Maya returned from China bearing gifts for everyone. I received this replica of a Terracotta Army soldier which now graces the mantle in my study. She explained that the warrior’s hair bun is offset to one side to facilitate access to the quiver of arrows he would have worn in combat. The Terracotta Army or the “Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses”, is a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China. It is a form of funerary art buried with the emperor in 210–209 BC and whose purpose was to protect the emperor in his afterlife, and to make sure that he had people to rule over. The figures vary in height according to their roles, with the tallest being the generals. The figures include warriors, chariots, and horses. Current estimates are that in the three pits containing the Terracotta Army, there were over 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses, and 150 cavalry horses.

After eleven days of travel, Maya returned to Boston this evening, and Jeanine and I were waiting at the airport to greet her. Despite the 18-hour journey from China, she appeared well-rested and her bubbly self. A veteran parent of this student exchange program arrived with two large pizzas knowing that all the students would be craving familiar food. Sure enough, it was Maya’s first priority after hugs and kisses. On the ride home from the airport she shared stories from her visits to Beijing and Shanghai and the time spent with her Chinese family. Maya clearly enjoyed herself and embraced the experience completely. I will post photos retroactively as soon as I can download them from her camera.

During her stay in Beijing Maya had an opportunity to visit the Temple of Heaven, Hongqiao Market (for pearls), a noodle buffet, the State Grand Theater, and the Forbidden City. Her group then traveled by night train to Xi’an. Here Maya met Zhao Shiting, the student whose family will host her for three nights. While in Xi’an Maya attended, taught classes, and performed songs and skits at a Chinese middle school, visited the Terra Cotta Tombs, attended a Chinese dance show, rode rented bikes around the top of the city wall, toured a jade factory, visited a Chinese art history museum, ate at a hot pot restaurant, shopped in the local bazzar, played in a water fountain park, and learned how to make dumplings with her host family.

The group spent their final two days in Shanghai where the highlight of sightseeing was an excursion to the zoo to see the Giant Pandas. Maya returned from her visit to China having thoroughly enjoyed herself. We were delighted that she was so fearless and open to new experiences. I enjoyed listening to her as she described each photo she took in something of a role reversal for us. I find myself wanting to take some time off on my next work trip to China to enjoy some of the culture which Maya was exposed to.

Maya’s adventure in China began in Beijing where on her first day she visited the Summer Palace, The Bird’s Nest, the Aquatic Center and Ming Tomb Way where she flirted with the sculptures and had fun with her camera.

Maya is traveling with a group of 20 schoolmates, five chaperones, and one guide. Day two took them on an excursion to the Great Wall, where they got great exercise climbing 30 flights of narrow stairs to reach the top. They also enjoyed what she described as a toboggan ride down from the Wall.

Of over 2000 photos I took in Mazatlan, this is one of two which includes me. It is one of my more poignant portraits and will always evoke fond memories of this adventure with Nicolai.

Today I completed posting a full set of images from both the Mexico-US soccer match and our Mazatlan adventure. During the process, I came across this photo which I thought worth posting. Immediately after the match a contingent of fans entered the locker room in pursuit of autographs from the players. Nicolai needed little encouragement to accommodate their wishes even if paper was in short supply. I think it would not be too hard for Nicolai to get accustomed to his new role as a sports hero.

I am breaking with my blog tradition by posting additional photos from last weekend since so much of the story remains untold. After the match, both teams were treated by the Mayor of Mazatlan to a huge open-air gala in their honor held in the historic Plaza Machado, one of the oldest in the city, built in the year 1837. From the stage, specially constructed for the event, we heard from local dignitaries, Bob Bennet, the founder of amputee soccer who presented the winner’s trophy, and enjoyed traditional Mexican dancing.

The celebration ended at about 11 pm but the team still had abundant energy to sample the Mazatlan nightlife. Nicolai was less than pleased that I insisted on tagging along as a chaperon. Having read about nighttime safety issues in Mexico before the trip, I was not going to relinquish my parental responsibilities to his drinking-age teammates.

Pictured here are three of four newspapers included significant coverage of the US-Mexico soccer showdown. I am planning to forward to my Spanish speaking mother for translations. The game was also televised nationally and I believe it will be rebroadcast on the internet before the end of the month. I will share particulars as they become available. It was encouraging to see the level of media interest and national pride in the Mexican team. Perhaps one day the US team will be successful in garnering a similar level of attention.

