Spring has Sprung

I'll try again to wish the Spring gods into action. Today's temperature is finally above 60 degrees and I do believe it's supposed to be sunny all day. It has been a long, loooonnnggg winter and an unseasonably cold spring from what the other expats tell me. However, even the brutal weather can't slow the Whitfield girls down. We're on some kind of marathon month, with activities, parties, field trips and performances filling up our days. Last weekend, the twins attended three birthday parties (water balloons and squirt guns, pizza making, and giant romper room) and have two more (bowling and chocolate factory-candy making) this weekend. While we were at one of the parties, another family had just come from the Volvo Open and asked us if we wanted to go to the final round. They had bought tickets for all four rounds, but couldn't go on Sunday. The day started out fairly decent and the Whitfield women marched into the JinJi Lake Golf Course dressed all in pink. We walked about four holes and positioned ourselves around the 17th green and 18th tee walkway, scoring several balls and smiles from the European players. The twins had a party to attend and it started to rain, but Katie didn't want to leave. Luckily, we'd run into our friends, Carl and Caroline. They were more than happy to stay with Katie since the players seemed to flock to her. They stayed until the trophy was presented.

The twins' class went on a field trip to the newly opened Suzhou Aquarium. Since we'd just been to the aquarium in Dalian less than two weeks ago, the twins were not all that jazzed about it. They enjoyed the busride and entertained everyone with Mamma Mia songs. It was a nice facility, but they were still working out the kinks and teaching the dolphins to do more than one trick. They also allowed WAY too many groups in at one time. Our little ones just about got trampled by the older chinese students, who were more excited over all the little kids than the fish. The Dulwich teachers were very protective of the students and didn't allow any pictures to be taken of them. I normally am ok with this, but these students were grabbing Sydney and Sarah in an effort to photograph them. Nope, not going to allow that.

Katie's class is studying Buddhism and this week they are going to Wuxi (about an hour and half away), where the largest Buddha is situated. She's a bit confused about religion. She asked why so many people believe in something that is so different than what she believes in and was she wrong or were they. Not sure if her philosophically minded mother should have been the one to answer that question, but decided to go the educational route. I told her it was important to learn about all cultures and religions, trying desperately to skirt the right/wrong issue. An impossibility with Katie, she has to know, but she's willing to relent until after the field trip.

Katie was invited, along with nineteen others to sing at a star-studded, fundraising event. No Brangelina sightings, but evidently, the chinese stars who were there are quite well-known. When Katie and I were waiting for Mr. Liu, all of the stars came out to get in their cars, while the horde of fans was still inside trying to get out. Katie locked eyes with one of them and walked right up to him and introduced herself. This man just beamed and his entourage stood there gaping at her. Of course, I wasn't quick enough to capture the moment but there were television cameras so I'm sure someone did.

Capturing the Moment

The day we got back from Dalian, we stopped for what we thought would be a quick lunch at Casa Zoe's, a pretty decent Mexican restaurant. It turned into over two hours. The girls love the wait staff and the feelings, I believe, are reciprocated. Larry and I chatted while they played fooz ball, read, and played. Our favorite waitress, Linda, is leaving the restaurant in a month and we're trying to figure out a way to stay in touch with her. She said she'd like to play with the girls and learn more English. Hmmm, the wheels are spinning.

While we were there, she went with the girls outside and took some pictures. Here are the results.

Dalian

During the girls' Easter holiday break, we went to Dalian. The plan was to spend part of their vacation with Larry and stay at his apartment. As with so many of our plans, things didn't turn out as expected. After we'd already booked our flights, Larry found out he had to go to Jefe. We couldn't cancel the flights without a huge penalty so we figured we could manage since Terry's wife, Wendy, was going to be there. We also couldn't stay at Larry's apartment since the government regulates the heat/AC to the buildings. They cut off all heat at the end of March even though it's well below freezing at night. We ended up at a fairly nice hotel with two twin beds. We arrived after a two hour delay (the girls entertained the crowd at the airport with their antics and posed for picture after picture) late Tuesday night. Larry was up and out by six the next morning to catch his flight. The girls adapted quite nicely per usual, especially enjoying the breakfast buffet while still in their pjs. We met up with Wendy and her daughter, Nicole and spent the day exploring the coastline of Dalian. We enjoyed a carriage ride with a near deaf driver who shouted in chinese how beautiful the girls were. We fed some very friendly pigeons, some of whom were quite fearless in their quest for food. At one point, Sydney had four birds perched on her body, while Katie ran screaming if one tried to come near her. Sarah tried to make sure each bird got a fair share. If I hadn't been there for their births I'd dispute that they are related.

