HOOP DREAMS

So I've been looking for a basketball court for a week now, and just when I was about to give up I heard a ball bounce......there is a court not 200 yards from my lodging. I laced up my new Nike's, threw on a headband, and I draped myself in the cardinal and gold of the mighty juggernaut USC TROJANS. For ten yuan you can get onto a private court and ball til' you fall. Within minutes I was dominating in the paint, blocking shots, and scoring more points than the entire opposition. I felt like Shaq, and I can't even touch the rim with a trampoline. I was "in the zone". The fellow ballers spoke as much English as a manatee, but they all had jerseys from NBA ballers: Tracy McGrady was represented three times. One of the players, who I thought was mute (side-note: sorry I did not bring my digital camera, but he was also wearing a tapestry that not even Brian Boitano would sport in the Olympics), all of the sudden shot out the infamous words, "I think Tracy McGrady is soft!" My man I couldn't agree more! This may not be the best barometer of basketball as I found out my oldest adversary was twenty years old, but my career as a street baller in China is off to a fantastic beginning. Nickname coming soon.

Started work too, now that is a glove in my face. I still can't get into the nitty-gritty details of what the company does, but I am helping them redefine their business plan. And it's hard work. Ferris Bueller's Chinese Vacation is officially over, but I still can't complain. I'm here to learn the culture more than anything, so when my co-workers invited me out for lunch at the cafeteria (yep, a Chinese cafeteria not named Panda Express) I had no answer but she (yes). There were well over two-hundred eaters in that cafeteria, and there was not a single one with pasty skin like me, so I stuck out more than a little. The Chinese people touch a lot. And at times I felt like Chuck Liddell running through the arena before a fight, as hands were extended and descended upon my milky white skin. I even slapped a five or two, because I didn't know what else to do. It was like they had seen a koala rollerblading down their hallways with reflective oakleys on. The food was well...CHINESE. I had no idea what to do, so I just played Russian roulette and randomly scooped up strange dishes. As we sat down and chop-sticked our way to full stomachs, I was told that my main course was a delectable delicacy that was much-loved. IT WAS PORK FAT! Not only do I rarely dine on swine, I have never dined on the fat of a pig. I mean pigs are not so fit as is, so if it's the fattiest fat of a pig, then it is probably the kindof stuff that Richard Simmons wouldn't even feast upon years before his deal-a-meal days. But I ate it out of respect for the culture. My new colleagues are teaching me Chinese, and I have found the language not as difficult as I thought that it would be. Although I am still speaking at the level of an autistic toddler.

I have to say that I really do like it out here. I know it is early in the race, but I have found the culture, industry, and social accommodations far ahead of almost any country that I have traveled to, and I travel a lot. People really love American out here, they call it "worship the American syndrome". And I kinda like that... Everywhere I go, I hear: American music, see American fashion, and notice American brands and logos. And yes Colonel Sanders, you are ever-present my fine-feathered friend.

Well I'm off ladies and gents. Have a few more days of work, and then it's off to the club with the new friends Justin and Victoria and their party posse(going to Spring Break Beijing AKA "Vic's"). Another hoops game on Saturday with my bosses (who I am gonna take to the cleaners), a dinner with a pretty Filipino hotel singer, and then more hoop dreams and maybe a little sight-seeing.

Hope all are happy and well in the States, and pay my respects to the good Colonel.

hasta,

Matthew