Day 2...Sort Of

So, enough new things happened that I felt like I could post a new message.  One thing I failed to mention in all the excitement of arriving yesterday was who I was seated next to on the plane.  I had the privilege of sharing conversation with Don Moseley, the co-founder of Habitat for Humanity!  For starters he knew of Peachtree Presbyterian for all the Habitat Houses that have been sponsored and built by the church.  Second, he knows several of the staff members including the beloved Marilyn Borst.  He was on his way to North Korea to talk about a new housing and agriculture initiative that was being headed up by some professors at the University of Georgia.  Don also is the founder of the Jubilee Community which houses refugees from other countries.  They are located near Athens, Georgia.  I mentioned to him that I had seen a story on a soccer team that was made up of refugee kids in Georgia.  It was on ESPN and in ESPN the Magazine.  Great story.  He then tells me that half of the kids on the team came through his community.  Just goes to show you never know what is going to happen when you bring God into the mix.

Back to Beijing.  I had settled into my room Saturday night and had fought off sleep until about 8 pm, and then decided I could crash and try my best to start the time zone switch.  The phone rang at 8:30 in my room.  At first I was disoriented, and couldn't quite figure out what was goin on.  On the other end of the line was a familiar Greek accent.  George from the Athens Commentary Switching team was asking me if I wanted to have a meeting with the switching team.  At first I said yes, thinking a meeting, obviously I need to go to the meeting.  Nope, meeting for him means just a gathering.  However, it was good that I got back up and threw on some jeans and a T-Shirt to join him, because in the lobby I was greeted by a bad joke.  A Polish guy, a Greek, a Cuban and an American walked into a hotel...it was great to see my colleagues again.  The team is pretty much in tact from Greece, and on top of that a number of the guys have been on the team since Salt Lake.  I missed Turino, but some other guys did as well.  We took a taxi to a quiet little restaurant/hang out spot and joined with everybody from the department who was there including the 2 year setup people which included some familiar faces.  One of those people was a lady named Andrea who lives in Durham, NC.  She had moved her entire family for 18 months to Beijing.  They just recently went back as she comes to the close of her gig.  We chatted around the table until about 11:30 and then headed back to the apartment to crash.  Today...I'm off because its Sunday.  This early in the schedule they get a day off on Sunday.  That will stop probably next week, but I have yet to work!  Monday morning will be my first shift.  I am joining some colleagues for a possible outing if the transportation works out.  Its a surprise, and I'll give a full report if it works out.