Getting ready for China

It's my last weekend in Massachusetts so I'm scurrying around trying to do everything that needs to be done before I head to California for next weekend when we celebrate my Mom's 85th birthday.

Susan will be in the US until October selling our house, getting Jeffrey off to college, packing things up, etc. She will be joining me after most of this stuff is done.

Since our house is going on the market, it may be the last time in this house which has been our home for the last 13 years which was most of our children's youth. I'm also going to be separating from the Staples team that has been my 2nd family for the past 14 years. Lots of great relationships, a lot of business success and many, many laughs along the way. The third group we will be separating from are all the wonderful friends we've made especially in our town, Hopkinton, which has been a great place for our family to live and grow for these years. We leave behind many people who will hold a special place in our hearts, neighbors, school teachers, friends, etc.

I've got lots of things to consider taking. How much camera gear? What clothing? Since I'm planning on being there through January when it's around freezing vs. August when it's around 90 degrees with high humidity.

Lots of trepidation about life in China even though I've been to Shanghai three times, I never thought about living there. What will the regular daily life moments be like shopping for food, waling the streets, etc. As a NYC boy, I like walking the streets so it will be an interesting experience to take in the smells, sounds and movement of people in China.

Staples has a good number of non-natives in China so there will be people to spend time with during non work hours. Two members of the Canadian team are going to be in Shanghai for the same period as me.

The Staples team got me the Rosetta Stone Mandarin version so I have some work to do on that.

So this is the start of the attempt to Blog my life from overseas.

Of course, as somewhat of an adventurer, I am working on going to see China off the beaten path. I've already slept in a guard tower on the Great Wall, ate dinner in a farmers house in a remote farm near the Wall in JinShanling (I don't think the meal would pass muster as a kosher serving) and enjoyed a lunch in the Hutong in Beijing. I've been to Guillin, Yangshuo, Hong Kong and the islands near there several times.

The first thing I'm finalizing is a November trip to the remote mountains to photograph Giant Pandas and Snow Monkeys in the wild. We're also planning on buying round the world airline tickets so we can maximize this opportunity to see the world.

Finally, I still haven't processed, my Alaska photos so lots of things to do.

Later.

Steve