Katie's Day Off

Suzhou boasts well over a hundred gardens. Some are said to be among the most beautiful and history-filled gardens in the world. I've lived here for over two years and have been to one. ONE! As with the Beijing trip, I took advantage of the fact my parents were here to play tourist with them and visit one of the more popular gardens.

The girls also talked me into letting them each take a day from school to spend with Mimi and Papa. Katie snagged the first day. At first, she wasn't that enthused about going to a garden, but since she was able to choose the location for lunch and the promise of souvenir shopping, she perked up a bit.

The Humble Administrator's Garden was built in 1513 and is the largest of the Suzhou gardens. Wang Xiancheng, an Imperial Envoy and poet of the Ming Dynasty, had it built as his retirement home. After only a few minutes, we renamed it the Not-So-Humble Administrator's Garden, with its 48 different buildings, some for his lady-friends, others for contemplation and meditation. The grounds were spectacular and every turn presented a picture-perfect moment.

We spent over two hours leisurely strolling through the pavilions, stoned paths and covered walkways. There were plenty of people, but we never felt crowded or rushed...well, maybe a little as Katie moved us along towards the end of the second hour. On the way in, we'd passed plenty of little shops and she was more anxious to explore those than the ancient history of Ming Dynasty.

Sure enough, as soon as we'd exited the tranquilty of the garden, we were bombarded with the tourist-trap vendors. Katie spotted a silk purse she had to have. She negotiated down to 10RMB. Frankly, I wish I'd picked up one or two for that price as it's really quite cute.

Since Katie'd decided we'd had enough Chinese culture for one day, we went to TGIF for lunch and then back home for a game of cribbage.

"Not a bad way to spend the day from school", I reasoned since she did have a bit of a home-schooled history, finance and numeracy lesson.

Beijing, the Walking Tour - Part 1

With my parents visiting, I knew my chances of getting to Beijing would greatly increase. Larry had already "been there and done that" and lobbied to go south for the holiday. The opportunity to have a family photo on the Great Wall won.
We boarded the high speed train Saturday morning and we all were pleasantly suprised with the ease at which this occurred. The train was not crowded and the first class section was really quite nice. I'm not sure, though, there was that much difference, but being able to walk around without difficulty and stretching out in the expansive seats was a treat. The ride was smooth and even though the view was hindered by the field-burning smokey haze, we couldn't help but enjoy the pastoral landscapes that whizzed by. The train's top speed reached 299km/hr. Since the crash, which occurred over the summer, the trains' speed were reduced from 350 to 300.
Five hours later we were in Beijing. Shanghai used to overwhlem me. Not anymore. Beijing is mammoth and we saw only a tiny fraction of it.
Our plan was to go to the most popular tourist attractions...during the country's National holiday...in the country's capital. To be perfectly honest, I say this after the fact, I was fearful we'd made a colossol mistake.
First stop was Tiananmen Square. We figured we'd try the subway. On the map, the station looked like a short stroll from the hotel. Wrong. We walked...and walked...and walked...and walked. Finally, our little chinese friend, Carrie, asked a passerby how much further. He told her about ten minutes. So, we walked some more. We get to the station and as we board the subway, we had about five minutes of pure terror when we couldn't find Sarah. The car was so packed, we couldn't see beyond a few people. I was 99% sure she'd gotten on the subway, but that 1% gripped my insides and buckled my knees. At the next stop, enough folks got out so we could see her with Carrie.
The stop at Tiananmen was closed because of the holiday, which meant we had to get off 'a few'' blocks away. So, we walked...and walked...and walked. Larry had warned us all how huge everything was, but even the warnings didn't fully prepare us. My mom with her fake joints was about ready to call it quits before we'd gotten to the Square, but by God, she toughed it out.
Once again, here we were in the center of the birthplace of Communism during the holiday and the star attractions were the girls. Carrie said some people asked if they were movie stars. Sure, why not.
Since we'd spent all morning walking we were all hungry, even though the Forbidden City was just across the street. So, we started walking...and walking...and walking...and walking until we reach...wait for it...Walking Street. We found the first distinguishable restaurant, KFC and made a beeline for it. Everyone else in the city did, too. This place was way overcapacity, but we didn't care.

