August 15th

The boys are back

August 11, 2008 Email from Andrew

Andrew sent us the following email which has a lot of news that we thought everyone would be interested in.

"Well hello from China. The other night we had a show at our usual bar/club, Club 64. We watched the first hour of the opening ceremony till about 9. Lear and his grandfather got the lucky opportunity to go to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Opening Ceremony.  Then we headed off to the club thinking the guys (Ryan and Teddy) would perform. But soon we realized that every club/bar in all of Beijing had the opening ceremony televised. Being the stars we are at our club we got a nice seat outside facing the opening ceremony which was being televised on the wall. At first it was nice watching some of the countries come out then it got a little boring. Then I learned that the order of the countries went by the number of strokes it takes to write the country in Chinese characters. Finally after a while USA came on and we went crazy and it was a lot of fun. Some guys from Belgium began booing us and talking shit but we explained to them that we had cheered for them and quickly they began to cheer for the us. I also got a little opportunity to speak some French to them. Thinking the ceremony would be over after about 3 hours (11) we soon realized that wasn't going to be the case. We all gave a sigh of relief when the ceremony finally ended exactly 4 hours after it started. We thought it was our turn to perform in front of the very large crowd that was already there for the ceremony but the manager explained to us that the clubs main attraction had to go first. We said all right and waited, soon we realized the main attraction was actually a female and male strip pole dancing duo in leather boots, mini leather shorts and ripped up leather shirts and bras. Lets just say that was quiet the show. It was now the guys turn and we had a tired but large crowd and the third show went really well. But we were tired as ever from waiting around the whole night and called it a night after the show around 130.

 

Yesterday was Saturday and was our big day being that we got to go to the Olympic games. We slept in for a while and then went out for lunch. We were told at lunch (not by Lear seeing he wasn't there) that we would be leaving at 4 to get to our venue.  By the way our game didn't start until 8. So like planned we didn't leave on time but we left at 3:40. We asked Lear why in the world we would leave so early and he told us it was because of the subway. Having taken the subway ourselves the past few days all over Beijing we knew he was misinformed. We had to take 12 stops to get to the games and it still only took about 50 min. We got to the games 3 hours early. But whatever it's how the trip has been going the whole time. The tickets themselves are pretty cool seeing that they have RFD tags in them which are like tiny little computer chips. Chethan and I some how scored 2d row seats on the upper deck. Lear and his possy had upper deck 3rd row seats and the rest of the guys had upper deck nosebleed seats. We watched USA play Chec Republic. USA was doing terribly during the beginning of the game but ended up winning by 40 or 50. The best part of the game was seeing the Men's team across the stadium sitting their all by themselves. Rellinger and Teddy went down to where they were sitting and tried to get their attention. Kobe Bryant walked in late and was being escorted to their section when Teddy got a quick handshake with Kobe himself. Rellinger got about 20 feet away from all the players. They almost all had headphones on but still Rellinger was persistent and continued to yell trying to get their attention. They all ignored him the entire time even when he yelled at Jason Kidd who went to St Joes in Alameda and grew up in Oakland. He yelled everything he knew about Oakland, Alameda, St Joes but Kidd wouldn't turn around.  Lets just say Rellinger was quite upset about how they wouldn't even turn around for a sec. but anyways he got to see them from about 15-20 feet away and Teddy got to shake Kobes hand. All in all we got to go to the Olympic games and got to see the men's basketball team and it was as much as a success as it was going to be. Today is Sunday and we have no plans at all but to watch the games on TV and USA vs. CHINA basketball tonight, a VERY VERY big game here in  China.

 

Hope everything back home is going well see you guys soon.

 

-love Andrew.

 

p.s. we get no internet in Beijing and only get a half a bar on wifi in a weird angle in one spot so forgive the spelling/typing. and i hope you get this."

August 11, 2008 Email from Ryan Pattee

Ryan's Pattee's parents received the following email from Ryan and they asked me to post it on the Blog.

"Lear's condo in Beijing is really nice and they actually haven't even stayed in it before us.  They basically took a bunch of stuff from their malls and threw it in the apartment.  The place is really nice but there are no phones or ethernet so I haven't been able to call.  

Anyways, we just saw the women's basketball game last night.  We got to see USA play Czech Republic, USA women won by a lot.  The USA men's team showed up to the game last night and Teddy actually got a handshake from Kobe Bryant while he was running with Security Guards to get to the seats where the rest of the Dream Team was.  We're excited here to see them play China tonight, it's gonna be a huge game! 

