essence of our nation. And as long as we continue to examine the game in this matter, baseball will always be America's game.

Go Tigers.

Alberta!

Hello everyone!

Greetings from the food court of the West Edmonton Mall where I am struggling to get through a plate of 5 items from the Oriental Delight. I still have a half a plate and a huge chicken ball in front of me and I have stalled considerably. Not to worry though, as I will be here for at least a couple of hours while Sara B. satisfies her Sex and the City fix while watching the new movie. I was gonna go see Shrek 3 (or is it 4 now? Maybe it's 4..) but decided I would get some grub instead and hang out with Schragooster and people-watch. Great place to do it as you'd imagine.

Meanwhile, I have decided that Alberta is Canada's best kept secret. Edmonton (or at least the mall) has just about anything you can ask for: a roller coaster, an indoor wave pool, an ice rink, a casino, a pirate ship... Haha the only thing missing is a baseball diamond and a basketball court (which I'm not convinced they don't have). I have been to the mall just about every day since I got here last Sunday and haven't really gotten bored of it.

Nextly, I have been driving around a lot and have come to the conclusion that Edmonton has the best radio stations out of all of the cities I have been to. I can get a steady flow of good, modern country, classic rock, pop, classical, and I even caught an Italian station this morning on the way to church- it was funny I stopped on the station because the song wasn't working properly and the DJ (in Italian) was just like "well, sometimes these things don't work properly... Let's start over from the beginning". Haha - tell me, have you ever heard a song on the radio that just stops playing, mid-song? I mean as much I know it happens, to hear it on the Italian station just made my weekend.

And a pretty incredible weekend I have had at that.

Friday, Sara Brown and I decided to take off for the city of Jasper, AB, located comfortably in the valley of Jasper National Park. Only about a 4-5 hour drive from Edmonton, Sara and I took to the highway armed with a full season of How I Met Your Mother (great show) and without any reservations for accommodations in Jasper. We figured we'd find a place once we got there, right? Wrong. The cheapo places we were fixing to stay at were booked solid and so we made the game time decision to go "camping" in our Nissan Versa for the night.

We made a bonfire, took a little hike, cooked some hot dogs, had a little bit of spirits before we called it a night while it was still light out around 11:30 pm. That's right, it was still light out. Crazy, eh? We made it to about 2:00 am before we took to the road to find ourselves a proper hotel room for the night. The campsite was fun and all, but the freezing cold?- not so much.

Because we were able to warm ourselves up and because we spent our horseback riding money on a hotel room, we decided to take the sky tram to the top of the mountain that we had been staring at since we got there. Great decision. Here is the mountain from below:




We made it to the top fairly quickly and decided (again, perhaps a little brazenly) that since we made it this far, the extra little hike to the summit was necessary. This, despite the fact that we possessed no appropriate hiking gear and their were ample warnings from the tour guides and the clearly marked signs saying that it was ill-advised due to weather conditions and a recent bear sighting.

Who are they to tell us to turn around when we are so close?! So up we went (following the lead of several other groups ahead of us) in our croc-sandals, winter jackets with no toques (or winter hats as we call them back home) and our run-of-the-mill, everyday, take-a-picture-at-your-friends'-birthday-party cameras to conquer one of the highest mountains in the Rocky Mountain chain - Mount Marmot (or was it called Whistlers? I still haven't figured that out).

A couple of inuksuks, whistling marmots, amateur photographs, wet socks, and several tumbles later we made it back to the chalet-restaurant area at the top of the tramway having conquered the mountain and with our body temperatures probably about the same as they were the night before while slowly freezing to death in our sedan. Ahh the great outdoors!

As if this wasn't enough, we still wanted to see some animals so we made the call to go hike up to a point where supposedly sheep usually hung out. While there were no sheep there, we did encounter some elk along the way and on our way out of town we saw some sheep wayyyyyyy up on the side of some mountains. I am still miffed as to how the heck they got to where they were and what their intentions were of getting down. Short of learning how to repel down a mountain side I don't know how they were going to do it.

The entire trip back it rained and just as we were pulling into Edmonton it decided to snow for a couple of hours. That's right, snow. It's Memorial day weekend and while my entire family is canoeing down the Au Sable river in 80 degree weather, I pull into a heavy falling of snow in the greater-Edmonton area. I actually really enjoyed it though, because it seriously felt like Christmas - also because I went to the mall and bought myself a present: a World Cup 2010 Team USA soccer jersey! USA! USA! So excited for the world right now. There is nothing like a good old fashioned sporting event to bring people together.

Alright, well, the other half of this OD stir-fry medley is staring at me coldly from the plate to my right. Work must be done. As the French Canadians would say "Au revior", gopher.

PS- Pictures can be found here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2766245&id=2207325&l=686c7fc0bf


- Sent via Schragooster

Location:87 Ave NW,Edmonton,Canada

Edmonton the city, not the street

Hello everyone!

By the time I get a chance to send this I will be in the city of Edmonton, Alberta, where they still have a hockey team called the Oilers, there is a supposed HUGE mall here and is in the heart of Canadian cowboy country. Sara B already mentioned a trip to a boot shop might be in order.