After resting for a bit and wrestling with whether or not to continue with our walk-a-thon, we figured the chances of making it back to Beijing were slim and chose to go back to the Forbidden City. So we...wait for it...walked...and walked...and walked.

The place is unbelievable. So much history and SO BIG. We walked through one courtyard into another courtyard into another courtyard. The pictures don't begin to show its expansiveness. We wanted to see it all, but we just couldn't walk any further. We stayed until the closing announcements mainly so we could rest up, not knowing how much further we would have to walk to find an honest taxi driver, which wasn't as easy as it seemed.

Larry and I loaded everyone into a van bound for the hotel and chose to explore a bit further. We walked back to the other end of Walking Street, where a bunch of food vendors had set up their wares. They had everything from yummy dumplings to not-so-yummy sheep testicles. The little vendor swore by their masculine-enhancing abilities, but Larry said he was fine in that department. I tried a couple of different dumplings and Larry had some skewered crabs. While looking for a taxi, we met a family from Atlanta, Georgia. They currently live in South Africa and were moving to Dubai and vacationing in Beijing. Larry was wearing a baseball shirt with Georgia on the front, and they practically ran over to us. Such a small world.
Upon return to the hotel and relief to everyone, we chose to stay in dinner as we assumed more walking was in store for us the next day.

Where There's a Will, There's a Way

China's National Day starts the country's week-long holiday. What better way to get into the spirit of the birth of Communism than to go to the capital? We'd planned on taking the high speed train to Beijing. The circus that ensued while trying to purchase the tickets can only be described as a comedy of errors.
In order for any expat to buy tickets or travel anywhere in China, one needs a passport. With the girls on their 'China Week' trips, their passports were safely packed with their teachers. Uh oh, how were we going to purchase train tickets? We had scanned copies for the girls and hoped those would work. We went to Larry's office to pick up the copies and Larry's assistant, Carrie. She'd agreed to come with us to Beijing in order to help with the language issues as they arose.
Next stop was the bank to exchange money. Quite conveniently, we spotted a China Construction Bank branch right across the street from the train station. Quite inconveniently, they'd never, ever exchanged money. We spent close to an hour as the clerk inspected each bill at least a dozen times, ran each one through the counting machine, checked it again and then rejected about a third as they had little creases, pen marks, or specks of dust on them. Then, she wouldn't let either me or my father sign the paperwork because our passport name didn't match our chinese visa name. Huh?! Evidently, we are listed in the system as M. Whitfield or D. Libby but our passports have our full name... or was it the other way? An hour later, Carrie had to sign the paperwork.
Certainly, buying the tickets wouldn't be as difficult. The downtown station is huge and though the lines were long, at least they seemed to be moving. After walking a half mile to the right ticket line, Carrie stopped suddenly and her faced dropped. She immediately ran to one of the security guards. Dear lord, were all the tickets sold out? I mean, it was a holiday. No, still plenty of tickets for sale...just not advanced tickets. Those tickets were sold at the downtown ticket office. Wait, I thought that's where we were. No, we were at the station, there is another ticket office in Old Town. Another hour down.
We found the ticket office and climbed the stairs. Mom stayed in the car. As we neared the window, I realized I didn't have Larry's passport. "Oh, S*#t!" Carrie tried to talk the agent into letting us purchase one ticket without the passport. Nope, not gonna happen. I texted Larry to tell him Mr. Liu was on his way back to get his passport. His response was...colorful to say the least. By now, we were all fuming and starving. We walked to the closest, least scary restaurant we could find. Can't go wrong with KFC...well, you can, but we were all so hungry we would have and probably did eat rat. An hour and a fifteen minutes later, Mr. Liu returned with Larry's passport. I exchanged it with a sandwich as he hadn't eaten either.
Back at the ticket counter, a bit of an arguement occurred. The copy of Katie's passport was dark and the agent couldn't read the last couple of numbers. I tried to show him the number was located elsewhere on the copy, but he preferred to aggravate me. Again, after some begging from Carrie, we FINALLY left with first-class high-speed train tickets for all of us to Beijing.
We dropped off Carrie at the factory and then sped to one of the apartment complexes to meet Katie upon her return from Yangzhuo. Of course, we arrived at the same time I received a text saying they were going to be late. No problem. Well, no problem unless you have a replaced hip and knee and you have to go to the bathroom in a chinese toilet. Without unnecessary details or an emergency trip to the hospital, my mom returned unscathed.
Six and a half hours later, we sat at the kitchen table with our glasses of wine and hoped our trip to Beijing would be worth the headache we'd just endured. We joked that the day wasn't a complete bust since Mom did master the 'squatty potty'.

