Friday, August 8, 2008

New Blog / New Country



Well after a week of trying to access our blog at wordpress to no avail, we've decided to start a new blog here at Blogspot.

We've been here a week now and it has been great! (Well...mostly great...I don't want to get carried away)

Right now we are relaxing on a Saturday morning with breakfast and coffee after an evening of watching the Opening Ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics. It was one of the most amazing spectacles we had ever seen. The rumor here was that it was going to be something incredible, but as we sat watching it on TV last night we were awed by some of the performances. The one English station was unable to broadcast the event because of copyright regulations so we watched it in Chinese.

The last time I watched the Olympics in mainland China it was during the 1992 games in Barcelona. I was in a hostel in Urumuqi (a city in the far west desert of China) watching the events on a cheap broken down TV with a group of guys I had traveled there with (and pineing for my newlywed wife back at home). Watching the Opening Ceremonies last night, I was struck by how far China has come in 16 years. We consider it a real privilege to be here during this exciting time

8 comments:

Unknown said...

Oh man, wasn't it cool! The drummers, the firework footprints, Li Ning lighting the cauldron. Awesome stuff.=! Remarkably, the performers and athletes seemed to be enjoying themselves and having a great time.
Having lived in this part of the world for many years, I have never felt particularly Chinese. But when Yao Ming entered the stadium at the head of the Chinese team last night - I guess some latent Chinese genes in me must've kicked in because that was an electrifying moment. Go China!

Paul Patrash said...

"The Many Adventures of the Hackman Clan" continues. The Patrash family is praying for your success and prosperity during your China stay. Keep in touch and let us know if you need anything from the USA.(A bottle of "Just For Men" maybe...)
God Bless and GO TEAM USA
Paul,Melissa,Talyor,Mack and Parker

Kelly said...

We've only seen through the scroll part so far because we went to the Three Muskateers last night (which you would have loved by the way, more on that offline). If it makes you feel any better, the local HD station (9News) had technical difficulties through the entire scroll part, so we only got to watch. Hey, kind of like you guys. :)

I was wondering if you had fireworks in your town (which I can't remember how to spell)?

Also, can you find a TV that will automatically do close captioning in English?

K

Gail said...

You guys look pretty relaxed there sitting on the beach.

The opening ceremonies were spectacular indeed. I taped it (due to weather interrupting the transmission) so I'll get to see every detail of the scroll part. They also gave a lot of history during the events which was very interesting.

Love the shower and urinal combo..

Gail said...

You guys look pretty relaxed there sitting on the beach.

The opening ceremonies were spectacular indeed. I taped it (due to weather interrupting the transmission) so I'll get to see every detail of the scroll part. They also gave a lot of history during the events which was very interesting.

Love the shower and urinal combo..

Gail said...

You guys look pretty relaxed there sitting on the beach.

The opening ceremonies were spectacular indeed. I taped it (due to weather interrupting the transmission) so I'll get to see every detail of the scroll part. They also gave a lot of history during the events which was very interesting.

Love the shower and urinal combo..

Gail said...

Whoa!!

Obviously I am learning how to comment. Sorry about that.

Unknown said...

Glad to hear things are going well. Thanks for the update. The beach looks FABULOUS!!! What a cool blessing to be so close!! We miss you already, but glad to hear you're getting settled and enjoying the bathroom set up -- guys have all the benefits!!
Love, Kel and Craig