I am getting in the mood by listening to the country XM radio station right now and playing Texas Hold 'em (the computer is smoking me, it's embarrassing). We just took off from Vancouver where we had a little bit of time to catch up with some coworkers that we haven't seen in a long time and hang out with the BC office. Great times. And it was nice to be able to reconnect with some people from the office - and started telling us about a stellar new group of facilitators and speakers coming in for the next year. I am excited to meet them.






In other news, I had three hours to kill at the airport today and so I am taking full advantage of this iPad. After today I can completely justify this purchase. I was able to watch almost the entire Tigers game while waiting for my flight. I downloaded a map for Edmonton and figured out how to get to the Travelodge. I read a bit of Middlesex and checked my Facebook and Twitter. Even worked a little on a flyer using the Pages application. I'm still trying to figure that out. It's May Long Weekend here in Canada so we have tomorrow and Monday off (awesome) and I plan on doing laundry and calling my mother.

As it turns out, we have started our decent into Edmonton and are experiencing a bit of turbulence they tell me (and then again in French). Looks like ill have to catch you on the flip side..


- Sent via Schragooster

Where in the world?

Hello friends and family!

Happy Monday! This week finds me in the small town of Vernon, British Columbia, where today marks the 76th school I will have spoken at since I started my tour way back in October. It sure doesn't seem like that many.

I have been going through pictures and starting to post some of them on facebook and I am having fun looking back on all of the students. Most of the faces I remember, if not the names, and I can certainly remember the incredible amount of smiles, excitement, and passion that they share. No matter where I have traveled the common theme has been that the students are ready and willing to do something for others. I have seen 8 year olds decide that there is too much litter and that they want to organize campus cleanup days. I have seen students risk popularity points and call each other out on acts of bullying. I have seen a family get together and rally around their daughter in efforts to raise enough money to adopt an entire village in Africa.

And that's just scratching the surface. Every school I have been to has been involved in their local and global communities in some way or another. And sometimes it's just a small group with a super energetic educator, sometimes it's the whole school community. It's exciting to see that no matter what our age, background, or location, there is inherently a desire in each of us to want to do good for those around us. And while definitions of what is 'good' may differ, it is easy to see that hope, desire, faith, willingness, whatever you want to call it is a good enough reason for kids to DO something, anything, to make their mark in a positive light.

On top of all of this, I have been fortunate enough to have visited some of the earths greatest natural treasures, man's greatest triumphs and disasters, and have fostered relationships with friends new and old. And while I know there is still much more work to do, I can't help but stop every now and then to count my blessings and thank all of you for being a tremendous part of it all. I am really one of the luckiest men on the face of the earth.

But what good is it all without pictures? No worries, my friends.

Think We!: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2760195&l=929e6a8ec0&id=2207325

Mahalo, 'Ohana! : http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2760196&l=b11838092b&id=2207325

Might Mo and the Sunken Ship: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2760192&id=2207325&l=a06a0af2b6

More to come soon, it's speech time!

Steve

- Sent via Schragooster

Location:Okanagan Hwy,Vernon,Canada

Aloha

Aloha 'ohana!

It's nice to be back on the blogosphere.

Currently I am writing to you from my new toy/tool iPad. I have named him Schragooster and hopefully he will make it easier for me to keep up with my blog! Hey, it's working already, ain't it?

To be honest there is certainly a lot to catch up on so I will do my best to pick up where I left off....

And it appears as if I have left my reader in Dover, England! Well that is a odd place to have left off, now isn't it?

Let's see, since my meeting with the lovely young couple in Kent, I have:

visited friends in London, made new friends in Canterbury, switched tour partners in Toronto, created and delivered a new speech 15 times, interviewed for a new spot within the orgnization, saw my family (minus Slick) for Easter, Rick-rolled Fran's Diner (twice), went to opening day for the Blue Jays, packed for a month's worth of travel in less than an hour, met some friends from Italy, hung out with some friends from my time in Padova, went to an A's game and got a free Snuggie!, hiked a good amount of Muir Woods, rode a San Francisco trolly, saw the Full House house, travelled across the Golden Gate bridge, met up with our Palo Alto office, volunteered with some students and the 'Save The Bay' organization pulling Italian thistle weed (a non native plant) out of a marsh area of the bay, hopped off a plane at LAX, listened to a Jay- Z and a Britney song on the radio, saw Aunt Kath and the famb, randomly met a high school friend at a bar in San Fran (confirming in my mind the world is shrinking), ate an Italian-style pizza, suffered the dietary consequences of said Italian-style pizza, went to a Jelly Belly factory, had a frozen yogurt sundae, suffered the dietary consequences of said yogurt sundae, flew to Hawaii, bought a boogie-board, watched some pro beach volleyball players, spent some QT with a good friend, watched a Red Wings playoff game live at 8:00 A.M., hiked through muddy forest to find a secluded waterfall, received several handmade leis from some 3rd, 4th and 5th graders, seen countless rainbows, had a cheeseburger in paradise, went to a luau, snorkeled in 'Sharks Cove', inspired some kids to want to help others, and took a nap.