Visit from Abroad

The last time my parents came to visit, the weather was horribly cold and we'd only been in China for a few months. Thankfully, they were able to return when not only the weather was cooperative, but we actually had a bit of a clue as to what was going on around us.

I'd tried to plan some local day trips to places I thought they'd enjoy, while the girls were away on their respective class trips and at school.

First stop was to the tailor's. Dad wanted a new suit and Mom wanted a winter coat. I joined in the fun and got fitted for a red jacket for the holidays. It's hard to walk into the shop and not come out with something. After three more trips before my parents left, we had a suit, two pair of pants, two jackets and a coat between us.

Another tourist stop is Sheng Tang Street along the narrow canals. Souvenirs abound in the little shops amidst the ancient architecure-styled homes. We went early in the day and there were hardly any other folks (tourists) around. There were, however, plenty of scooters that came barrelling down the narrow street. We got beeped at a few times. I tried to talk them into trying some stinky tofu, but since I've never tried it and really have no desire to do so, I didn't push the issue. Instead, we went to Singa Plaza and had a nice semi-authentic chinese lunch at Hot Chic.

With all three girls away, Larry and I wanted to take my parents to a Korean BBQ. We're big fans and thought Mom and Dad would like it as well. Wrong! As you can see by the photo, they were not impressed. Ok, duly noted.

I also took them to MuDu, another scenic little town along the ancient canals. This is where I stock up on nuts. Almonds, walnuts, macademia, pecans...you name it. Dad and I planned on making granola since the gigantic batch he'd made and brought over was disappearing at an alarmingly fast rate. Again, we appeared to be the only tourists except for one group with matching ball caps. The hustle and bustle of the locals filled the streets with plenty of activity and people-watching.
We managed to go somewhere new almost every day. Whether it was to Pearl City to buy some baubles or just to the neighborhood center to pick up some fresh veggies and fruit, I was determined to keep them on the go.

I also made sure we were home most evenings by 5pm. Happy hour took place with a focused diligence not often seen in my household. When the girls arrived home, they were more concerned about what was being served as an appetizer that evening rather than what their homework was. They were lucky. The weeks before and after the holiday break were pretty light in that department.
All in all, Suzhou hopefully kept them entertained. I did make them walk an awful bit, but those little jaunts were nothing campared to what I put them through when we went to Beijing.

More to come...

Hitting Their Stride

Catching up on the backlog of photos and happenings...
The girls competed in the annual Interhouse Cross Country Match last month. This was their third attempt and they all did really well. Syd joined the cross country club and had been practicing diligantly. Her goal was to finish higher than she'd finished the previous year. Sarah really didn't have any goal except to run. Katie's goal was to finish the race.

The Junior School raced in the morning. I wore my Shackelton green with pride as we were defending champs. The girls set off first. My eyes caught Sydney first as she came over the bridge towards the finish line. She was in the top ten. As I looked behind her and couldn't find Sarah I became a bit worried. Suddenly, I saw a green shirt near the front of the pack. Sarah was in fourth and sprinting ahead of another girl as they neared the end. I'd been so focused on Syd, thinking all of her training would have put her out front. However, watching Sarah's easy gait as she strode across the finish line, I realized some are just naturally inclined to run. They both finished in the Top 10, with Sarah at 3rd and Syd at 7th.
Senior School raced in the afternoon. The other mums and I reminisced about last year's race and Katie's heroic efforts in finishing with the help of one mum running with her. A good friend actually went home between the races and came back with sneakers on so she could run with Katie. The race was longer and she was really worried she wouldn't finish, but I told her to just keep going slow and steady. And, that's what she did.
Once again, the theme from 'Chariots of Fire' blared over the speakers as she crossed the finish line. She was last, but she'd improved her time by several minutes over the course of the term and was quite pleased with herself. I was quite pleased with all three of them.