We went and saw the Great Wall the other day and saw the Argentina Men's Basketball team, one of whom we saw was Manu Giniboli!!! We took pictures with them, it's pretty cool.  The funny thing is that we actually got more Asian people taking pictures with us than the Argentina Basketball team.  It's pretty funny, we'll be at some place like the Great Wall or The Emperor's Tomb or The Forbidden Kingdom and we'll be asked to take pictures with people."

August 6, 2008

Lynne and I had a great talk with Andrew tonight.  Apparently things are going better in Beijing.  They boys arrived yesterday and have been staying at the Gao's new Beijing condo near Tienanmen Square.  They still have not been out at night, but Andrew told us that they intend to do that tonight.  Lynne and I were not too far from Tienanmen Square and were able to get around by cab.  The boys each have a piece of paper with them that has instructions in Chinese that they can give to someone if they get lost or in trouble.  I also asked Andrew to make sure that they have the address of the condo written down so that they can give it to a taxi driver. 

Today the boys went to the Great Wall and they were going to the Ming Emperor's tomb afterwards.  Andrew said that they were all having a good time.  Apparently they met and talked to the Romanian girls handball team and had a good time joking around with them.  They also met the Argentinian basketball team, including Manu Ganobli, who they talked to and had pictures taken with.  Andrew also said it was really funny listening to the tour guide that the Argentinian team had because instead of talking in poor English, the tour guide was speaking in broken Spanish. 

Hopefully one of the boys will email some pictures home so that I can post them.

. 

News from the Kosaraju's August 4, 2009

We talked to Andrew and Chethan last evening, seems to be doing fine. They said they were all packed up and just about to leaving for Beijing shortly. Chethan said Lear's dad took them out to a great restaurant and told them they could order anything on the menu. Boys wanted to order KOBE beef but unfortunately it was not available. Lear's dad also ordered Robert Mondavi wine for them and Chethan says he got light headed after a glass. Well, now the boys are in Beijing, hopefully they will have a great time(as they expected) last two weeks.

August 3, 2008

Andrew called on Sunday night.  The boys were on their way to Beijing and they will be staying in Lear's mom's condo while they are there. They also will be returning to the US from Shanghai so they will be leaving Beijing on the 12th or 13th to start back to Nanjing and then Shanghai for the trip back.  Andrew said they were all looking forward to getting to Beijing so that they can get out on the town a bit at night.  We told him that we went camping this past weekend and he asked if everyone had enjoyed themselves.  He sounded good and said everyone was healthy.

August 2, 2008

Ryan Relinger's mother, Kathryn, had just returned from a trip to Canada and the east coast the other day and was thinking about the boys and wondering how they were doing in China when she looked across the street and saw Drew with his girlfriend. She did a double take was wondering what was going on. Well Drew came back early. His health hit a snag and everyone thought it best if he get back to the states.

This past weekend the Relinger's, Finston's and Kosaraju's went on their annual camping trip arranged by Helmut and Kathryn. We had a blast camping, hiking and swimming in the alpine lakes north of lake Tahoe near Grey Eagle. We had a nice camp sight near a creek and a short distance from a number of nice hikes and lakes. As usual the food was great, the wine tastings a lot of fun and the fire pit was full of burning logs until the wee hours. Rick (Ryan's brother) and Lee (a good friend) went fishing for dinner one day. Fortunately we were not relying on them to feed us because when Rick and Lee bot back they reported the the fish had won the titanic battle. Rick and Lee had lost several hooks and lures and the fish swam away apparently laughing at the failed attempts of the valiant fishermen.

Meanwhile, we went on two great hikes. The first was up to the fire lookout at the top of Sierra Buttes. It was a rather long hike (4 miles each way) and quite a lot of elevation change. But everyone eventually made it to the top. The next day we hiked into Little Bear lake. It was only about a half mile gentle hike. The lake was very pretty and several people went for a swim, including Helmut who was the only parent brave enough to test to cold mountain water.

Lynne about to climb up the 147 stairs to the lookout tower at Sierra Buttes.

Helmut taking a dip in bear lake.

A nice view of some of the alpine lakes on our hike up to Sierra Buttes.

Lynne, John and Rao taking a break mid way up to the Sierra Butte lookout station.

