Tales of (Old Man) Football

While I tend to regularly post about Zach's coaching and the women's team achievements, I rarely give updates on his personal prowess on the pitch. 

Yes, Zach still plays the game. 

Though, by his own words, the current playing strategy is that the mind knows what to do, but the body lags....and the knees are a bit cranky. 

As with every semester, he plays competitively with the teachers team in the campus competition. However, before the opening game began this year, a rather serious discussion took place. In Zach's retelling of their initial huddle, a fellow teacher lamented that the student opponents remain the same age, but their ages increase. By a quick calculation, it was declared that the average age of the teachers team is 42. Zach said there was a collective round of 'ai-yahs' and groans, alongside a few shoulder shrugs. With that stated, they turned to walk onto the field. 

The grizzled grit of the aged ready to take on the bravado of the youth. 

Watching these games are always delightful in the way that amateur sports can be, especially in a culture where foundational skill building is disregarded in favor of acting akin to the professionals. Every player who steps on a pitch in China is a Messi or Ronaldo; though the drama and rolling around on the field is mimicked the best. This makes for extremely comedic viewing and ample bemusement opportunities for the teachers, who stand over the floppy, young whippersnappers shaking their heads.

This semester's campus competition coincided with the Shenzhen women's tournament, which ended up being fortuitous for Zach. In one of the earlier campus games, he took a few knocks. It was not an overly physical game. However, many guys like the opportunity to take on the foreigner, not realizing that Zach is quite fearless and has a bit more muscle than them. The goalie in this game realized that it would have been wiser to go after the ball instead of Zach when he was making a run on goal. Zach got all ball, the goalie got all Zach. It took the goalie a while to stand up. 

However, this was not the fall that resulted in a mandatory pause from active play. That came in the second half, when Zach was late in a challenge and the opposing player ended up on top of him. Zach was promptly shown a yellow card ("I earned it," he declared from the field.) Four days later, it was confirmed that he had severely cracked two ribs in that tackle. It was not a career-ending injury, but it has taken about seven weeks to heal to a point that any movement does not elicit ample groans. 

It also was not a season-ending injury, as the trend this semester was to draw out every single competition to an obnoxious length. The Shenzhen tournament that was scheduled to be three weeks became seven weeks. The campus competition was to be six weeks but became ten. We bantered that it was a good thing that China was not hosting the World Cup this year as the month-long competition would have become three under the current trend.

Zach was able to play the final match against the Management major boys. These guys know Zach well and he knows them well, so he was happy he was well enough to play with them. The management crew was aware of the rib injury, resulting in not many challenges towards Zach. However, late in the second half, during a corner kick, one boy's elbow inadvertently struck Zach's ribs. Zach doubled over and the boy panicked. Zach was fine after a few breaths, but it was rather endearing at how horrified the boy was about his errant elbow. Zach calmed him down and made sure that all knew that it was absolutely unintentional. 

Zach's football calendar has finished for the semester, so the footy bag has been aired, disinfected, and stored until next season. Now, his free time is consumed by enjoying his new birthday present and yelling at the professionals.

Football is (Still) Life

For football fans around the globe, we owe the TV series Ted Lasso a heap of gratitude for numerous reasons, the greatest being that it gave us Dani Rojas, a character whose infectious joy bestowed to all the greatest of catchphrases: Football is life! I cannot speak for all footy households, but this has become a daily phrase of explanation for scheduling, a rallying cry, or even a mantra of strength as I sweep up thousands of turf beads sprinkled between the front door and back balcony. 

Zach has been deeply involved in the women's football team and the organization spearheading the effort to increase the women's game in the area since our return to the adopted motherland. I initially wrote about this development in this blog post after an article had been published about the team. Since that post, the football life has practically consumed Zach's non-English teaching moments. As hoped, the women's game has gained public attention and thus momentum. As a result, Zach is frequently asked for interviews or public appearances (to his chagrin) alongside the hours of planning practices or coordinating games. 

A couple of weeks ago, a package arrived with a Chinese magazine. When I asked Zach what it was, he nonchalantly replied, "It's a sports magazine. The football team is mentioned in it." 

Upon flipping through, it was not just the team mentioned. 

While this post is the first of many football tales to come, I wanted to highlight this part of life as this week begins the Guangdong university competition. 

This is a big deal for several reasons; foremost being that a month ago, the team was not even recognized by the university as a university team. Obviously, politics and a dollop of sexism were at play. However, placing sixth out of thirty-two teams in November and garnering media attention has been an enormous accomplishment. As a result, last month, the coaches and girls were asked to play under the uni banner. There were negotiations, which included Zach being named head coach for the team. 

This will be a wild week for Zach, with him pinging between Guangzhou and Zhongshan to juggle coaching duties and teaching duties. I do believe he will be chanting a few times, "Football is life!" 

The Adopted Motherland Return: The First Fifteen Days

When it came to our winter holiday decisions, Zach and I were very much lackadaisical. A large influence was the fact that we slid into our final semester days on fumes and utter bewilderment that a semester went so quickly, and it was one where personal life and teaching life truly competed for time. However, we also had to admit that our commitment to travel was due to the trauma of 2020. The last time we left our hutong for six weeks, we did not get to return for a very long time. Obviously, we faced our internal fears, actually had a conversation about options, made a decision, and moved about the world. Yet, when we got on the ferry bound for the mainland, our anxiety did spike and really did not abate until the stamp thudded on our passport, and we exited the ferry terminal. 

We were ready to return to our hutong. As always, I gave my washing machine a very big hug then proceeded to clean for the next three hours. Cleaning negligence in this part of the world has very dire consequences, which means Zach gets sequestered to the back balcony to tackle our backpacks and loot while I attempt to eradicate the mold/dust/deceased wildlife from the rest of the our space. 

After hutong fumigation, we went out for dinner at our favorite noodle soup shop. Our absence had been noted, so we were met with enthusiastic greetings. The manager of this shop can speak English well, which means if the shop is not busy, she will sit and chat with us. This night we chatted for nearly an hour catching up on holiday tales. We had to take a picture together, because she told us that when she was with her family for the holiday, they did not believe that she had foreign friends. As much as she tried to convince them, they kept telling her that foreigners could not possibly like noodle soup while also asking if we could really understand her English. We were laughing so hard at this story, so we made sure she had photographic evidence of our friendship. 