Have You Made Your 'Bucket List'?

Over the years, I've made all kinds of lists. Christmas wish lists, lists of favorite songs, lists of boys I wanted to date, lists of boys I wish I'd never dated, and even a "Freebie" list. If you've seen the television show, Friends, you know what I'm talking about. Currently, that particular list consists of Daniel Craig, Christian Bale and Alexander Skarsgard; 007, Batman and Eric, a thousand year old vampire. Other lists have been things I've wanted to accomplish at varying stages of my life. When I was twenty, number one on my list was to sing on a Broadway stage. Well, I didn't perform in front of an audience, but I did stand on a NYC stage and belt out a few bars. When I was thirty, number one was to start a family. Checked that one off two years later. When I turned forty, a new name appeared for my list. The movie, "The Bucket List" had come out the previous year. Was I really that old to be of the mindset that I was making a list of things I wanted to accomplish or see happen before I died?

I remember sitting on my bed with my journal in my lap. I turned to the back page and wrote in block letters, BUCKET LIST. With all of the packing and unpacking over the past few years, I cannot for the life of me find that journal, but I do remember at least half of my listed items. I also remember writing "in no specific order". That particular item seemed important at the time...not sure why. My thought process was probably something like, "As long as it gets checked off before I die, it doesn't matter if it's first or last". A couple are rather high aspirations, I won't go as far as to say they're pipedreams, but they're close. The rest are attainable in my opinion. In fact, I've already checked off four.

Sing with my daughter(s)- that occurred three years ago, when Katie and I sang together at church for Mother's Day.

Visit a foreign country- I did one better, I moved to a foreign country and have visited a few more.

Learn a new language- Trying desperately to learn Chinese, and am also picking up tidbits of German, and remembering lots of Spanish and French due to the smorgasbord of expat friends.

Stand on the Great Wall with my family - Not sure why I picked that particular Seven Wonder even before we knew we were moving to China, but it was kind of fortuitous. I got all emotional when our friend took a picture of our family at the entrance to the Great Wall, consciously aware another check was going to be made. (More to come about this experience!)

The rest will remain private. Private, that is, until I can check them off as well.

Ramblings

I must say I'm disappointed with myself. I'd planned on hitting one hundred posts this year, but at the rate I've been going the past few months, I'll never make it. There's definitely plenty of fodder to fill the pages, but time keeps whizzing by. When I first started the blog, I was working full time at Clemson University. I managed to update regularly...ok...so maybe sitting at a computer all day allowed me easy access. Being unemployed and in a new country should have given me ample opportunities to write. I'd even thought of writing a book. New topics presented themselves daily. How grocery shopping and defensive blocking are similar, the best way to get around China is in the back seat of a car with your eyes closed, the art of negotiating, or public urination...I mean REALLY public. Two years later, I still shake my head at the sights that initally shocked or scared the living bejeegus out of me. The book idea still tickles at my brain. Since I'm having a hard enough time trying to keep up with this blog, the idea will have to continue to tickle. Those who know me, know I have a tendency to procrastinate. Having more time on my hands did not allow me to do more, it just allowed me to put off things for greater lenghts of time.
Since rejoining the ranks of the employed and having my parents stay with us for three weeks, I've discovered a kind of frazzled focus, but focus nonetheless. The busier I am, the more I can get done. Yesterday, I taught five classes, baked and bagged ten dozen cookies for the Girl Scouts' coookie sale, did four loads of laundry, put up the Halloween decorations and had a decent meal on the table by 6:30. Life continues on, no matter in what country we find ourselves. Yes, things get extremely aggravating over here, like when I try to find sour cream at five different stores or when I pay close to $8 for a block of cheese or when I have to step over the fresh pool of pee made by the little toddler in the produce section at Auchen. Now, however, besides cringing, I file it away in my frazzled mind, wondering in what chapter it will fit.