The American Amputee Soccer Association is working to build awareness for the sport and to recruit more players to the game. To that end they have invited a documentary film maker to follow the team on the road to the World Cup. This morning Nicolai was asked to be on the beach at sunrise for an interview. After he was done we took advantage of the perfect light and empty beach to make this image. The master is actually 4x larger and includes a sweeping panorama of the water in the background. Nicolai had the idea of rolling the ball in sand to create a sense of motion after he kicked the ball. I already know that this will become one of my all time favorite images. We enjoyed a hearty breakfast on the condo terrace before returning to our room to pack. As we said our goodbyes, it struck me how deeply bonded we had become to this group of people who were strangers just four days ago.

With the big match behind us, today was spent enjoying the city of Mazatlan. Nicolai joined his teammates for sightseeing and shopping while I did a solo trek of more than 10 miles focused on photography. I walked from the old city center out to the El Faro Lighthouse which sits atop a 500-foot-high hill. The climb was not too strenuous and the views from the top were well worth the effort. At sunset, I positioned myself along the Malecon (the oceanfront promenade running 4 miles from the Old City to the tourist hotel-laden Golden Zone) at the spot where local cliff divers make the death-defying plunge for tips. I only had a chance to photograph one dive but had planned how I would use a rapid-fire sequence and Photoshop to create a composite image featuring the entire dive sequence.

Nicolai proudly took the field today as a member of the US National Amputee Soccer Team in a match against Team Zorros de Sinaola. Kick-off was at 6PM in Mazatlan’s Estadio Teodoro Mariscal stadium in front of a crowd of over a thousand mostly Mexican fans. The match was televised on national television, filmed by two documentary crews, and photographed by at least four newspapers not to mention this proud father. It would be nice to see this level of interest in the US and I believe Nicolai will have a role in making that happen. The Mexican team left the locker room highly inspired after learning that one of their teammates had fallen into a coma the night before. He had practiced with the team 10 days earlier but the bone cancer which took his leg was now threatening his life. The Mexican team struck first at the ten minute mark bringing the crowd to a frenzy and capturing the early momentum. Sixty seconds later, Nicolai, the youngest member of the squad, dowsed that momentum when he scored a beautiful header off a corner kick. Shortly before the end of the first half, Dan Broome, the oldest member of the US team and World Cup veteran, scored on a direct kick making the score USA 2 – Mexico 1. This proved to be the final result despite several near goals for each team during the second half. Nicolai played exceptional soccer and will clearly be one of the team’s standouts. More importantly he was the consummate ambassador for his country and his family displaying great courage and competitive spirit tempered with compassion and humility. I could not have been more proud of him. After the game we learned that the Mexican team had nick named him “correcaminos” which means the roadrunner (a bird which can run at 20 mph). Nicolai said it was nice to be the fastest player on the field instead of the slowest, referring to his experience facing two-legged opponents for his entire soccer career.

Opportunities to practice as a team are rare with members of the US team living across the country, no two residing in the same state. Newly signed coach, Roy Howell, took advantage of the gathering to run three practice sessions today, a light early morning kick around on the beach followed by a one hour skill building session and finally a full field two hour practice at a local university. The one legged soccer playing gringos drew quite an audience wherever they went and managed to recruit a dozen or so USA fans to offset the hundreds of Mexican fans expected at the match.

I enjoyed photography on both ends of the day. First with a six mile sunrise walk near our condo and then with a 5 mile sunset walk after a joint US-Mexican team dinner held downtown.

At Logan airport early on this morning of Jeanine’s 49th birthday the Calabria clan could be found boarding aircraft for three separate destinations. Maya is headed to China where she will spend the next ten days travelling with classmates on a student exchange program. Jeanine is headed to Louisville, Kentucky where she will visit with her niece Erica who just gave birth to her first child and her sister Lauren. Meanwhile, Nicolai and I are headed for Mazatlan, Mexico where he will be competing as a member of the US National Amputee Soccer team. We first made contact with the American Amputee Soccer Association when Nico was 9 hoping that one day he would have an opportunity to play for the US team. When he was offered a provisional spot on the squad a few months ago it was like a dream come true for him. We arrived at about 1PM and met several other players at the airport before being shuttled to the condos that would serve as our base of operations for the next 5 days. Nico wasted little time before touring the beach and relaxing by the pool. We met the coach and other members of the team at an ocean-side restaurant a short walk up the beach and enjoyed fireworks from our balcony before collapsing into our beds totally exhausted.

Gorgeous weather this week has had many of us out walking over the lunch hour including my boss, pictured here. Jeff was recently promoted to the role of Chief Operating Officer after three years as the President of the Home Robots Division. Under his leadership, division revenues and profits have soared in what can only be described as a dramatic turnaround. It has been very satisfying to be a part of his team and to see him receive the recognition and expanded scope of responsibility he has earned. What a contrast to my last boss who was equally brilliant but did not have a clue as to how to empower and motivate the team around him.