The day after our return, we went to our local flower market. Most of our plants had died in our absence, as expected. We do not mourn too much for it gives reason to go shopping again for all things greenery. Since it was still the holiday season, the selection was quite extensive. We walked away with all the things - from a tiny maple tree to bamboo to ferns to actual flowers. We spent a lovely afternoon on our balcony, gardening. 

The following day was Lantern Festival. This is definitely one of our favorite Chinese holidays. In every city we have lived, it is uniquely celebrated, truly showcasing so much of the cultural aspects we love about our adopted motherland. In Zhongshan, the highlight is the charity parade which brings nearly every business, organization, school, and club together to walk one of the main roads in town. 

It is a grand event and we love participating in it. We are asked to dress in the way of our native country, so we always don football gear (much to the humor of our fellow expats.) I will compose a separate post to highlight the many the pictures I took that day. 

Two days later, we said hello to our spring semester. We gained a new foreign teacher, which meant we dropped from 22 hours to 18 hours. While two classes does not sound like a lot, it is a significant difference - one that we felt very quickly. We celebrated our first day with Starbucks (in their Spring Festival cups.)

As expected, Zach began evening football practice practically every night. In a big development, the girls' team has been officially recognized as a school team. This has been something Zach has hoped for, but did not expect. We suspect that the boys' coach took the initiative and petitioned the upper bureaucratic echelons, but the language barrier bars us from getting the full story. This is good news, but it does come with some hesitation.  This is a land notorious for someone building something up only for it to be taken away by someone else who needs recognition. I could write an entire blog post on how culture here detrimentally interferes with sports development. Nonetheless, Zach has spend most of our evenings so far on the pitch as they prepare for a major tournament that takes place in Guangzhou over the next two weekends. 

We are not ones to acknowledge weather often, especially since we tend to live in a place where our temperature falls within three categories: not so hot, hot, and hotter. Yet there is a sneaky mini-season we do love to call 'the great wetness.' But, let me back up a few months. In December, our temperature went extreme. One day I was on our roof in a bikini, sunbathing; the next day, we were shivering. The temperature plummeted and stayed. It was such a tumble, that we had to quickly acquire multiple long sleeve fleeces and shirts. It was a scramble. Standing in Uniqlo, Zach even commented that he would buy the fleece and wear it a few times. A few times turned into essentially every day for the rest of the semester and the beginning days of travel. The day we returned, post-travel, it was in the not so hot category, which is comfortable t-shirt weather. The day of the parade it started to drizzle. The day after, the temperatures fell again. We were in the single digits of Celsius, which is unheard of in our part of the world. It is brutal. The heater followed me around our hutong.

 

Then came the day that it went from 7C to 27C. This great of a jump instigated the great wetness in extreme. The concrete buildings immediately purge water. It turned floors into ice skating rinks, walls into artsy waterfall features, and windows into steamy scenes from either horror or romance films.

 

Our hutong was extremely gross. We returned home after class to find standing water. No matter how many times we mopped or wiped, the moisture seeped. At one point, Zach yelled that a raincloud was living in our hutong. A few moments later, he recanted that view and changed to a spring flowing beneath our floor. After each of us had our own moment of near death between the bedroom and the bathroom, we broke down and bought a dehumidifier. Of course, the temperature plummeted the following day, but we fear we are in the age of great weather extremes. The wetness will return, but we will be a bit more prepared. 

As suspected, our first fifteen days back have begun another busy season for us. The spring semester tends to feel fuller and faster than the fall, but I really do not know how we can be more than the last. Yet, there is birthday month frivolity, football matches, more reunions, summer schemes, and all the random fun to take place. Here we go and cheers to what may come! 

Football is Life

Life is wonderfully full for us, which leaves little time for writing here. However, Zach was interviewed recently and the article was published today. I wanted to share it because I think the reporters (Shao Wenjie, Li Siqi) did a fantastic job capturing all facets of the team; from their equality battles to the grassroots efforts of many who usually get things done. This has been translated via software, so it is a bit wonky grammatically and has those endearing flowery phrases that show up in every Chinese text. So, grab your beverage of choice, a cozy chair, and enjoy a (translated) glimpse into what has been keeping my husband busy since our return. 

Lianfeng Women's Soccer, Blooming Love

Editor's Note: On April 15, 2023, the women's soccer team of Zhongshan College of the University of Electronic Science and Technology (UESTC) won the "Sportsmanship Award" in the Andromeda Collegiate Women's Soccer League (Campus Division). According to the tournament director Tan Chaofeng, as the first large-scale women's soccer tournament in the Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao Greater Bay Area, the Andromeda Collegiate Women's Soccer League will be based on the Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao Greater Bay Area, and will set up a good platform for the exchange and demonstration of women's soccer in colleges and universities and build a brand tournament of "Women's Soccer in Colleges and Universities", so as to radiate its influence from Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao to the whole country, and actively promote the development of soccer programs by using brand events to promote the development of soccer programs. It will be a great event for the soccer circle in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao Greater Bay Area to make use of the brand event to actively promote the development of the soccer program.

In the game, the women's soccer team of Zhongshan College of the University of Electronic Science and Technology (UESTC) was not afraid of the strongest enemies, even when they faced the opponents from the national training team, they still had the courage to fight, and they competed with their own style and won the respect for themselves. Before participating in the game, the women's soccer team of Zhongshan College had been disbanded by the school, but they fought hard to save the team for the love and honor, and now they will continue to write their own story with hard work and sweat.

Soccer is a partnership, a team.

After achieving good results at the tournament, the UESTC women's soccer team abstained from pride and continued to train hard. Every Thursday night the women's soccer players and coaching staff showed up on time at the Peak Soccer Field for training.

Liao Zisan from the College of Humanities, majoring in Exhibition, is the captain of this women's soccer team. She is already a senior and although she is facing the pressure of graduation and employment, she still comes to the soccer field on time. She said to us, "Training is once a week, although usually the main time is on study, but this time I will still try to find time to come over for training."