First Day of School

A month ago, my friend and I met for a quick lunch. She mentioned she had been approached by the principal of a Chinese kindergarden to teach English. Her schedule as a dance teacher and promoter of various wine distributers kept her too busy. She nonchalantly asked if I was interested. Something inside of me just lit up. "Yes!", I exclaimed, almost shouting at her.

I'd entertained the idea of teaching, but in the States, I would have had to earn another Bachelor's degree. I decided on pursuing my Master's in Counselor Education instead. When we moved to China, I was three classes shy of that degree. I figured I'd try being a Tai Tai (housewife of leisure), but was floundering. Don't get me wrong, going to wine lunches, shopping in Shanghai, exploring ancient water towns, and catching up on decades of movies and television has its benefits. I love being able to help out at the girls' school whenever they need me. However, I felt a bit...useless. Teaching little ones just might put the spunk back in my step.

By the following week, I had met and interviewed with the principal, toured the school, had been introduced to the teachers and stood at the entrance of the school awaiting the arrival of four hundred children and their parents, grandparents, ayis and other caregivers. As each child entered, they eyed me shyly...at first. Their gaze did not sway until they'd turned the corner to their classrooms. I shook the hands of the adults and patted the heads of the kids as they passed. A whirlwind of activity ensued. I watched as they began their day with exercise and song in the courtyard. A group of kids were selected as 'color guards', and they proudly marched the Chinese flag to its position and all stood at attention as it was raised.

To be perfectly honest, I was terrified. I had never taught and the thought of these little tikes ready to absorb whatever I said actually made me break out into a cold sweat. As I walked into the first of the twelve classes I would be teaching, all anxiety disappeared. The smiling faces of thrity adorable children beamed at me. How could I not beam back?

I was in my element. Each child came to me and we had a conversation. For some kids, this was an easy task, but others were bashful...at first. Some know a little English, but there are many more who do not know any words beyond "Good Morning". Each day so far has been an adventure. I sing and dance, talk in funny accents and try to remember childhood games and chants to keep these sponges fully engaged. I come home drenched in sweat as the classrooms aren't air conditioned and I'm terribly out of shape. No need to buy that gym club membership when I get a workout everyday in the classrooms. I teach four 4-yr.old classes once a week, and five 5-yr.old classes and six 6-yr.old classes twice a week. Private lessons begin in a couple of weeks and I don't know how many of those I'll have. Each day presents different challenges, but the rewards far outweigh them. At the end of the lesson the entire class rushes at me like I'm a rock star. As I got into a taxi, I heard one of the girls shout "Goodbye, teacher!" from across the street, revitalizing my soul. Hokey? Maybe. True? Definitely.

Computer Issues

Ok, so I'm almost two months behind again, but truly, it wasn't entirely my fault this time. The VPN service somehow became disabled. Without the VPN, I cannot connect to my blog, Facebook, YouTube or any of my other favorite US sites. Larry was travelling and I just didn't (and still don't) have the technological knowledge (or interest) to problem-solve. Complaining and pouting was my course of action.
Once again, I'll be playing catch-up with back dated entries.

New Digs

With only a week before we were slated to fly to the States and an entire houseful of goods to pack, load, unload and unpack, my head was spinning.
I really didn't think it was possible to accumulate as much stuff (junk) in two years. I'd just gone through this process when we moved over here and thought we had done a pretty good job of keeping the junk to a minimum. Nope, not at all. As I packed up each and every thing, I often stopped and questioned, "What was I thinking? Did we really need to bring fourteen water bottles? How many bath and hand towels can one family actually use?" And the clothes, my God, the clothes. My ayi made out like a bandit. Each day I'd place unwanted items on the makeshift storage' ledge and the days she came, she'd load up her little scooter with EVERYTHING.

