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Hi!

Thank the lord and all the saints above we will be on our way home tomorrow.  Miri, Cody, Sam, Clayton, Darton and Murphy all missed the Great Wall!  They continued to be ill throughout the day but are feeling better tonight.  All the RESCU students chipped in and bought gifts for our “fallen” comrades.  The rest of us made it to the Great Wall, the Olympic sights of the Bird’s Nest and the Water Cube.  The wall was amazing but clearly would have been extremely difficult if not impossible for the students left behind.  We had yet “another” Chinese breakfast, lunch and dinner and WE ARE OVER IT!  The good news is we survived: money exchanges, fleas, bumps, bruises, burns, sprains, swollen feet, unknown bug bites, squatters, haggling, crappy food, farts, burps, headaches, shame (from the Ohio crew and all of China) vomiting and diarrhea!  Your students are coming home grateful, hungry, stinky and proud for having made it!  We will nurse the walking wounded back to Los Angeles and turn them over…hopefully we can avoid being “pumpkined” on the way home. Dr. Deb has been consulted along the way and we are extremely grateful for all of her support! The most important lesson, other than hanging your head forward and ramming into people (Chinese elderly), is that the RESCU bunch is the truest and the best and we keep things going and we never take a rest and we have one yell and we yell it altogether and it goes like this ”RESCU Academy Forever!” Please feel free to hum along and sing everybody together now…Oh the RESCU bunch….Much love to all and Thank You again Art for making this all possible and last but not least…Cooper Mommy is coming home Yeeeeeeeee Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Hi!

I spent the day with Nicole, Clayton, Joey, Darton, Miri, Mark, Cody, Sam and Murphy all pooping, throwing up or heat exhausted. Some came back to the hotel (from Tiananmen Square) by taxi and paid $15 but Darton, Cody and Mark took a bike, because they were too impatient to wait for a taxi and feeling ill, they ended up paying $400 so as to not get into a fight with the bicycle man L. Clayton is the worst with some scary “red” chrystal light exiting his bottom which he Darton and Murphy all mistook for blood!  Houston we have a problem…I’ve decided I don’t get paid enough to run around and look in all of the toilets in the hotel to see what is going on! EEEEEEEEEEkkkk however, I did it with great joy, a twinkle in my eye and a song in my heart as I made my rounds in taking care of my little ducklings (quack quack).

Valerie will have to fill you in (blog below)  on the sights  and sounds of Beijing since we missed it! Go China! Ohio: 2  California: -2

Oh! Pictures are also uploaded on our blog: Check out the gallery: http://rescuacademy.com/chinablog/?page_id=7

Today was a difficult decision making day as chaperones at RESCU Academy- since we had to decide “should we stay or should we go now” (at the end of Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City). While I watched the students and chaperones start dropping like flies, we had to decide- are we all going to start feeling this way? Is it better if we all go back and get rest before the Great Wall touring day? Is it fair if the kids who are feeling well and paid for the trip miss out on some exciting opportunities? We decided what came out to be a successful decision: allowing students to go back with Cheryl if they were feeling ill or too tired to continue and allowing the other students to enjoy the rest of the day with me. Those of us feeling well went onto a delicious lunch at a Pearl Market place, a stroll through a crowded Summer Palace, a peaceful but moving lesson on Tai Chi, and a delicious sampling at a very nice Tea House. The group was in high spirits, happy and relieved that they were feeling good, but also worried and empathetic to the fact that the other students were back at the hotel not feeling well. Cheryl and I text back and forth, keeping each other updated on the health and wellbeing of the group. As the kids have settled into an early night and a “safe” pizza dinner, we are looking forward to a goodnights rest. We’re hoping that everyone feels better in the morning before the Great Wall-especially since it seems as if Murph, Clayton, and Miri may still not feel well enough to venture out tomorrow and we as a staff are taking into account the 13 hour flight the next day!

Hi!

We made it!!!! Today we flew into Beijing without being pumpkined. Clayton update: At the airport today he was “wanded” and then asked if he was a “good guy?”  We all surrounded him and started making fun of the Chinese (quietly of course) and it made him feel better.  It is really obvious what is happening to him as a male African American boy!