Liao Zisan was shy in the interview, very different from her training time. On the field, she always has a confident smile on her face, and from time to time she makes a bright laugh, actively communicating with her teammates, full of energy. She told us the story of her relationship with soccer: "I started playing soccer when I was in the third grade of elementary school, and I like soccer probably because I'm not particularly interested in other ball games. I was more into sports before I came into contact with soccer, and it was a coincidence that I came into contact with soccer. When I was in gym class in elementary school, I tried to use my feet to grab other people's balls. After I snatched someone else's ball with my foot, this dramatic scene was seen by the physical education teacher. The teacher then called me over and I thought he would punish me for grabbing the ball, but he didn't do that and he asked me if I wanted to play soccer." After this incident, Liao Zisan began her soccer journey, but before that, she had also wanted to join the soccer team, but she missed the election due to illness. After joining the team, Liao gradually fell in love with soccer. Not only was she in good physical condition, but she also trained hard, so she progressed quickly and participated in the city tournament in fifth grade.

The main reason why Zishan Liao fell in love with soccer is the atmosphere of the sport. She likes the feeling that soccer as a team sport brings to her, "Soccer is a team sport, when we are a team and fight for the same goal together, there is a very hot blooded feeling, and the atmosphere of the team is also particularly enjoyable". Liao Zisan, who has been playing soccer since she was a child, tried other sports when she first entered UESTC, but she chose to continue playing soccer. "I joined the basketball club and they needed me, probably because I was taller, but after a while I realized that the kind of atmosphere they had was still so much worse compared to soccer".

Although the experience when she enrolled in the school is still fresh in her mind, time flies and now she has become the leader of this team. Talking about the dilemma that the team is facing at present, she said, "Although there are female soccer players in every college, the number of them is still relatively small in general. In this case, we don't have the opportunity to select more talented girls who can play soccer into our varsity team by way of selection". The soon-to-be-graduate sends her best wishes to the team, "I hope that the UESTC women's soccer team develops better and better, continues to grow, and has more and more people. And then I also hope that under the leadership of the new coach, our women's soccer team will go to glory."

Love is the oar, the light boat has crossed ten thousand mountains.

In addition to the hard-working players, there are also the meticulous and responsible members of the coaching staff. Currently leading the women's soccer team are Zach, the new foreign head coach, and Su Chuhao, the team leader, who joined the team this semester.

Mr. Su Chuhao, former head coach of the women's soccer team and former captain of the men's soccer team, worked in the Bureau of Physical Education of Zhongshan City after graduation this year. Even though he has a busy schedule, he still makes time after work to return to the school to assist in the training of the women's soccer team. Currently, he serves as the team leader, assistant coach and interpreter for the team.

He first introduced to us: "University of Electronic Science and Technology Zhongshan College women's football was founded in October 2020, initially a group of football-loving girls spontaneously set up a team organization and formed their own team for training, friendly exchanges and other activities, with men's football players serving as coaches and leaders. This team has gone through a rough patch, formed by enthusiasts on their own initiative, then taken over by the school sports department, and then disbanded and reorganized by the school, and finally rejuvenated this semester". It is understood that there are twenty-five members of the women's soccer team. This year ushered in a lot of freshman siblings who like soccer, there are six senior players, only one junior player, and the rest are freshmen and sophomores, making it a relatively young team.

Su Chuhao has been involved in soccer since he was a child. He started playing in the first grade of elementary school and trained for a period of time at a sports school in Guangzhou. His most memorable moments were playing street soccer with his buddies and classmates in the neighborhoods, streets and ancestral halls, and having fun with his buddies is what made him fall in love with soccer, "I have a lot of happy memories with my buddies, and that's why I fell in love with soccer and insist on playing it until today. When I came to UESTC, I was infected by the atmosphere of the school's men's soccer team, which was hardworking and improved, and I continued to play for four years on the varsity team.

Speaking of how he became associated with the women's soccer team of UESTC, he recalled the past: "In 2020, the women's soccer team organized itself to go to UESTC to have friendly exchanges with the women's soccer team of CUHK. At that time, I was studying journalism and volunteered to be a reporter with the women's soccer team, wanting to help them record some precious materials, and I became associated with this team. Later on, the women's soccer team went through a lot of difficulties, and the coaching team at that time, Mao and Bin, and I chose to stay on, and we told the players, 'As long as you don't give up, we won't give up on you'". During this stay-at-home process, he gradually took on multiple roles in the team. Later on, even though he was facing the pressure of school and employment, he still had no way to let go of his personal involvement in the team that was formed from zero to one, so he became the leader of the women's soccer team, and continued to help the women's soccer team with his own strength.

When asked why the women's soccer team experienced dissolution and reorganization, Su Chuhao looked a bit gloomy, he said: "First of all, the number of girls playing soccer is insufficient, and there is no atmosphere in the school for girls to play soccer, so we can only cultivate their hobbies and try to improve their motivation. Furthermore, we currently do not have a lead teacher from the sports department, and there is no way to apply for official leave for the players to attend training and competitions, so we can only 'survive' in the cracks. And we lack sufficient funds to support the team's operation, but this I have contacted off-campus "Chaopu" sports and cultural development company to provide free sponsorship". Speaking of the sponsorship, Su Chuhao's expression obviously relaxed, he continued: "At that time the school to dissolve the women's football, we could only reorganize the school soccer team into a women's soccer enthusiasts group, joined the school soccer association, back to the beginning of the state of self-organization to save the team, waiting for a new opportunity". In this difficult time, all parties have given a helping hand to this team, the school football association at that time is willing to help the women's soccer recruiting and run the game, the men's football players are willing to serve as a coach without pay, the school teacher can not directly lead the women's football team, but also behind the scenes for the women's football team to provide convenience and help, all because the women's football team themselves did not give up, their love and perseverance so that all parties are willing to help them. "The most important thing is that the players love soccer enough and did not choose to give up in difficult situations."