Ok, so I'm pretty sure I lied about the nap one unless you count over-nighters, but needless to say I have been quite busy!
Life on tour is pretty exciting as I am sure you can tell, but what really makes it is when I am able to have a group of students and staff like I did last Friday. Our speech was arranged by a Teach for America member who had been through a plethora of his own life challenges and was placed among a group of students with a 15% homeless rate at the school. Despite the struggles one can imagine at a school with a high level of poverty already, these students truly believed in our message of thinking of others first (Think We!) and took very thoughtfully and respectfully to our workshop. It has been a very nice change of pace for us and I am excited for the week ahead.

Speaking of the week ahead it is now way past my bedtime. Goodnight to you all and Mahalo for visiting again!


- Sent via Schragooster

Location:Kapahulu Ave,Honolulu,United States

Why I love to travel

1:53 PM – DOVER, UK


Happy Sunday, world. I just got back from mass at St. Paul’s cathedral in Dover, Kent (UK). It was a lovely service with the average age being probably close to 67 (that’s including the several little ones). After mass, however, I was approached a young lady who asked if I was new to the parish and if I would like to join her and her husband for some tea and biscuits in the old schoolhouse. Having not much to do on this rainy Sunday I took her up on the offer and was treated to a lovely discussion of foreign travel, comic book heroes and family stories which would have made any day a little brighter. Nina, and her husband of 50+ years Norman, then told me of a great pub to frequent for lunch and a spot to do laundry. I am hoping to get to the castle as well - they told me that it is the oldest in all of England – and it looks across the channel towards France.

Well I must be on my way, Leah is waiting for me so we can get some laundry done. Much love from rainy Dover.

Check this out...

Lawrence, one of the students who participated in our workshop at the International School of Tianjin, just e-mailed me a video he made for the United Nations World Food Programme. I believe he submitted it for a contest and it looks great!

Check it out..



Go to his youtube page and let him know what you think!

Midwest Love

5:17 CHICAGO-

Hello All!

Greetings from the ESPN Zone in Chicago.  As I sit here watching the Olympics and eating something relatively healthy for me (a REAL chicken salad – with lettuce and chicken tenders) I am able to take some time and update you on the happenings of our tour and the whereabouts of yours truly. 

Today we have off thanks to National holidays in both Canada and the United States (it's President's Day here and Family Day there).  We arrived yesterday after having spent a week in the great state of New York.  We had a school each day last week despite the imminent threats of snow all week.  We started off at a wonderful school in Buffalo, then flew to the City in order to be at a school in Manhattan on Tuesday, Albany on Wednesday, Mt. Vernon on Thursday and finally Long Island on Friday.  Friday evening we flew from NY to Chicago, IL where we have spent the weekend.  I have been able to catch up with some friends and family which has been really nice. 

Our tour is going well right now.  We have made some minor adjustments in our speech and our workshop and have been trying out a few new things here and there.  For those of you unfamiliar with the format of one of our days it generally goes something like this:

6:30 – Wake up, get ready, check out of our hotel, try to find the school (a tall order sometimes)

8:30-9:30 Tech Check

9:45 – 10:45 Keynote address to the entire student population - Focuses on stories of youth making a difference, the founding of Free the Children, our organizational initiatives and our own personal stories of taking action.

11:00 – 12:00 Workshop Part I with a group of 25-30 students usually a part of their social action group. Usually we spend this time getting to know the kids, playing games, and finding out what will help benefit their group the most moving forward.  We do one activity focusing on Leadership or Issues followed by a quick game and then…

12:00 – 1:00 Lunch

1:00 – 3:00 Workshop Part II (Same group of students as before) Here we go a little further in depth with some awareness, teambuilding, or more leadership  activities depending on the what the group needs.  We finish the workshop with a solid amount of time to help the group action plan. We help them figure out what their passions are, both with activities they like to do and issues that they really care about, and then we help them put them together to come up with fun activities to raise awareness or funds.  

Afterwards we make our trek back to our new (or previous) hotel we generally spend an hour or two documenting our day and following up with e-mails accumulated throughout the day.  Depending on how far the next school is (and how lost we get) we usually are back in a hotel as early as 4 or as late as 12. 

That is the general format of the day, though it varies all the time.  Tonight we will be traveling to Springfield in order to make it for our 7:30 tech check time at a school there. 

All along the road we have been coming across some truly inspirational students and educators.  Last week we came across a group of 10 and 11 year olds at a resource-poor school that had managed to fundraise and convince their parents and faculty to let them travel to Keyna with Me to We trips.  This year they will be traveling to Ecuador.  Absolutely incredible. 

Unfortunately, my battery is about to conk out on me, but my warm cookie has arrived and Tony Riali and the Around the Horn crew is about to keep me company.  Much love.

 Steve

Sportstalk

5:28 am TORONTO - 

Hello online world!  It's 5:30 am and I have been up for the past hour and a half trying to fall asleep.  It's weird because I haven't slept much in the past 48 hours but I am just not tired.  My internal clock is really confused.  Maybe it was that full moon we saw the entire flight.  

Anyway, this provides me with ample opportunity to catch myself up on the sports world again.  Currently, I am listening to Bill Simmons and JA Adande discuss Kobe breaking the Lakers' all-time points record.  I am already annoyed with it, on to my BOYS Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon.  I love these guys and their podcast I have downloaded and listened to almost every day while I was abroad.  They are who I go to for comfort when I need some good old fashioned Americana in my life.  They are like Bob Seger and Chevy trucks: Like a rock.  