After repeatedly telling student’s not to take things from the hotels we had our first “I told you so moment.” Unfortunately, our SLG’s were broken at the previous hotel, before we left, when Sean and Buddig stole laundry bags from the hotel. Sean ended up paying a $100 yen fine and Buddig with a $50 yen fine to the management. (Sean took 2 of them)  Ohio-1 California-1.  The boys had the natural consequence of losing money and the students and chaperones were less than happy and so life on life’s terms has a whole new meaning.

We went to the Temple of Heaven in the scorching heat and then it was off to a rickshaw ride where we were whisked away through back alleys into deep holes smashing into the back of each other and finally came to a stop at a home serving us the best meal so far.  We had a great time and then ended up back to the hotel for the night.  The student’s humor and stress is at an all time high.  Truly, insanity is not just a concept in the Narcotics Anonymous book hahaha.  However, we are handling our drama with great grace and fanfare!

 Hi!

The good news is the student from Ohio is “ok” and eating and traveling normally today. Tomorrow we leave for Beijing and the real test for the pumpkin patch.  I want to thank Art for having the vision and courage to start a school whose students and families made this trip possible.  Art if you are listening we all miss you and love you!  We went to see the Terracotta warriors and it was a big day for souvenirs and we went through the day hot, tired, amazed, excited and full of new sights, tastes and smells.  The girls are incredibly strong minded and willed because we are now “squatting” to go to the bathroom.  The toilets consist of a whole in the ground and no toilet paper.  The guys are taking it in stride but Kudos to the girls who are having a whole new experience and needing to balance hydration with “no way am I going to go to the bathroom ever again!”  The best part of the trip is how much the students are appreciating home.  The learned helplessness is being confronted and it brings new meaning to self-care and hygiene.  We went to a goose pagoda and finally to dinner with hot pots where meat and vegetables were placed in a broth and we fed ourselves; unfortunately I burned my wrist on the pot but I treated myself with first aid as well as Kate who spilled boiling water on her legs.  

We bailed on the “city wall tour” which was added by the Ohio crew because of cost and fatigue.  I forgot to tell you about the “soft porn” movie shown on our flight to Xi’an.  Holy crap the chaperones were unplugging as many kids as we could from their head phones but it was on all the screens in front of God and country and lasted the entire 2 hour flight.  After some minor sex scenes, violence, and kidnapping, the movie ended with a woman shooting a man in the crotch, stabbing him in the eye and then climbing a tree to draw a picture of it.  After words, the two women walked into the sea and committed suicide….I kid you not it was so uncomfortable to watch and yet RESCU Academy was having a ball with our usual humor.  I can tell you that although we were unsettled- the Ohio crew almost had a heart attack!  We will let you know once we arrive in Beijing and fulfill our “destiny with PE on the Great Wall”.

Hi! Today we arrived in Xian and did not enter the pumpkin patch! We all made it safe and sound…ah well at least safe and healthy. The heat is getting to everyone and although tempers have flared we have used our School Life Learning Goals and quickly resolved them. The RESCU staff and chaperones have put out the fires as quickly as they have been lit…and today was red alert for “Forest Fires”. Hopefully, we have that out of our system and are moving forward. We had a bus ride to the airport a plane ride and then another bus ride to lunch (Chinese haha) then we were off to the museum. Unfortunately, one of the Ohio boys got ill and was puking his guts out. Half of the school went to get massages and the other half went shopping. After the discovery of the pumpkin patch kid we refused to eat dinner with the “gang” (whose leader we swear looks like “Goofey”) and went to Kentucky Fried Chicken across the park. The tour leader sent the Ohio Pumpkin and Goofey back to the hotel via cab and we went back on the bus. Tomorrow I will get a health report before we decide whether or not we will be traveling with the Ohioans…We are hyper vigilant about making it to Beijing and fulfilling our destiny… California-1 Ohio-0 hee hee

A special thank you to Cooper for allowing me to go to China for 2 weeks with the RESCU students! I miss you and love you very much…thank you for all your support and don’t worry I will be home in time to get you off to Santa Cruz!  Go Banana Slugs! Mom

Hi!
We have had our first full day in Shanghai and will be leaving in the morning for Xian and will let you know when we land safely. Well, today we went to an interesting breakfast, lots of which even I wouldn’t eat, and then were off to the community cultural center. Clayton was taken into the back room and questioned while using his debit card. Once again, he was the only one that this happened too. Clayton was really shaken and upset and decided that he wanted to go home if he was going to continue to be singled out for what presumably is a victim of racism. The students all rallied around Clayton and we problem solved to always have cash so he doesn’t get questioned (for whatever reason they come up with). Solution seeking is one of our School Life Learning Goals (SLGs) and continuesto be put to the test here in China.