Participating in the tournament this year was an important turning point in the development of the women's soccer team, said Su Chuhao, "The lack of tournaments has been a major factor in our team's struggle to stay motivated. So when I saw that there was a huge women's soccer tournament organized by an organization, I immediately thought we could try to sign up for it. In the end, we were able to sign up and play against women's soccer teams from universities in Guangdong Province, and the team made a lot of like-minded friends". Although the team was successful in registering for the tournament, there were many difficulties encountered during the tournament. The venue of the tournament was in Guangzhou, and the team faced transportation difficulties every time they played, while going out to play also meant that the team had to coordinate their time and balance the pressure from their studies, "Transportation and time were our biggest problems, but the sports department of the school gave us a lot of help, and the team was especially grateful for that. The team is very grateful. Many of the team members were able to keep training and competing in between studying and exams, and everyone really gave it their best shot."

Su Chuhao breathed a long sigh of relief. We can't imagine how devastating the difficulties at that time were to the women's soccer team, but they persevered with love, and they were a team of true cohesion. After participating in the tournament and achieving good results, the team basically got rid of the crisis of disbandment and was reborn in nirvana. The arrival of the new head coach, Zach, also brought new hope to the women's soccer team. Su Chuhao was impressed by Zach's full commitment and meticulous responsibility, and he recognized the new coach very well, and was sure that Zach could lead the women's soccer team to achieve a better development, so he willingly assisted Zach with all his efforts, and after a month of bonding, they became a very tacit understanding of each other. Su Chuhao was able to quickly understand Zach's intentions and accurately translate them to the players, and this pair of tacit understanding partners will definitely bring the women's soccer team to a higher level.

Love is life. We have an equal right to love it.

One person who stands out on the soccer field is Zach, the new head coach of the UESTC women's soccer team, who is from Portland, USA. He's from Portland, USA, and he's also an English teacher at the Foreign Language Institute of UESTC. Zach was very enthusiastic and talkative, and he was very happy to have us interview him.

Zach is 44 years old and said, "I just came to UESTC this semester and have just been coaching women's soccer for about a month, but I had previously coached the women's soccer team at Guangdong Ocean University's College of Foreign Languages for four years." Zach has also been playing soccer since he was a kid. Zach's mother first let him try playing baseball, which Zach hated, but he fell in love with soccer at first sight, "Then my mom let me try playing soccer, and I immediately fell in love with it." Zach's smile is contagious and he was very happy when we talked about soccer.

Before Zach left the United States, he worked as a career counselor at a university. He left the United States in 2011 and chose to come to Beijing Normal University in China out of the many job opportunities available in the country, where he was working as an English writing teacher at the time. Zach was not used to being in a big city, and after six months he chose to go to Guangdong Ocean University in Zhanjiang City to work as an English teacher, and in 2013 he became the head coach of the women's soccer team at the School of Foreign Languages at Guangdong Ocean University, a team with which he spent four years. In 2018, he came to UESTC, where, in addition to his job as an English teacher, he also serves as the head coach of the men's soccer team at the School of Foreign Languages at UESTC, which is not yet the largest soccer team in the world. The UESTC women's soccer team had not yet been formed at this time. He was traveling in Thailand at the time of the severe outbreak in 2020, and China tightened its entry policies at that time, so he was forced to work in Thailand and Vietnam for three years. That's when he earned his U.S. E soccer coaching license through a combination of online courses and offline assessments. He returned to UESTC after the outbreak ended this year 2023 and volunteered to be the head coach of the college's women's soccer team.

Why the love for women's soccer? Here's how Zach and we explained it, he believes that women's soccer needs to grow and that they should have equal opportunities as men, "Honestly, I love coaching women. They have a different passion for the sport than boys because boys have all the opportunities and girls have very limited opportunities". Zach's philosophy in coaching women's soccer is that he wants to promote gender equality, to show girls that they can be just as good as boys, and to strive for equal opportunities for both men and women in all aspects of the game. He took the initiative to share with us how the women's soccer team trains, saying, "We start our training process with a warm-up, a dynamic warm-up. Then we'll do small drills, which will progress to medium-sized drills, and then we'll do full-field match practice." Zach's training method is very scientific and efficient, today he led the women's soccer team in a triangle attack and defense training, and the women's soccer team immediately used the triangle attack to score goals in the friendly training match with the men's soccer team later, which had an immediate effect.

Although Zach has been in China for many years, he still doesn't speak much Chinese, and usually there is a language barrier between the training and the players. But Zach will let the players understand the intention by posing the tactical board and making gestures, and team leader Su Chuhao will help Zach to translate at this time, so they overcame the language barrier very well in the training. "There is definitely a language barrier during training. My Chinese is very limited, but Stephen (Su Chuhao) is a great coach and his English is also very good. A lot of the time we communicate through hand signals or direct demonstrations so the girls understand what needs to be done. If something important needs to be said, I make sure Stephen translates." Asked about the gap between the current UESTC and Guangdong Ocean women's soccer teams he said, "I think the UESTC women's team is very similar to the Guangdong Ocean University women's team we had years ago. At the first practice of the Guangdong Ocean University women's soccer team, I asked the players how many of them had played soccer before. There were fifteen girls in the team, only two raised their hands, and the other thirteen knew nothing about soccer. For four years we learned how to play and be a team. The UESTC women's soccer team was formed a few years ago and they have been growing as a team, there are some really good players here and some who are just starting out in soccer, so they are still in the developmental stage."

We continued to delve into Coach Zach's plans and outlook. He said, "We will continue to train hard and will continue to do what we are doing until people see us and recognize our value." Zach's dreams for this team are limitless, and he wants the school to recognize the women's soccer team as a real team. Right now the school still doesn't take women's soccer seriously enough, so they aren't allowed more practice time. The soccer field is usually filled with boys playing soccer most of the time, while the girls rarely get a chance to play or only get to play on the small field next to them, "My dream is that the girls will have an equal chance in the future to be able to play soccer like the boys."