In other news: Federer is up on Murray.  Am I supposed to care about this match? I find it pretty difficult.  Also I am very hesitant to look at our Detroit sports teams right now...

Ok PTI is over. It's 6:15  I am going to bed.  Good.. morning?

Stuff you should know about HK...

It's warm- it's the dead of winter and still short sleeve weather

They drive on the wrong side of the road- leftovers from the bloody Brits

It's big- there are tremendously huge highrises all throughout the city and a TON of people

It's exciting- there are always people out and about who all appear nice and in good spirits

It's rich - I saw Lamborghini & Ferrari driving around like it was nothin

It's cheap - While the cost of living may be more expensive due to property, you can still get a great deal on just about anything.

Computer Nerd's heaven- There are huge computer markets with anything you could want to soup up your PC - I managed to escape without a thing!

You can get any food you want- Subway, Mickey D's, BK, some GREAT bakeries, and any type of Asian food

Mickey D's has chicken wings! - I had never seen that before, I had to try it

You can't walk 500m without coming across a 7-11 - seriously.

There is a spot called North Point - shout out to GPN alum. 

People spit on the ground- actually this is a lie, unlike their mainland counterparts, Hong Kong residents rarely partake in this Chinese pastime

70% is still not developed- it's mountainous and GREEN where there aren't high rises.

There are several islands - All of them with big buildings juxtaposed with high mountains covered in trees.

You are on the water! - Pacific baby. Go for a boat ride.

You are 13 hours ahead of home (Detroit) - so take the time it is there, add one hour and switch the AM or PM

There is an old British tram that takes you to the peak of a mountain - on top you can find some major shopping and good eats. The tram has a bit of an old school feel to it.

There is no duty or taxes! What?!

There is Disneyland!

People are friendly - I don't know what it is about this city, every time I come here it gets harder and harder to leave. Must be something in the water.

There is a very natural mix of Western and Eastern cultures - making it easy for English or Chinese speakers to get around

The speak Cantonese – Mandarin won't cut it here.

If you don't have plans to go you should reconsider- it may not be a top vacation destination spot but the shopping, prices, atmosphere make it a very nice spot for   travelers of all ages

Plus you can see Mickey!

Greetings from the Chinese International School in Hong Kong!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axel_Foley12:17 P.M. HONG KONG ISLAND - 

Hello everyone!  As I sit and write to you now, I am finishing up a cup of Ox-tail soup (not bad), finishing up some e-mails, and staring out at the beautifully green mountains that we are sitting in.  Did I mention we are in an outside cafe wearing T-shirts?  (See photo.)  I have said this before and I will say it again but it is REALLY nice to know that places as green and as warm as this exist in the dead of winter. 

Currently we are in-between our workshop and our presentation and we have enough time that I decided to update my blog! Hooray!  

There has been many things to catch you up on since I have arrived in Hong Kong and I am unsure where to start so I figure I will start at the happiest place I  on earth... Hong Kong Disneyland!

Tuesday we went to give a presentation about Free the Children and our Think We tour at the Disney offices (we spoke in the Mickey Room!).  It was our pleasure to be introduced to Vivian, the Director of External Affairs, and Carrie, Manager of Community Relations for the Disney Hong Kong offices. We spoke briefly with them about our programs in China as well as our tour and our relationship with Club Penguin. It was a very nice to meet with them despite their hectic schedules and afterwards they offered us an opportunity to enter the park... which we not so reluctantly accepted.  

Pictures can be found here.

We had an absolute blast walking around Adventureland, Tomorrowland, Fantasyland and of course I felt right at home on Main Street, U.S.A..  We ran into some old Muppet friends, saw a Lion King performance, and Borja got to talk to Stitch!  Apparently, Stitch recognized Borja from an outer space prison haha.  It was pretty funny. There we NO lines so we got to ride Space Mountain TWICE and Borja and I stuck around for the Disney in the Stars performance at the end.  It really never gets old going to Disneyland. 

In other news, we have presented to several international schools in Hong Kong now, and they are all incredibly active and engaged in their communities and we are excited to be working with them helping them come up with fresh and new ideas on projects to work on and how to fund raise.  It really has been refreshing to see all of the support the students receive here!  

We went out to dinner last night at a random place near our hotel and the owner just happened to be entertaining guests at the same time - naturally we made friends.  We soon found out that we were in the "Boondock Saints" of Hong Kong and they welcomed me as Axel Foley from Detroit. Haha.  That was in addition to a student the other day at a Chinese school legitimately thinking I was Steve Nash.  Like, he thought I was joking with him that I wasn't.  I love China.  OK, our workshop is starting - catch you later!

Guess who I met?

And we made friends in Hong Kong last night.  I am off to the Chinese International School of Hong Kong right now for a speech and workshop.  I hope to return this evening and write a post but these will have to do.  Also you can check out my market experience here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uLKSRHCids 

Ganbei!

What do you want??

9:49 PM  HONG KONG -

Oh Hey!  A half a day in Hong Kong has taken me to several shops in the market, down by the water, and upstairs to the 28th floor where I could work out with a great view of the water and a couple of distant islands. 