John and Lynne taking a break.

I want to thank Rao for providing the pictures.

We have not heard from the boys in a few days. They are in Nanjing and even though we try to get them to send pictures back, our requests are ignored. We hope that they are settling down and having a good time.

More soon. If anyone reads these posts, please send Lynne or me an email and let us know how you like them and if you would like anything posted on the blog.


John (Big Daddy) Finston

July 29, 2008

I just talked to Andrew about the trip to Xian.  Andrew said that they all had a good time in Xian.  It sounds like things are calming down for them and they are getting more accustom to China.  Apparently they took the train back to Nanjing.  Andrew reported that they got to the train station a bit late and had to run to the train OJ Simpson style to get to the train just minutes before it left. They got back this morning after traveling on an overnight train.  Andrew said that they were in a sleeper car and that it was pretty comfortable.  He said that they also met some girls from Holland that had been in Beijing and they told Andrew that they found Beijing to be very crowded and that the pollution was still quite bad.  They plan to rest a few days in Nanjing before heading up to Beijing.  Andrew also reported that they have been eating a lot of western fast food, especially KFC and that he is getting tired of it.  Maybe they will be more willing to eat the local food in Beijing if they are tired of KFC. 

July 22, 2008

I had a good conversation with Andrew today.  He reported that things are getting much more organized.  They went to an amusement park the other day.  Andrew said that the experience was a bit bizarre, but it sounded to me that the experience would be best described as unique.  Apparently they travelled for about an hour to a park and when they arrived they come to an outdoor amphitheater which had a stage that was surrounded by a mote.  The explanation for what they were about to see was not very enlightening.  Then several tigers and two lions came on to the stage, which had several levels of platforms.  Some trainers then came out and got the lions and tigers to get up on the platforms.  The animals were roaring and the boys were wondering whether they would attack the trainers.  Next two ponies came on to the stage and started running around the stage.  Andrew wondered whether the ponies, which were fairly small might be lunch for the lion and tigers.  But instead of a gruesome show, instead the trainers had two of the tigers jump on to the backs of the ponies and ride them around the stage.  Next two large rubber balls (like yoga exercise balls) were put on the stage and the lions jumped on top of them and started to "walk" them around the stage. Finally, the trainers bought out flaming hoops and had the tigers jump through the hoops.  Andrew said at first they jumped through one hoop and then through two hoops several feet apart.  The distance between the hoops was increased to about 7 feet and then to about 20 feet.  Andrew was quite amazed when the tiger was able to leap, almost from a dead stop, over 20 feet, through 2 flaming hoops. 

Next they went to an amusement park.  Andrew was somewhat sceptical about the safety equipment, but that did not deter Ryan Pattee and him from going on the rides, including a roller coaster and a bungee-type ride.  He said that the amusement park was almost surreal because there was no one, other than them, at the park and that they would open the rides up when they got to them.  It should be interesting to see their pictures of the show and the amusement park.

Andrew also reported that they will be flying to Xian tomorrow.  Apparently the drivers took their passports the other day to get the plane tickets.  They are all looking forward to a change in pace.  I once again asked for one or more of them to email some pictures so that we have something to add to the blog.  I have not received anything yet.  If anyone else has, please send them to me and I will put them on the blog.

July 20, 2008

On Sunday we talked to Chethan and Heng about a variety of things.  Chethan told us things were going OK.  The house that they are staying in in Nanjing is a nice house and with the exception of the air conditioning on the second floor being on the fritz, they are comfortable.  They have also started eating at more westernized places.  Lear still has a tendency to take them to "hole in the wall" places for lunch etc.  When Lynne and I were traveling in China, we really enjoyed these kinds of places because we were able to try authentic  local food and dishes that we would typically not get here in the States.  But I can appreciate that it might be a bit unnerving for the boys who have not traveled much (if at all) out of the US and may be reticent to try strange food in a strange local restaurant.  So it is probably a good thing that they are eating at western style restaurants more often. 

Heng told Lynne that she was attempting to locate another person with better English language skills to assist in showing the boys around and will also find a China Travel Guide for them.  That is probably we should have thought about before sending them to China.  When I think about it, it seems like a Homer Simpson type mistake -- DOH!  Anyway, the important thing is that Heng understands the need and is trying to address it. She also said that she would make sure that they had an English tour guide when they get to Xian.  Apparently the current plan is for them to go to Xian for a few days, come back to Nanjing for a few days and then go to Beijing.  The boys are anxious to get to Beijing because they are convinced that there will be more for them to do and that they will be able to get around a bit more on there own.  That might in fact be true since the  City is prepared for an influx of westerners for the Olympics.  There is also much more for them to see in an near Beijing, like the Great Wall, the Forbidden City and the Summer palace to name a few. 