We went to the silk factory and checked out the worms and how they make threads for garments. It turns out the worms and their silk homes are eaten in China but at the factory the worms are murdered in the ovens after they have done their work for the product. Clayton made the comment that it was like the Jews in World War II which tied into a previous discussion that the Jews from the war sought asylum here in Shanghai and were welcomed by the Chinese people. (The Ohio school did not appreciate the analogy) Dr. Deb’s mother lived here after the war. We ended up with a lot of history lessons and the realization that the silk worms poop is somehow embedded in all the threads going into silk…nice. Despite the fact that Will and Kate bought silk sheets and comforters

We avoided the acupuncture clinic due to the flu situation and instead diverted to a Buddhist temple and garden. It was here that we witnessed an intense verbal fight between the ticket taker and a Chinese citizen. Our tour group leader instructor asked us to go in single file behind the fight but that was NOT happening and I made us wait until the coast was clear! All of a sudden the Ohio school had new respect for our school and was hiding behind us…ha h… I told them we would back them up and that we actually could if they needed it….We gained instant respect! We then had ANOTHER Chinese dinner and were off to an amazing acrobat show. It was a great way to end the evening.

Mike and Cody learned the RESCU Academy golden rule “there is no dating or romancing with each other”. It took them a couple of times but they finally got the message and we are all carrying on hoping not to be “pumpkined” at the airport!

Hi!


First I would like to thank Dr. Deb for being on call for the RESCU students and helping the staff with the aches and pains of travel. A health update: Chris and Katie are on the mend and we landed in Shanghai without getting Pumpkined….they made us wait on the plane for the pumpkin men and then sent us through the pumpkin machine and interrogation.  It was intense but so far so good. Clayton was asked by immigration whether or not he had ever committed a crime. He answered “yes, for stealing”.  The officer continued to stare down Clayton and finally Clayton asked politely if he could have his passport back and move through the gate with his school.  Trust me when I tell you that RESCU Academy was planning to go Kung Fu on someone to create an international incident and draw CNN’s attention if they would have taken Clayton…we were all convinced he was a victim of racism and a scared and angry young man kept his composer and shook it off with the support of RESCU Academy students!  Bravo once again for your students!


We met up with the school from Cincinnati, Ohio and lets just say they didn’t “share” our sense of humor.  Imagine the fun we are all having (45 of us) with that being said…Yee Ha let the games begin.  The students from Ohio brought their grandparents and great aunts so you could imagine the culture shock and generation separation will make for interesting bloggings yet to come!

Hi!


Lantau Island took us to the sights and sounds of a giant Buddha and its monastery. We took the shuttle, metro, ferry, bus and sky tram cable car to get to and from the island- talk about using public transportation! Katie ended up with a swollen ankle down the 268 stairway down from Buddha which once again put RESCU students into action. Sam and Clayton helped her the last part of the trip as we were all mesmerized by the multiple colors of Katie’s ankle. We decided it looks like a “mood ankle” and changes to match her state of mind. Actually, we got motrin and ice on her ASAP and were met with a wheelchair after our shuttle at our hotel. I think that the Ramada Inn Hong Kong has had enough of the RESCU Academy’s calamities but they have been very helpful.


Chris is doing much better after his day of rest. Nic, Cheryl, Sam, Plecha, Miri, Katie, Will, Sean and Clayton spent lunch in a real Hong Kong restaurant up by Buddha including: sweet and sour pork, rice, vegetable soy fish, tofu and seaweed soup, spicy chicken and tempura vegetables. The money situations are slowly resolving and you have all been receptive to helping us getting them straightened out big “thank you” from all of us.


Michael had a baptism by fire with his fear of heights during the sky tram cable car from the top of the mountain 45 minutes down to Hong Kong. He hung in there and is braving the country and acclimating himself to the RESCU Academy culture. Nic and Kate continue to document our trip with photos and Valerie and Nicole are using some video clips which have turned out to be hysterical….including Sean doing handstands all over Hong Kong and even through a water fountain!


Grayson, Alex and Joey are getting along well but the biggest news is Katie and Miri have re-kindled their friendship…Thank you Sweet Jesus it’s about time Everyone is in good health and looking forward to Shanghai tomorrow.