Right now we are working on our presentations for tomorrow and Tuesday when we head to the Disney offices.  (See above).

The real question I have though is... What do you want??? I plan on doing heavy shopping this coming week because everything here is pretty darn cheap.  Let me know!  Cheers!

PS - Also, the Great Firewall of China doesn't exist in Hong Kong - which means Facebook and Youtube! Hooray!  And can you guess what movie we are watching??

Made it to Hong Kong!

I am sweating - it's hot!

Waiting for our room.  Cheers!

Hong Kong Here We Come!

11:05 PM Beijing:

Ni Hao!  Leah and I take off for Hong Kong in less than 6 hours! Ah!  We have a ton of packing, cleaning, and follow-up to do before we leave but I just thought I would post some pictures from our trip today.  

http://picasaweb.google.com/schragoo/GreatWall

Brief synopsis of our trip:

Got up early, missed our bus. Hopped in a random person's car that took us to our bus. Wound up at a Wax museum of the Ming Dynasty. Then they took us shopping. Went to go see "a monster". Touched his ears (yes!), hands, then rear end (just like everyone else). Then they took us shopping (jade this time). Went to the GREAT WALL! Had only two hours :-/ . Then they took us shopping (food! - I dropped some yuan at this one). Went to one of the Ming tombs. Then they took us to the Bird's Nest. :-)

All the while we had a tour guide that spoke ZERO English save occasionally repeating "Thank You" in somewhat of a mocking tone. We did however meet two guys: Cris and Raymond that were our unofficial translators for the trip. Thanks guys!

Catch you all next in some sunnier weather!

Sān Ling Sì! Sān Ling Sì! 三零四 Take 2

Friday, January 15, 2010

12:20 A.M. BEIJING – Hello all…  Yes, that is Mandarin I write to you.  Fortunately Google can automatically translate that stuff for me (can you imagine me trying to write that middle character? I failed handwriting class in fifth grade, that would take me years to learn), but I have been able to pick up a few characters.  Bei and Jing for instance: 北京.  Bei means North, and Jing is city. It's nice to know that the back of the shirt I designed for my Grosse Point North classmates at senior year homecoming is legit even if the sleeve isn't - right Tom Bogen?  ;-). 

So we have now presented at two Chinese schools (in Anshan) and two international schools here in Beijing.  While it may be uninformative to say that these schools were very different from those back home – I must reiterate- they were.  The Chinese schools with no heat in -20 degree weather. The international schools with pleasant streams running through them. The Chinese schools with huge outdoor bathrooms, with troughs bigger (and dirtier) than the bins at the Big House.  The International schools with marble sinks in their bathrooms that smelled of summer.

The drastic differences in the schools here really didn't concern me much until now, as I see it written down. The thing that HAS stuck out to me the most is the seemingly indifferent attitudes (and I am generalizing here) Asian students have displayed - not necessarily to our message but more towards taking the time to help others.  It's very interesting to see the lack of excitement at the prospect of helping others, but it begins to make sense when you look at the priorities they are given and maybe the lack of resources they have.

For the Chinese schools, it's time.  They are in school until 7:00 or 8:00 at night almost every day. The students are so entrenched in their schooling that it is very difficult to get them to see beyond it, and they are far from encouraged to do so by anyone- especially their teachers and parents.  They are told to focus on school, and that's it. They dream to be engineers, doctors and lawyers, and anything that can distract them from those goals is considered frivolous. Even elementary school students have developed this seemingly closed mindset. 

 As for the International schools, I have yet to figure them out. They, for one, are by no means short on funds.  One of them seems very active in a ton of different service projects and has even hired a "Global initiatives coordinator" for the students to go to when they want to start a fundraising activity.  The other is still relatively new and is having problems getting certain programs off the ground – but we ran into some very interesting dynamics where students refused to participate in some of the goofy activities we do and hesitated to speak in front of each other. I am beginning to think it stemmed from the fact that the majority of the students in the workshop were Asian and probably adhere to the same sentiments of the Chinese schools. Perhaps by explaining to them that initiating projects like this will help them with their college applications they will begin to understand the importance Western culture places on being well-rounded and begin to start implementing their own projects.  I also see our tour as a great way to start the ball rolling with these kids. Every little activity that we do to open their eyes just a little is a step in the right direction.  No pun intended.  Alright maybe it was a little, I couldn't help myself.

So enough about that.  I got had for 60 yuan (12 dollars) yesterday by two girls wanting to "practice their English" with me.  I knew darn well what was going on when they said they wanted to go to a coffee shop and yet I still went.  Fortunately, I knew I only had about 60 yuan in my pocket so they couldn't nab me for more than that and in the end I got the last laugh as they were stuck footing the rest of the 280 yuan bill. 

Also, yesterday we went around the Forbidden City and walked past a market were you could basically find anything you wanted (many things you wouldn't) to eat.  Today we booked a trip to this wall they keep talking about and tomorrow (well, today now) we have our last speech till our first in Hong Kong on Monday.  I believe my photos just updated and you can find them here:http://picasaweb.google.com/schragoo/ForbiddenCityCIS

Goodnight! 

