July 5 Update...

The Perdues are on Day 11 of our trip to Houghton, New York. With back to full health, I am no longer a single husband, Sarah has been able to attend classes and Brynn has been in day care for 8 hours a day.

Niagara Falls: Brynn has officially visited another country before moving to China. We took her to the Canadian side of the Falls. The view was much better from that side, but the area was like Gatlinburg on Crack! There were restaurants, putt-putts, arcades, laser tags and any other child themed activity imaginable. We took a million pictures (posted tomorrow). Brynn loved the water falls. We took her to the Rain Forest Cafe and she enjoyed seeing the fake animals that moved. We spent a few minutes on the American side and were able to look over the Falls. We never took Brynn out of the stroller, as my fear of heights would not allow me to put her near the edge. It was a great visit, but one of those that I do not need to see a second time. We did not ride the boat, as the wait was 2-plus hours.
Side note, border patrol agents on either side of the line do not appreciate a sense of humor. Just hand them your passports and answer the questions in a serious tone. Otherwise, you will get dirty looks and threats of not leaving their country.

Soccer: American kids born and raised in other countries play soccer. As I move to another country and raise a family, I must get used to this concept. Baseball, basketball and American football are not the norm. So, instead of sitting out and watching everyone else play, I decided to suck it up and play some soccer. It was my first real game of the sport. I ended up playing for 2 1/2 hours and enjoyed every minute. At the start, I told them that I had never played and knew very little about passing, shooting or dribbling. Within 30 seconds, I scored the first goal of the match. Everyone thought I must have been pulling their legs. For the next, 2 hours and 29 minutes and 30 seconds they saw the real soccer skills of Matt Perdue. I whiffed on kicks, stepped on the ball numerous time and even tried a couple of painful headers. During the final hour, I found my soccer calling, GOALIE! I can use my hands and catch the ball. My team was losing 9-3 when I stepped into goal and only ended up losing 11-8. I even received compliments the next day about my goalie skills. I must say that I am excited about playing soccer in China.

Classes: The classes that we are attending are very educational. We have learned a lot of new information about our future home and jobs. Some of it is very exciting, while other parts are frightening. This week has prepared us more for the move, than I thought possible. I went in with a bad attitude, but have come out with an appreciation for the classes and teachers. We only have three more days of classes and I hope to pick up as much info as possible. 

Birthday: I turned 29 today. It started off kind of slow by waking up at 6 AM to attend more training courses, but got much better at the end. I officially had my first surprise birthday party. Sarah and our couple friend, the Dentels, were taking me to the local Chinese restaurant. When we arrived, I was greeted by 40 of our new friends. I was totally surprised. The food and company were great. I was even treated to a birthday cake. Following dinner, all the young guys finally put up the soccer balls and let me play a game of Ultimate Frisbee. A pulled groin, aching feet and cramped calves later, I am in bed and typing a blog.

The Perdues return home on Friday. We will be in late (9:30 PM). I hope to have pictures of our Niagara trip up tomorrow and another blog to follow on Thursday. Until then...

The Perdues are out!