During the training, the female soccer players are using only half of the soccer field for training, but there are still many boys playing on the sidelines, talking about this, Zak changed the smile on his face and said with a serious look, "The girls are training hard and we have promised to use only half of the field, but there are still a lot of boys who are crossing the line and disturbing the girls. If this was a boys' soccer practice, no one would be allowed near the field." Even though the women's soccer team only occupies half the field, boys still try to come to the girls. They stood around the field smoking cigarettes, played between the cones that the women's soccer team had set up for practice, and disrespected the women's side of the field. "Honestly, boys may think that girls shouldn't be taking up the field for practice or are just interested in girls playing soccer, but they don't know how to stay polite and respectful." What Zach is really trying to push for is equality and understanding, he believes that girls have a right to like soccer, they have a right to be on the field, they have a right to practice, and they have a right to play like boys.

Zach believes that what women's soccer really needs in terms of support is simply equal rights and the same opportunities to play the game, not any extra help to differentiate it from men's soccer. He made a joke to make us understand the point he was making when he said, "I think the biggest thing that's lacking right now is the recognition that girls can play in tournaments too. A lot of times the men's team has the opportunity to play in tournaments while the women's team doesn't have the same opportunity. A lot of people think that girls can't play soccer, and that's the wrong view. Your Chinese women are better than your Chinese men, Chinese women can play in the World Cup and Chinese men can't, so who is better?" That joke aside, Zach thinks the biggest problem is that many people can understand boys playing soccer, but don't understand that girls have equal opportunities. So the biggest support girls need is support for their ability to play.

Zach continues to support the women's soccer team in a practical way. He has been serving the team he coaches without pay since the beginning, and his enthusiasm and meticulousness have made the Zhongshan women's soccer team more cohesive. It was his love of soccer that prompted Zach to become a soccer coach, he said: "I think if you've ever seen the TV show 'Ted Lasso', you'll know there's a character on that show. He constantly says soccer is life" and "I am an English teacher for money. I am a soccer coach for love".

This is a story of love. Behind the joy of success there are setbacks and failures, as well as confusion and uncertainty. UESTC women's soccer team has gone through the storm and blossomed on the top of Lianfeng Mountain with indomitable tenacity. They are training hard and uniting together, striving to go further and achieve higher honors in the next tournament. They are also striving to fight against the world and win equal rights and respect with practical actions.

Full Text Reporter/Shao Wenjie Li Siqi

Zach with Su Chuhao (right) Photo/Jianxin Zhu

Shelved Stories: The Small Moments

This post was originally scheduled to be published on 20 February 2019 - another stashed draft post that never had the publish button clicked on its behalf. I stumbled upon it while rummaging around in the blog archives yesterday and really did wonder why I never published it. Was I scrounging for a few more pictures? Did I get distracted by another story line? It is a post-travel post, which means these words were crafted in the early days of a semester and those were always a whirlwind (usually involving a mishap with our flat upon a return.) Nonetheless, I could not help but sigh with amazement upon finding this little gem. This little sliver of a time pre-covid. A time where the world was open and we had jobs we loved. Whew, what upheaval in three years!  However, I feel finding something such as this is a much needed reminder that life continues to amaze. Now is very different than then, but still amazing. I had lunch yesterday along a river while looking at Laos. How freaking awesome is that!?! So, I share these dusty, deserted words long after they were first written. 

Also, the humorous side of these few snapshots of Jordan is that it is a wee bit timely for we re-watched Indiana Jones and the Last Cruasde last week for the 4,583 time - Zach's initial inspiration to one day wander the pathways of Petra. 

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Woven within the iconic and grand, are the day to day life happenings which I find myself drawn to most often while traveling. Even months later as I finish writing the travelogues, there are moments that left an impression - these are a few that I captured with my camera. 

These lads were playing football in a precarious situation - on top of a hill. Granted, the more we traveled around Jordan, we noticed most impromptu pitches were perched on the highest hill. Nonetheless, one wonky kick sent these boys into a spin of emotions. It began with the why-did-you-do-that lamentations which turned into finger pointing at who was going to get the ball. When none yielded to run down the hill, they began yelling to any passerby who would take pity upon their plight and retrieve the ball. When I walked away, they sat dejectedly on the hilltop without a ball. Football is always an emotional upheaval. 

I am fascinated by fully veiled women. I love to look into their eyes. I want to know their story.  I loved how this woman gracefully wove her way through the coliseum, pausing every so often to sit and watch the world around her. An anonymous watcher of all. 

The unsung heroes of Petra are the pooper scoopers - a handful of men who patrol the Siq, sweeping up the poo left behind. This gentleman was resting, soaking in the sun warmth that barely peeked over the canyon wall.

While eating breakfast every morning on our bungalow porch in Koh Lanta, we became quite accustomed to this guy hanging out in a nearby tree. He was one of many tropical creatures who made their way around our little tropical paradise.

2020, The End

Most years, writing the introduction to a year in review is easy. It flows. All the memories bubble forth in fun and witty ways. It is fun to recollect what has been, eager for what is to come. 

2020...damn, it was hard. 

It was a year that devastation and delight walked hand in hand. 

It was the year that I tossed aside the concept that life is a novel, and began to understand that it is more like a poetry book - a poem extolling flowers followed by a poem of unending grief.

 

This will be a year remembered as great loss. We lost access to our home. We lost our expat life. We lost our jobs. We lost income. We lost moments with dear friends. We became part of a segment of society known as virus refugees.  

As Zach so eloquently put it one day, there is a ever-present well of sadness within us that we keep tamped down in an effort to not continually cry. People do not understand and I understand that, because how can you expect someone to empathize with packing three sets of clothes and walking out the door of one's home to never return. 

There were a lot of tears, an abundance of angst, and a heap of stress.

Yet. 

Yet, there was beauty, laughter, and profound moments of gratitude. There was gardening with the kids. There was laughter at the fat squirrels and staccato dancing of the birds. There were celebrations of all the holidays and birthdays. There was participation in the annual Frazier pumpkin planting. There were beautiful paddles. There were Friday dates at the lake with the Paces. There is a new pond on the farm. There was the quest for football headers. There were long walks. There were real books in hand. There were bike paths explored. There were holidays taken with friends. There were dinners under the stars and firepit s'mores. 