Sān Ling Sì! Sān Ling Sì! 三零四 (304)

Friday, January 15, 2010

12:20 A.M. BEIJING – Hello all…  Yes, that is Mandarin I write to you.  Fortunately Google can automatically translate that stuff for me (can you imagine me trying to write that middle character? I failed handwriting class in fifth grade, that would take me years to learn), but I have been able to pick up a few characters.  Bei and Jing for instance: 北京.  Bei means North, and Jing is city. It's nice to know that the back of the shirt I designed for my Grosse Point North classmates at senior year homecoming is legit even if the sleeve isn't - right Tom Bogen?  ;-). 

So we have now presented at two Chinese schools (in Anshan) and two international schools here in Beijing.  While it may be uninformative to say that these schools were very different from those back home – I must reiterate- they were.  The Chinese schools with no heat in -20 degree weather. The international schools with pleasant streams running through them. The Chinese schools with huge outdoor bathrooms, with troughs bigger (and dirtier) than the bins at the Big House.  The International schools with marble sinks in their bathrooms that smelled of summer.

The drastic differences in the schools here really didn't concern me much until now, as I see it written down. The thing that HAS stuck out to me the most is the seemingly indifferent attitudes (and I am generalizing here) Asian students have displayed - not necessarily to our message but more towards taking the time to help others.  It's very interesting to see the lack of excitement at the prospect of helping others, but it begins to make sense when you look at the priorities they are given and maybe the lack of resources they have.

For the Chinese schools, it's time.  They are in school until 7:00 or 8:00 at night almost every day. The students are so entrenched in their schooling that it is very difficult to get them to see beyond it, and they are far from encouraged to do so by anyone- especially their teachers and parents.  They are told to focus on school, and that's it. They dream to be engineers, doctors and lawyers, and anything that can distract them from those goals is considered frivolous. Even elementary school students have developed this seemingly closed mindset. 

 As for the International schools, I have yet to figure them out.  They, for one, are by no means short on funds.  One of them seems very active in a ton of different service projects and has even hired a "Global initiatives coordinator" for the students to go to when they want to start a fundraising activity.  The other is still relatively new and is having problems getting certain programs off the ground – but we ran into some very interesting dynamics where students refused to participate in some of the goofy activities we do and hesitated to speak in front of each other. I am beginning to think it stemmed from the fact that the majority of the students in the workshop were Asian and probably adhere to the same sentiments of the Chinese schools. Perhaps by explaining to them that initiating projects like this will help them with their college applications they will begin to understand the importance Western culture places on being well-rounded and begin to start implementing their own projects.  I also see our tour as a great way to start the ball rolling with these kids. Every little activity that we do to open their eyes just a little is a step in the right direction.  No pun intended.  Alright maybe it was a little, I couldn't help myself.

So enough about that.  I got had for 60 yuan (12 dollars) yesterday by two girls wanting to "practice their English" with me.  I knew darn well what was going on when they said they wanted to go to a coffee shop and yet I still went.  Fortunately, I knew I only had about 60 yuan in my pocket so they couldn't nab me for more than that and in the end I got the last laugh as they were stuck footing the rest of the 280 yuan bill. 

Also, yesterday we went around the Forbidden City and walked past a market were you could basically find anything you wanted (many things you wouldn't) to eat.  Today we booked a trip to this wall they keep talking about and tomorrow (well, today now) we have our last speech till our first in Hong Kong on Monday.  I believe my photos just updated and you can find them here: http://picasaweb.google.com/schragoo/ForbiddenCityCIS

Goodnight! 

PS - Do you like my picture? 

PPS - The title of this post is the room number I am in that I need to ask for every time we travel in and out of this hostel.  Definitely have that down.

Pictures!

Should be here: http://picasaweb.google.com/schragoo/Anshan 

I hope.  Goodnight!

And I thought Italian driving was bad...

Monday, January 11, 2010

3:51 PM ANSHAN –

Greetings from the backseat of our special Volkswagon sedan en route back "home" (as Leah so referred to it today) to Beijing.  As I type this we are flying past cars at 180 km/m giving a simple honk as we pass cars to let them know we are coming.  I feel surprisingly safe with William as our driver, but this is very much emblematic of my experiences abroad: Me in the backseat of a car unsure of the traffic codes and/or our destinations. We keep getting our picture taken by speed cameras.  I wave, William ducks.  It's quite fun. 

The past 24 hours has been a whirlwind tour.  We woke up early yesterday, ready for our journey to Anshan.  As soon as Borja arrived, true to form, the first thing he said to us was: "Alright guys, change of plans…"  haha. Apparently, our flight home wasn't booked properly so we audibled and jumped into William's car for the five hour drive.  By the time we get home (late tonight) we will have driven easily over 11 hours, delivered two speeches and eaten four HUGE sit-down meals in a span of 30 hours.  Not bad, eh?

While highlights of the trip included meeting our accountant Victor's sister, our four-star hotel suite, working with Leah until late adapting our speech, and a caramelized potato dish that I am surprised isn't more popular in the US, I think the best way to describe my experience in Anshan is through pictures. So before my battery dies I hope to download and tag most of my pictures from this trip so I can upload them when I get back to the hostel in Beijing. Until the next time, Ganbaei! 