When we talked to Lear, he did not sound too well.  Apparently he has come down with a bad cold.  Hopefully he will be able to get well soon. 

July 18, 2008

Andrew noted during our call yesterday that the general comment among the boys was that the tone of this blog sounded like it was being written by a lawyer.  Oh my gosh - dead on once again.  Combine that with Andrew's insightful observation that people in China speak Chinese and I guess it proves that they are ready for college after all.

But I do not want to bore the boys too much with my postings to the blog, so I will try to change the tone somewhat.  Maybe I will try to write in rap.  The last blog could have been written as follows:

Last night da rents got together at Rao's as homies

To talk about da boyz we call da domies

After some food and wine - a good time had by all

We decided to give da domies a call

So we pulled out da computer to Skype em

But Drew called his Dad first to whine to em

We then called Lear to get da scoop

But he said da boys were still too pooped

So we chilled and had more food and wine

Till we thought da boyz might be up dis time

We connected to China on  da skype

to get from da boyz da lowdown and hype

We learned da Pattee got his hair scalped off

But he failed to get his face hair scraped off

Last night da boyz went out to Karaoke

but only Teddy sang  a tune - really?

Amazingly the rest of da boyz were too shy

to do da rap and raise their voices to da sky

Da boyz also finally got down n played some b-ball

But da time was short, cause da temp was high in da hall

So they will wait to play again and have a thrill

until they can find a gym with some chill

We signed off feeling better bout da boyz adventure

but agreed to call Lear's mom to ask her

to get some help for Lear in makin da plan

for da rest of da time da boyz have in dis land

July 18, 2008

Malathi and Rao invited the parents over to their house for dinner tonight.  The Finstons and the Mills come over and after dinner we called the boys using Skype.   When we first called at about 11 am China time, Lear informed us that no one was awake yet and we should call back later.  We called back about 30 minutes later and were able to talk to everyone (other than Teddy)  Andrew told us that they went to a Karaoke bar last night.  He said that Teddy sang a song, but he did not know what it was.  He also reported that they went to a gym to play basket ball, but it was an old gym and not air conditioned.  As a result it was too hot and they only played for about 30 to 45 minutes.  Ryan Pattee spoke with us for the first time and told us that he got a haircut.  I asked him if he got any special services while he was getting his hair cut.  He laughed but said that he only got a hair cut and since no one spoke English (a recurring theme for the boys) he was not able to communicate very well and his hair cut was a bit on the strange side.  The Mills were able to talk to Ned and Drew.  Ned seems to be doing well, but Drew appears to be fading.  Hopefully he will be able to rally and realize that although it seems like a tough haul right now, if he sticks it out he will truly cherish the memories later in life.  It is not the coasting through parts of life that we later remember, its the aspects that are hard or challenging that we battle through and overcome that we remember forever.  

Scott Mills talked to Ryan Rellinger.  He said that he sounded strong, but not particularly enthusiastic.  Hopefully it is because he had just woken up.  It sounds like the boys are experiencing many new things and because they do not speak the language do not understand what is going on at all times. That must be disconcerting.  But a certain level of uncertainty is always a part of foreign travel.  

The party at Chethan's house broke up slightly after 10pm.  The food was great, the hosts were most generous and everyone left in good spirits.  Based on our conversation with the boys, Lynne and I plan to call Hong to talk to her about getting more help for Lear.  We all concluded that it must be very difficult for Lear to have to not only try to address the requests of 7 boys, but also deal with planing for meals and entertainment.  I think sometimes the boys do not appreciate how hard Lear has it.  Not only is he the only one who speaks Chinese and English, and has to translate everything (Andrew should appreciate how hard that is because he has been asked to act as a translator of French for his Dad and hated every minute of it), but he also has to plan the day and then explain to all the neophytes traveling with him what they are doing.  Lynne and I plan to talk to his mom to let her know that she needs to provide Lear more assistance so that he does not have to focus on the mundane  things and can enjoy himself more with the rest of the boys.  