It was a year that we said farewell to Uncle Mac. It was a year that I completed three quilts, one in the piecing phase, and one is in the hoop. It was a year that we walked through three countries and 27 states. This is the longest Addysen has lived with us in person (and she reminds us of this quite often with frequent cuddles.) It was the year we watched a lot of Disney movies. It was the year Kaden and Zach went patch crazy. It was a year that we began as English teachers and ended with gig jobs at Home Depot and Fred Meyer. It is the year we were featured in a Timbers exhibition at a local museum. It is the year my dad survived a major car crash.

2020 was not a complete dumpster fire of madness, though at moments it seemed to flare. I hope in years to come the sweet moments will surface to memory more often than the hard. In sitting and talking of the year, the plotting of this post, Zach and I did cry, but we also laughed a lot - because, this is life, we love it, and are so grateful we can face it together.      

America 

A two week trip to celebrate turning into an extended stay has been brutal. America is and continues to be so foreign to us. It is hard culture shock every year, but getting tossed in during a pandemic and an election was savage. At a point, Zach said we should view this year as a sabbatical, but I could not grasp this verbiage because this is not a country I want to stay in long term. Traveling the world and living among people from a multitude of countries, I find America rather stifling and lifeless. Some close to me upon hearing my remarks will admonish me and say - but it is during a pandemic! To which I reply, "How has your life actually changed?" America is very much a triangle society - three points of life: work, home, a destination of grocery store, restaurant, etc., all within the comforts of a car. For years, all I saw were memes begging to have time to lay on the couch and have nothing to do. The year that wish comes true, everyone wants to go to the gym or a concert. Which is my first observation: Americans do not want to do it unless they are told they cannot do it. 

Other observations from this bizarre time:

The hypocrisy of America is staggering.

Americans cannot have a discussion. It is an all or nothing attitude, plus the moment someone grabs a cellphone to make their point even more valid. Verbal discourse is something I greatly miss.   

Americans are very cluttery. Choices are great, but I see the detrimental side to having access to so much. 

American platitudes are horrible. If I hear another person say, "but your are safe in America" or "just box up your stuff and ship it," I may throw punches. 

Dystopian novels are America. A worldwide pandemic is rather catastrophic and America absolutely blundered - now the world knows the weakness.  

Anyone who says "just go get a job" has not job searched recently. A hiring now sign in the window of a business does not actually mean the company is actually hiring. I applied to 17 jobs - I heard from one. One. 

Americans put too much self value on employment. It is a job. You are paid to do a job. No, we are not family. I do not pay my family members to show up at a dictated hour to see me.  

Americans love sauces. Ketchup, mayo, ranch, and the ten thousand other saucy way choices.

Books

Zach read 62 books for the year, 14,896 pages. His top three were (with a snippet from him on why):

The Book Thief

It was fascinating to read a World War II book from the perspective of Germans.

Wishtree

I loved how the message of the book was about community and coming together, even though people are different. Also, the reminder to remember history even in the midst of progress. 

Ahsoka

It is a well written book about a character I love. 

As for me, I read 78 books and had three did-not-finish. I read 59 fiction books, 16 non-fiction books, one play, and two poetry collections. In my quest to read beyond American authors, I read books from 9 different countries. As always, my scope of reading genres was broad. Here are my top five choices for this year:

Mrs. Pollifax series

I stumbled across this aged gem of a series in an alleyway bookshop in Chiang Mai. Of course, it was book three I found in the store, but the back cover description was enough to make me download number one upon returning to our Airbnb that day. Little did I know, this series would become a balm to my travel-stagnant soul this year. Not only was Mrs. Pollifax witty and her antics hysterical at times, but her forays into the world seemed to mirror a lot of our past travels. I could be with her in the bustling of Bangkok to the deserts of the middle east. Through these books, I actually relived a lot of our adventures, all while laughing. 

Toto Chan: The Little Girl in the Window

This was a book discussed on the sole podcast I listen to, 3books. I enjoyed the guest's attachment to the book and was intrigued by its description to pick it up from the library. I am so glad I did. Though not long, it is rich in ideas, moments that matter, reminders that mindset and perspective are so valuable, and one of my favorite lines: 

Having eyes, but not seeing, having ears, but not hearing, having minds, but not perceiving truth, having hearts that are never moved and therefore never set on fire. These are the things to fear, said the headmaster.

Homegoing

This book was gut wrenching, maddening, horrifying, shaming, tear-inducing, and a masterpiece of storytelling. I greatly appreciated a book that faced the topic of slavery from both sides of the trade - what happened in Africa to what happened in North America. It was a brilliant reminder of the ripple effects from a single action or a collection of choices will be felt for generations. 

A Death in the Rainforest: How a Language and Way of Life Came to an End in Papua New Guinea

This is probably one of the best books I have read in regards to language - the changes, the nuances, the messiness from translating one language to another. I laughed so much with this book, even though Papua New Guinea and China are vastly different culturally, the similarities of expat experiences was uncanny. 

Where the Crawdads Sing

I am not one to read the this-is-the-most-amazing-book-ever-for-these-two-months for I find most often the hype surrounding such books can be very high with low substance. However, my mother-in-law gave me this one with the firm statement - you must read it. I did - seated on an airplane, 30,000ft in the air between Kentucky and Oregon. It had been a while since a book completely devoured my attention in such a way that even disembarking for a layover made me grumble a bit. This one made me cringe, cry, laugh, and gasp. Also, it was a reminder in how cruel humanity can be. 

Special mention: Shepherd's Abiding

When we moved to China ten years ago, I packed one physical book. This one. The entire Mitford series is dear to me, though this particular book is what I call a soul book anchor; meaning it is a book that I can pick up at any point in a day, read a couple of pages, and be soothed. Without fail, I always read its entirety during the Christmas season.

My tea-stained, rabbit-eared, age-splotched copy sits on the other side of the world, beside my bed. In a moment of boon companionship, my husband, knowing my annual tradition, found a copy and gifted it to me on our anniversary with the words, "I knew you needed it." If there was a year to have a book anchor, this was it. Though it did not erase or change the circumstances, Mitford welcomed me back and for those moments all was right with the world.   

Cuisine Memory

We actually have a three-way tie in this category this year. 