Change of Plans

Saturday, January 9, 2010

10:23 PM – BEIJING

Yes, Beijing!  Some of my more astute readers may observe that Beijing is not the city I should be updating from at this point in our venture. And, yes, they should be correct had not plans change by the minute on this tour.   As Leah and I were eating breakfast yesterday morning we received a text from William and Borja saying that our schools for Saturday and Sunday were going to be cancelled due to a blizzard rolling through the Anshan province. 'What luck!' We both thought as we had been fretting over the amount of material that needed to be changed and the lack of time necessary to make those changes. 'Now we have time to work!'

And then we hit up the Lonely Planet book to figure out what we could do for the day. Did we want to do the Great Wall? What about the Forbidden City? How about trying to find a market? Let's do ALL of that.  Oh, and now that we don't have to work tomorrow, let's go clubbing tonight!  Yes!

We ended up staying in the hostel and catching up on e-mails and such until Borja came and took us to the Temple of Heaven. We spent most of the day walking around in the freezing cold watching the older Chinese men playing cards while the women danced. We watched the old mix with the young in games of hacky sack. We caught up on each others' lives and spoke to each other through opposite ends of long walls.  We froze our butts off and warmed them up in a pearl market where I haggled my first piece of merchandise (a replica Breitling Navigator watch) down from 1000 RMB (Yuan) to 250 RMB (roughly 36 USD).

After deciding I still probably spent too much for it, we went to eat, where we trusted Borja to get us something edible. After a bowl of noodles bigger than our heads and some red-sauced eggplant meal we went back to the market where I picked up a couple of iPod covers (including a Michael Jackson one!) for pretty cheap.  Relative to the US price that is.

After a long day of dancing with older ladies, yelling down walls, and pushing for bargains, we decided that work could wait and that we wanted to go out after a quick nap. So Leah and I got back to our hostel around 6:00pm, set our alarms for 9:00, and put our heads on the pillow.

9:00 Came and went. So did ten. And so on until 1:30 AM when we got a little bit of wind to us and decided to text Borja to find out if any places were still open.  Borja was passed out, too.  Well, I'm fine with sleeping a little more, how about you, Leah? Yup…

Next thing I know is its 6:00am.

I headed down to the "recreation room" (which is just a TV room) where I sat and watched a funny little white guy on the piano and figured out how to upload pictures.  Finally, I was interrupted by a self-proclaimed former Navy Seal from Texas named Wiley who was on the run from the US government. His stories we consistently intriguing, graphic, and for all I know 100% true, but I felt compelled to leave him in order to wait for Leah to wake up. Fortunately, she woke when I entered the room and I greeted her with some of the one-liners I had just heard that would not be gentlemanly of me to reprint here.  Suffice it to say, Wiley did manage to give me some advice on Chinese women.

From then on, Leah and I spent our ENTIRE DAY working on our presentation. We arrived at Bookworms (our fake office) before 9:30am and didn't leave until 6:00 when William picked us up to take us to the printer and then out to dinner where we feasted in a very nice restaurant. Duck, chicken, potatoes, tofu, soup, eggplant, mushrooms, and a handful of other dishes I had no idea what was in them filled the entire table around us.

We ate our fill

And drank some beer

Caught up with Will

And had some cheer!

 

Now the night has come, and the new day brings new travel.  We will still be going to the Anshan province – this time we should be a go. I hate to admit but despite the 12 hours of sleep I had last night, I still feel like I'm a goner as soon as I lay down. And that's exactly what I plan now to do!  I hope you enjoy the pictures and Thank you to Mrs. Schrage's class – we will be working on answering all of your questions as soon as we can!

 

Yao Ming,

Steve

 

Tienanmen Square

Friday, January 8, 2010 

1:00 AM BEIJING - Ni Hao-dee ya'll!  I am writing from my hostel bed in Beijing where I am doing head nods trying to stay awake. We just got back from a dinner meeting with Borja and his wife after having spent the day exploring Tienanmen Square.  If I had two words to describe the square I would use: Quite Large.  Other than that, perhaps due to the lack of history I was privy to, the square itself didn't have as huge an impact on me as the people inside of it.  

The many and varied faces that we saw were mostly all of Asian descent (very few Caucasian) and all seemed to be very friendly and willing to talk to the two of us despite the fact that no one knew more than four words in the other language.  Leah and I regularly joke that we are work boyfriend and girlfriend and when we are on the road outside of our workshops it is never more evident. Especially when people treat us that way - taking our pictures, going out to eat, etc.  It's funny, eh?

Highlights of the day included: 

- A HUGE TV screen in the subway stop close to us that when I walked in had an advertisement featuring Jackie Chan (which made my day). We have decided to include him in our speech.

- ON the subway, when you looked outside, projected onto the walls as you passed were full color advertisements that even though I couldn't read a character were pretty neat and caught my attention.

- The snow on the ground and the thousands of people walking around taking pictures.

- KFC for lunch.  Can't beat fried chicken. Plus, I braved duck skin last night - I think I am entitled to have western food while I still can in the big city.

- The Zhengyangmen Gate - a 600 year old building with all four floors recently opened to the public in celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Chinese government.