The coastline is breathtaking. In trying to compare it to something back in

the states, I guess it would be a combination of Oregon and Maine; rugged, undeveloped, steep cliffs, winding roads. The skies were sunny and clear, but the wind was biting. We didn't stay outside for long periods of time, only long enough to capture the moment. I would have been content to travel the roads, stopping every once and a while to enjoy the views, but the tribe was getting restless. Luckily, we bargained our way into an aquarium and the girls were delighted.

The next day we took the train into the downtown area, which made me laugh as I thought we were already in the downtown area. Mid morning traffic wasn't too bad, but walking to the shopping area was still frenzied. The girls found a manicure booth and begged to get their nails done. Since Wendy and I had planned on getting our hair done we used this as a bargaining chip. So with beautifully painted nails and bellies full of McDonalds (Dalian has many McDs), we left the girls with Wendy's friend at the playground and had our hair done. No English spoken, but I don't have any gray hairs. They still aren't big on styling...I mean my hair is straighter than straight and hair stylists at home can usually add some fullness and life. These guys I think actually made my hair straighter. Thank God for mousse and hairspray. The girls arrived and immediately were wisked away to have their hair washed and styled. What a life.

Larry was at the hotel when we got back, but spent the night at his apartment since he had to be at work early the next morning. We discovered that first night that three people or even two people in one of those twin beds is too many. Our last day was spent around the hotel. The girls swam in the pool for over three hours, driving off just about everyone that came in. No children just older folks taking swimming lessons or doing a few laps during their lunch hour. We roamed the hotel until Larry got back. Dinner at Pizza Hut, then he took us to his apartment. Not another "westerner" in sight. The streets were alive with vendors and folks out enjoying the cold, clear Friday night. Basketball game, Tai chi, pool halls, restaurants, clothing sales...oh, and a skinned goat complete with head and hooves laid out to dry. I so wanted to take a picture but Larry cautioned me against it. His apartment is nice, except for the bathroom, which is bizarrely efficient. One can take a shower and wash clothes while sitting on the toilet...seriously. Though he says he hasn't done that...yet.
Hopefully, we can return to Dalian when the weather is a little warmer as it really is a lovely city.

What I Did At Nanbeihu Part 1

By: Katie

When I went to Nanbeihu I was absolutely nervous. Not only because I was leaving my parents, but because I was going to be with people who I am not very close to. Luckily I had been put in a room with two of my best friends, Su Wen and Morgan. So I knew I would be safe...at least at night. But I was not so sure about daytime. We had not even found out who was going to be in our day groups. Ms. Randall, my teacher, had told us we would probably not be with our roommates or other close friends. They wanted us to learn how to get along with other people who were not our close friends and work as a team. The bus ride, which was two hours, went by so quickly and before I knew it we were there.

When we got our luggage situated, Mr. Duncan had everybody sitting quietly in the lobby. Then he said "It's time to find out who will be in your day groups". The seventh group was mine. He said, "Emily, Jasmine, Claire, Min Su, Dorothy, Katie (that's me), Samuel, Marcus, Patrick, Kai Tung, Oliver and Luna will be in Group Yellow". I was worried SICK! Marcus was my enemy! Emily was my nemasis! Samuel and Patrick were Marcus' friends, which by association makes them my enemies, too! Kai Tung and Oliver...well they're just plain silly. Afterwards, we were allowed an hour in our rooms to get settled and change clothes for our first activity, which surprised me because my first activity was hiking. Our hike turned out to be climbing up a mountain. It was painful, tiring yet enjoyable because when we got to the top of the mountain I took some pictures of the amazing scenery. I almost lost my hat because the wind was blowing so hard. Finally, we got back down the mountain. Going down wasn't any easier because we had to be very careful, which I wasn't. I fell and skinned my knee, but I wasn't the only one.

More to come...much more!

Happy Easter Bunny-less Easter

Celebrating holidays has proven to be a bit of a challenge over here. One would think that since all the decorations, candies and toys are made in China, there would be plenty from which to choose. Not the case, or at least I just haven't found the right stores. We celebrated a quiet Easter with one of the Sulzer families at a very family-friendly restaurant. There were several other families, all with kids and the owner had crafts and baskets filled with candy for them. We strolled along the canal afterwards.

The girls have been relentless in their belief that the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus are real even though many of their friends and some of the teachers are telling them their beliefs are in vain. Katie finally cornered me yesterday and demanded I tell her the truth. I asked her if she was sure she wanted to know the truth. There was a slight hesitation, but she nodded. So, I told her and I saw her age before my eyes. I instantly regreted telling her. She then asked if that meant Santa wasn't real. I told her as long as she believed in Santa then Santa would continue to come to the house. Tears sprang to her eyes and then she said "Well, at least I've still got the Tooth Fairy!" I didn't have the heart to shatter any more dreams.