Lounging on our beach in Koh Lanta, up putt-putts the moto bike bearing Ricardo and Karmen, our Spanish friends. Ricardo proudly plucks a plastic bag out of the under-seat compartment and declares it a shrimp-on-a-fire kind of day. He then proceeds to MacGyver together a makeshift beach grill from items scattered about the land, all while Karmen tells us this is a thing he has always wanted to do on a beach in Thailand. 

It was noisy, boisterous, and absolutely scrumptious Thai food, all with great conversation with Bon. We still talk about this evening, its frivolity, food, and friendship.

A perfect outdoor evening made to celebrate one of our favorite Chinese holidays - Mid Autumn Festival. (American) Chinese food, mooncakes, lion dancing, poems, songs, and surprise visitors. This was a night that we missed our adopted motherland so deeply, but were honored in how our people chose to celebrate it with us. Addysen even wrote the following for her class (no edits): 

Chinese Lion

It was a joyful day today at my home. My mom got a package it was big. When she opend it, me and my brother unpacked it. Then we took the box and decided we would make a craft. A chinese lion we decided so we took out the glue and paper cups and fethers and went to work. "This is fun," I said. I was so happy I nearly spilled the fethers. 

The next day me and my brother tried it on. I got to be in the back of the lion. We practiced and practiced and practiced intill we got it so smothly. Days went by and we keeped going. Sometimes we even made scratches in the walls because of hiting them. When we did I would always say ouch!

The day after was midautumn festival. We ate dumpling and fruit and the moon cakes where so good they tasted like the softest and sweetest fruit ever! I was so stufft after eating I could have ate all of it. But I didn't. Moments later we were talking and eating fruit. Then me and my brother decided we would do our lion dance. So we went inside and got our costume. We went back out and went into the midle of the yard. We did chase the tail, sitting down, and we even got to do pigy back rides. When we finished my family cheered! Even our Chinese lion got a moon cake! 

Destination of the Year

Chiang Rai wins the award this year. The discovery of this sleepy, mountainous city in northern Thailand was so delightful. We talked quite often during our walks of the area how it is a place we could live and be content. From quaint markets to the brilliant flower festival, it was our type of town. 

Event that Made You Say Wow

It was an early birthday gift given not knowing it would be one of the last theatre events to take place in 2020 - Harry Potter with the Oregon symphony. This was my first movie at the symphony and I was not disappointed. The excitement, the cheers, the boos, the claps, the enthusiasm, the conductor wearing a house tie; all of it was overwhelming in the most magical way. 

Famous Sites

The White and Blue Temples of Chiang Rai were stunning. The White Temple is something to behold in artistry (ah, the details!), but grossly over-touristy. The Blue Temple is busy, but has a calm presence thanks to the abundance of water features, water paintings, and an under-the-sea feel once inside the temple. This temple was one of the most relaxing for this water loving girl. 

Grossest Moment

The great office floor debacle of 2020 was so nasty. The swelling of the hardwood floor was hard to ignore once it started to splinter, crack, seep, and pool in the garage. Demo was required in order to discover the source, but it was gross. A wayward pipe with a disintegrated cap was our culprit. Luckily it was just sink water spewing through it, not toilet water. 

Hardest Moment

The morning we received notice that our contracts were not being renewed at our school because we were outside the country was absolutely devastating. We were deeply hurt that we were denied contracts for something they had told us to do. We held each other on the bed and sobbed. Air-sucking sobs of deep betrayal, angst, unknown, bitterness, frustration, and stress. 

Immeasurable Gratitude

We came for a two-week birthday surprise, not to stay for eleven months. Alas, the ToBanker household got stuck together much longer than anticipated - and we are so grateful. Not just for a roof and a borrowed bed, but for all those who have cared for us by lending coats, clothes, an offer for a couch to cry on, a free laptop, random appearances of money, to the giving of a car for our use. Our community (and a handful of strangers) rallied in our more desperate moments, and that will always remain a beloved memory of this year.  

Journey that Took the Longest

We left our hutong for winter holiday on December 19, 2019, stopped by for Christmas Eve and day, left again, returned for New Years Day and a wardrobe change, left on January 2...still waiting to return. 

Keepsake from Travels

We ended the year with a Korean football scarf, a Vietnamese football supporter ribbon, a beach mat, a Thai painting, and a baseball from the Rockford Peaches stadium. 

Lucky Moments

While the year seemed to be the antithesis of luck, we did have a great day winning a batch of books from our local bookstore, Annie Blooms. During one of our fall afternoon wanderings through the village, we saw a sign in front of stacks of books declaring a giveaway of ARCs (advanced reader copies.) All we had to do was give our name and which stack of books we would like to take home. We did so and about a week later I received a call that I had won. Upon picking up, the worker asked, "Do you know a Zach Banker?" When I said yes, she handed me another stack of books - they had not called him yet. 

Moment When You Refell in Love with Travel

We each have a different moment, yet a similar theme. 

For Zach, it was discovering a small family owned restaurant in Chiang Rai that served the best vegetarian Khao soi soup. We went there every night while in town. Such a discovery is the joy of exploring, he says. 

For me, it was eating our picnic lunch at the Wisconsin welcome center. It was a gloriously warm and sunny day, the welcome center was one of the best we encountered, and we had nothing but open road before us. Truly, most of my fondest travel memories involve a small picnic plopped somewhere in the world. 

Nicest Hotel of the Year

Our Airbnb in Chiang Mai was our best stay. Cozy apartment and a fantastic roof pool. 

Oh, the 2020 memes

We feel it is necessary to document the hilarious memes that so well encapsulated a bizarre year. This is our top five:

Pictures of the Year

This is usually the toughest section in this blog post. I take many photos - all of which I enjoy. However, as always, I have chosen the ones I have looked at often or even printed to hang on our wall. 

Lights are my jam, and lanterns of any type always make me stop and oooo (and often buy.) The lanterns of northern Thailand are some of my favorite, and this display at a hotel in Chiang Mai was delightful. 

We made a detour into Laos during our winter holiday and I am so grateful we did for so many reasons. One of which was discovering this beautiful temple that had no tourists at the time of our visit. Temples continue to amaze me with their artistry and eclectic collection of idols. 