- 16 million people.  That was the theme for today and the answer to almost every question we had:  Why is the subway so crowded at 2:00?  Why would anyone want to eat dog?  What is with all of these honking horns?!

- The "Bookworm" bookstore / western restaurant where essentially Borja and William post up for meetings (otherwise they work out of their apartments).  They had a large collection of English books to be read at your leisure and provided a very nice/chill atmosphere for us to work on our powerpoint and presentation.

Tomorrow (correction-) TODAY we will be heading to a more rural area where we are going to present speeches Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Tomorrow we embark on the "short" four hour train ride to get there.  I am not sure if the Internet will be readily available but I hope to update when possible.  Also,  I have attached two pictures.  (I do not know if they will upload properly).  The first, of Borja, Leah, myself, and our Club Penguin friend we named "Chip" in our office (aka hostel) this morning.  The second is of me and Chip in front of a big portrait of this guy.  Please note that I am partial to the politics of peace and do not intend to make any political statements by this photo, but rather I was drawn to it's imposing presence in the square and wanted a picture, darnit!    Plus, everyone else was doing it.

Thank you for all of your comments! Thanks to Danny I think they will be sent to my e-mail from now on. We shall see. Lastly, Aunt Chris, do we really have Pittsburgh and Detroit in our blood?  And we dare to dream of becoming "wine attachés" in a European country?  That is a hefty order, zia. Madonna mia. Ciao ciao!

They are watching...

Thursday, January 7, 2010 – 2:48 A.M. CST (Local) – BEIJING

Hi again!  It is now quarter to 3 A.M. local time here in Beijing and I can't sleep!  I managed to get about four hours in so far but I thought I would try and update real quick.  Unfortunately, I won't be able to respond to many (or any) comments because they have many blogging sites blocked - but I should still be able to post.  Just don't tell anyone.

Alright I have no idea where to begin so I am just going to plunge in.  Our colleagues William and Borja were waiting with smiling faces after we went through customs yesterday which was probably the best feeling of the trip so far. Leah and I weren't entirely sure they knew which flight we were on and we hadn't officially confirmed they were going to pick us up. Needless to say we were a little apprehensive. After formulating several gameplans in the event they weren't there, it was a relief to know we weren't going to have to implement them.  It was also a great relief to talk to Borja who is taking the driver's seat for our tour and essentially hosting Leah and me for the next three weeks. 

A little bit about Borja.  I met Borja several months back during our We Day bonanza (that's a good word to describe it right now).  We were able to hang out a little and he explained to me a little bit about his life.  Born in Spain, raised in Holland, has lived in China for just about 5 years now (he is 25) and is recently married to a girl of Chinese/Korean (I think) decent.  I hope to meet her soon.  Borja's Chinese is surprisingly good – though he is modest about it – and is a very REAL person.  The two hours we spent with him earlier this evening has given us a greater perspective of the task at hand then the past four months.  It is also nice to know that he has a fantastic grasp of the situation and presents it to us in a very blunt and unassuming manner.  Leah and I both work best when things are not sugar-coated for us.

What we NOW know:  We have 10 schools booked!  Borja has been able to secure several more speaking engagements INCLUDING three in a city where William and our accountant Victor are from in Northeastern China.  The name of the city escapes me but apparently they make a lot of steel there so in my mind I have already likened it to Pittsburgh – a city I have never visited but have somehow managed to form a memory of.  Funny how that works.   Maybe it's transferred like a memory from the pensieve in Harry Potter.  I digress…

I think the biggest challenge at this point is going to be introducing these children to a concept that is very foreign to them: thinking on their own.  Borja explained the schools here as very disciplined no-nonsense environments that are very mechanical and deliberate with their curriculum. That way of learning is very much in contrast to the message our organization and workshops attempt to foster, though I would also argue the two methods to be complimentary.  A steady regiment of both deliberate and freeform education, I believe, promotes disciplined creativity which can be beneficial to all professions.  Mostly Borja is just excited to have us here – as a pretext for engaging schools that were not previously committed to fundraising for FTC.  The three of us will be going to schools in Hong Kong (a place none of us have been) and most likely will be presenting a brief summary of our involvement in China to employees at the Disneyland offices for Club Penguin – as a way for them to better understand the philanthropic undertakings of their corporation.   

Lastly, Big Brother is watching.  Everywhere.  And just like a sibling, interferes with everyday life.  I haven't been here for that long but government involvement in everyday life is VERY apparent.  From the minute we walked out of the airport and saw hundreds of people shoveling the streets to get rid of the snow to walking into the hostel and staring at a machine that reads your body temperature and alerts an authority if you have a fever (remnants, Borja said, of the Bird Flu that raised alarm several years ago).   It is also very evident in regards to the internet.  The Chinese proxy doesn't allow for facebook, youtube, blogger, etc.  It also didn't allow me to view anything from CNN.  It is a strange feeling waiting for a website to load knowing that either a person or a machine is deciding whether or not I should be allowed to view the page I am trying to access. Also,  as I have just experienced, I must be careful about what I say- apparently using the terms "freedom" and "American Hero" (two very commonly used expressions in my personal everyday chats) will lose you g-chat and g-mail privileges. I hope they let me back on so I can send this out!

Until the next time, friends!

Steve