July17, 2008

Andrew called again this morning (Thursday night in Nanjing) to say that they had a much more enjoyable day today. They started the day by traveling by bus to GaoLi International Headquarters. When they got there they took of tour of the GaoLi Furniture mall and watched a performance of the trained seals that are in a pool in the middle of the mall. Afterwards they went back to the headquarters building for lunch, which Andrew said was quite good. They met Mr. Gao's personal assistant, who speaks English fairly well. They played more ping pong and also took Lear's car for a drive around the parking lot of the building. Mr. Gao's assistant then assisted Lear in planning the rest of the day's events. They first went to a very upscale department store mall. But it was too foo foo for the boys and the asked to be taken to a "knock off" mall. They were whisked away to the new mall and had a great time shopping. Mr. Gao's assistant helped then bargain for things they wanted to buy. That evening they went to Nanjing's riverfront for dinner at a dim sum restaurant. Andrew said it was a very large restaurant and the food was, in general, enjoyed by everyone. He said that everyone was in a good mood when they returned to Lear's house. Some of the boys even went to the local store to buy some chips and soda.

July 16, 2008

I just exchanged a late night text message with Lear.  The boys are just about to get to Nanjing.  I have asked Lear to have the boys send some emails home once they get to a place where they have access to the internet.  I also asked Lear to take them to a KFC or Pizza Hut for dinner so that they can relax (home town food has a way of doing that).

July 15, 2008

The trip continues on to Nanjing tomorrow where they will rest and visit Sun Yat Sen's tomb. Sun Yat Sen is considered the father of modern China and his tomb is at the top of a large hill and surrounded by a large park. Above are pictures of Nanjing's skyline and Sun Yat Sen's Tomb.

July 15, 2008

Received a call from Andrew at 5:30 am (8:30 pm in China) to say that they were on their way to dinner in another sea side resort town. He was a bit concerned that they are doing too much traveling each day and some of the boys are getting tired and worn down. We think that maybe they have not had an adequate chance to adjust to the time change. We talked to Lear and his mom and suggested that they go to Nanjing next for a few days so that the boys could relax and get use to being in China. We will also suggested that they get an English tour book when they get there so that they can better understand what the plans are. Lear and Hong are trying to show them interesting places, but because it is all so new, and they do not have and English tour book, they are finding it all very difficult to absorb and appreciate. We will work with Lear and Hong to develop an itinerary so that they boys better understand, in advance, what they are doing and where they are going. Right now only Hong knows the itinerary. She talks to the drivers who drive the boys to interesting places, but because they do not know where they are going or have any background about the places they are visiting, it is a bit overwhelming for them and they can not fully appreciate the places they are visiting. The good thing is that tomorrow they will go to Nanjing. We think that once they have a few days to rest there, they will feel better and will relax.

July 14, 2008

We received a call from Andrew tonight (Wednesday morning in China).  He had a bit of an intestinal problem last night but seems to be doing better today.  They now have 2 drivers taking them around.  Lear, Andrew and Chethan are in a Buick Sedan and the rest of the boys are in a minivan.  Andrew still is commenting about the fact that no one speaks any English.  In a few days he will catch on that China only recently opened up to the west, and very few people have had the opportunity to learn English.  

They are now in Qian Dao Hu.Zhejiang, the lake of a thousand Islands.  According to Andrew they are staying at one of the resort hotels on the lake.  It sounds like things are still going smoothly.

July 12, 2008

Getting ready for the trip. Chethan's and Ryan Pattee's moms (Malathi and Annette), Ryan Rellinger, Chethan, Ryan Rellinger's mom (Kathryn McCarthy), Ryan Pattee's dad (Michael) and Chethan's dad (Rao).  Ryan Pattee is already through security (he could not wait for the rest of the boys).  Ryan and Chethan look ready to leave their parents behind and start their adventure.

July 12, 2008

From left to right, two dads (Mr. Finston and Mr. Mills) Drew, Andrew and Ned wait on line to get Drew and Ned's tickets.  

photo

 

July 13, 2008

The boys landed in Shanghai and were met by Lear at the airport with 3 drivers.  They then spent three hours driving around looking for a hotel.  Andrew is amazed that no one seems to speak anything but Chinese.  Lear is a bit vague about the plans, but it sounds like they are going to travel to about 3 cities before making their way back to Nanjing to meet up with Lear's parents.