A Whole New World

Ni Hao Everyone! I apologize it took me so long to get this blog started. I am new at this whole "blogging" thing so be patient with me. I have so many stories to tell and I have only been here for two weeks! I will do my best to keep you up-to-date and interested in our adventures here in Asia over the next year.

After three different plane rides and 26 hours later, I arrived in Urumqi, China on October 17th. Curtis is the new Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Xinjiang Tigers located in the Xinjiang province of China. They are one of the top teams in the CBA so we are crossing our fingers for a championship win this season! We are staying in the guest house of the owner of the Xinjiang Tigers team with many other Western players and coaches. The accommodations are amazing! We have a wonderful staff who cook, clean, and occasionally drives us around. They are all so nice and welcoming. After my first day traveling to the city I realized how fortunate we really are here in China. I think if we were to live on our own it would make things much more difficult.

I think the hardest thing I have come to face is the language barrier. No one here speaks English; occasionally I will find someone who knows basic words but overall its a challenge to communicate. I try to use hand gestures but it is still hard for them to understand. It is like I am playing a constant game of charades and failing miserably. Many items in the market aren't written in English so just shopping for household items is incredible hard. I am working on learning as much Chinese as I can but it is a very difficult language. When speaking Chinese you use your tongue and shape of your mouth to produce tones, or words, unlike English.

As the year goes by I will post interesting stories of my adventures, culture-shocks, and everyday challenges while staying in China. We plan to travel to other countries across Asia and other cities in China so I will be posting pictures of the amazing sites as well. I hope you enjoy my blog and if you have any questions or suggestions please do not hesitate to write me. This opportunity is a once in a lifetime and I am excited to share it with you!!

where we are living for the next year!
absolutely gorgeous

we have vineyards!

grapes