in the thin of thick things: It just keeps getting better

Wow, this whole international assignment thing just keeps getting better and better. Here are some of the highlights from the last couple of weeks.

Last weekend my buddy Mike Burr came to visit. He and I were in the same MBA program and he has been doing research in Munich for the last couple of months.

It was Mike's first time to Paris so much of what we did was the usual, but we mixed it up a bit as well.

Fondue with Mike

I rented bikes for the first time. Biking around Paris at 1 am is one of my new favorite activities.

Perfect timing for my first time at Versailles Palace. Late enough in the season that it wasn't too crowded, but just before the leaves started falling.

Inside one of the main halls. It was so big it seemed to go on forever.

I'm not sure you can over-exaggerate Versailles. The art, architecture and gardens were as decadent as I've ever seen.

My first European football match: PSG 3-0 Bordeaux

My first time eating just baguettes and cheese. We found this great little fromagerie with a shop keeper who voluntarily spoke great English (not common in Paris) and who educated us on all of the different cheeses and helped us pick out 3 awesome cheeses. That kind of customer service is unheard of in Paris, especially toward Americans.

Love this woman

...and this one

But this might be my new favorite piece in Le Louvre. Reminds me a lot of myself to be honest.

Last week I went to assist the local Stryker team with a conference and had some more firsts, mostly dealing with food.

First time eating pig ear. My Chinese colleague said it best, "There isn't enough food in China so we eat everything."

First time eating frog. Luckily it was in this soup with those little peppers that make your mouth go numb. I also had fish eyeball and and jelly fish for the first time.

Team dinner with colleagues from all over the globe and the biggest lazy Susan you've ever seen.

The Stryker China team is very proud. They went through a few rough years but are now coming back with a vegence. This was outside a big dinner event we held for 60 Chinese physicians and says, "We are your king," a reference that has profound meaning to the Chinese.

I was asked to participate in making sand art during the dinner event, something that is apparently big in China that I had never heard of before this event. Google Chinese sand art and check out some videos. Pretty cool.