Never thought we would see the Portland cherry blossoms, but we did. Our afternoon strolling/biking among the blooms was lovely. This was one of my favorite shots of the day - I loved how Addysen turned her head at the moment I clicked the shutter. 

Kid adventures were plentiful this summer as were the crazy antics. This picture. Geez, this picture makes me laugh every time I look at it. 

This is my favorite picture of Zach and I this year, one snapped in response to someone texting (as the pandemic began to explode): "How are you guys?" I took the photo as a snarky reply of 'horrible', not realizing this would be a photo I would look to often to remind myself that no matter how bad the year was going, we started it in our absolutely favorite spot - a hammock and a beach. 

Quotes of the Year

I keep a log alongside my book file of quotes that I gather throughout the year. Instead of picking a couple as I have done in years past, I am going to do a separate blog post to highlight them. 

Road Trip

The intentions to do a day by day account of our epic road trip were stoically in place, but the actuality of long days of driving and exploring followed by hours of teaching in a hotel room quickly eradicated the blog plan. The notes have remained in the notebook, ready for their moment. 

To begin, the number breakdown:

We drove 7,288m/11,729km.

Twenty seven states.

Two reservations.

We stayed in five hotels and five houses.

We ate McDonald's twice, Little Caesars once, and enjoyed two Starbucks stops. 

The cheapest gas seen was $1.49.

We stopped at one grocery stop for a bread refill.

We listened to two podcast episodes and one Star Wars book. 

Six authors (or their estates) we encountered: Willa Cather, James Fenimore Cooper, Gertrude Warner, Mark Twain, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Herman Melville.

Two legendary baseball locations were visited. 

One death-by-vampire-grasp grave was found (Simon Whipple, Rhode Island)

Between Portland, OR and Webster, KY we zigzagged a path across the United States in our quest to complete our fifty states. With Rhode Island, Zach claimed 50, whereas I stand at 49 until I can visit Alaska. Our two weeks on the road were glorious - a quintessential American experience. It was fascinating on so many levels - from pandemic response to quirky stops. Masks were the new rear view mirror ornament, but rarely worn on faces. We saw Cooperstown completely devoid of tourists, such a rare sight that the hotel employee congratulated us on actually getting a picture of Doubleday Field with no people. We saw the tallest thing in Vermont. We did not pass out from spray paint fumes at Cadillac Ranch. We met the cutest old woman at the Hooker Chamber of Commerce - a town proud of its risque name, and even prouder of its Little League team, the Hooker Horney Toads. We saw no man's land of Oklahoma and felt the ferocity of the prairie winds. We had a glorious kayak trip along one of the 11,843 lakes of Minnesota with the Homola boys. The Boxcar Children museum was a shell of a boxcar - I was devastated. Zach walked the field where the Rockford Peaches played - he was elated. Zach got to see my childhood home in West Virginia and I learned that Brad Paisley hails from there as well. We learned how the Dalton Gang escaped justice. 

Intermingled within all of this was stunning scenery, archaic tollbooths, picnic lunches, and a photo stop at every state line.

The musings of our meanderings included: Every state should have a homegrown radio station that plays local talent. Every state should have a pull off for the state sign - be proud to welcome people! Billboard and barn theology is hilarious. Travel is America is very lonely.        

Superstar Moment

In January I wrote a thank you email to Neil at 3books podcast; a note telling my gratitude for a link to books in a book desert. Months later, as I walked through our local park listening to the after-podcast club portion, I heard my name. My email was read! (For those interested, it is Chapter 51.) I was so shocked, excited, and (weeks later) thrilled when I received a signed copy of Neil's book. 

Touristy Thing

We sought out all the kitschy attractions associated with a cross country road trip - largest ladderback chair, largest catfish, the neon lights of Route 66. However, nothing says tourist like one's first pilgrimage to the Largest Ball of Twine in Cawker City, Kansas. 

 
Unforgettable Memory

The. entire. year.

Visiting

We travel for people and this year was abundant in reunions and new meetings. It began with an Instagram acquaintance in Laos, Noah, who is a fellow expat teacher. Next was Bon, followed by our slew of reunions along our road trip ending with the family. Even in Portland, we found creative ways to be with our friends whether on front porch picnics or happy hour zooms. While most were grappling with the lack of connections, we found the opposite to be true. We had so many late nights, hours of laughter, chats over scrumptious food, and deep discussions. People make us happy and this year was full.   

Weirdest Place

The geographical center of the United States was an odd detour. The random radio booth broadcasting Christian platitudes was an even stranger soundtrack to such a bizarre setup. 

Xcellent View

We stopped to take a picture of the Welcome to Nebraska sign and noticed a smidge up the road was another brown sign, which are always are beacons on a road trip. After our obligatory state line photo, I walked over to discover the Willa Cather Memorial Prairie - a vast swath of prairie land devoted to nature. It was beautiful and serene. It was in that moment I understood how she was able to write so vividly of the land and its moods.

Yes, you can....

...fit three kayaks and five humans in a minivan in Minnesota. 

Zealous Sporting

We spent an abundance of time in Bangkok in order to see the Olympic qualifying football games. It allowed us to explore a new part of Bangkok (the night market was the best!) and to once again see how football brings the world together. We were able to chant among the frenzied Thai fans, sit demurely among the Japanese, laugh at the antics of the Vietnamese fans, shout a few cuss words with the Aussies, yell with the South Koreans, and marvel at the fact that North Korea does have a national anthem and absolutely no fans in the stands (which was really sad.) The Thai fans were rambunctious in every delightful way and they loved having a pair of foreigners chanting beside them. 

As a side story, the Korean scarf we now possess came from the South Korea vs Vietnam game. Sitting behind us was a mother, father, and daughter, who (like us) had traveled to Bangkok to see these games. They were absolutely delightful to chat and chant with throughout the game - learning a bit about each other and discussing our mutual football love and commitment. At the end of the game, they gifted us their scarf. We were so honored and thrilled at a travel relic. We also have decided we may need to purchase some Timbers and Thorns scarves to have for such a moment as this one.