Larry and I agreed we could not handle another year on a rock-hard mattress. Unfortunately, the new landlord had already bought one bed. We moved it to what would be Katie's room and bought the mattress pad from the old landlord to soften it up. We bought a beautiful bedroom set and a 3 piece red leather living room set in Likou (furniture town). The existing furniture is, in one word, hideous. It's way too big and, did I mention, HIDEOUS. We've asked over and over for it to be removed, but as of today it is still in the spare room/office.

John, our faithful 'relocation guy', set up the movers and they showed up three hours early as they said the day was supposed to get really hot and they wanted to get as much done before the heat of the day. "No problem, let me just get dressed and wake up my kids since it's just after 7:30 and the start of their summer vacation".

What an experience. There were two flat bed trucks and eight guys. The leader of the pack asked what went and what stayed. I went through and pointed. I cringed as they basically slung the boxes on the backs or stacked them haphazardly. They hastily dismantled the twins' beds. They loaded things on in no apparant order and made no effort to consolidate space. I had initially been quoted a price of 150 RMB per truckload, but that changed to 200 due to 'summer rates'. Whatever.
Mr. Liu helped a great deal. He'd see me getting upset at how something was being handled and he'd yell at the movers. I about had a meltdown when one of the guys dropped my antique dollcase. I don't know what he said, but they slowed down and were a tad gentler with things.
With one truck loaded and the other truck driving in, I ased Mr. Liu to stay at the old house while I rode with movers. That was interesting and I received more than one glance from other drivers. Here I am, in the front seat of this rickety flat bed, with four Chinese men. No, we weren't all in the front seat. Two were hanging on to my worldly possessions in the back. This process was repeated four times, and by 1:00 they were done.

There were boxes and suitcases everywhere. As I started unpacking I had to be careful where I put things for fear I'd forget when we returned from our trip. (By the way, I did forget where I'd put the girls' ties and PE uniforms. I silently cursed the ayi thinking she'd put it somewhere. It wasn't until the second day of school when I finally remembered I'd put all these things under the twins' beds in one of the storage drawers.)

Rosie and Peanut were the last articles to be moved. I told the girls that if they could keep them off of the leather furniture then they could stay inside. Less than twenty four hours later, Rosie and Peanut became outside cats. They meowed and meowed, almost weakening my resolve. However, I saw what their claws could do to leather. Besides, there were a couple other felines roaming around. I figured they could be neighborly.

Even though I was not looking forward to the long flight, I was mighty happy when we boarded the plane. The garage and attic were in disarray, and the girls' rooms were cramped with clothes and toys. They don't have dressers, only closets. Katie utilized her nightstand drawer for socks and other delicates, while a couple of the twins' toy bins were converted into clothes' holders for the time being.
The hectic move drained me, but I truly believe we will be much happier in this house. Plus, how can we not love it with red leather furniture?

Year Six Party

How is it possible I have a child who has completed elementary school? Didn't she just stop sucking her thumb?
Year 6 marks the last year of Junior School. Katie has actually started SENIOR school. Really?!??!

To mark the special occasion the Year 6 parent representatives and the teachers planned and manned a celebratory party in their honor. We'd wanted to host it outside of the school, but cost, time and logistics forced our hand. However, with the help of the school's catering services, a financial boost from the Headmaster, and some dedicated moms, a great party took place in the cafeteria after school.
The kids were allowed to bring a change of clothes and the girls even put on a bit of make-up. The teachers had put together a slide show and a song list that played throughout the party.
I couldn't stay for the entire party as Sarah was at a birthday party at a friend's house and poor Syd was stuck out in the hall waiting for me. There were a few other younger siblings in the same boat so she wasn't

complaining...too often.
Katie said everyone had a great time and she was sad to see the end of the year come. She said it was the best year of her life.
I think I might be inclined to agree with her.

Tiger Hill...Finally!

My desire to visit as many of the Suzhou historic sites and beautiful gardens has not abated since our arrival. Larry and the girls could 'take 'em or leave 'em', but I am determined to come home with enough pictures of gardens, temples, cute Chinese children and pagados to fill up several memory cards.
Tiger Hill has been at the top of my list. Whenever we travel to the old town or go to Larry's office, we pass by it and every time I say, "Let's go!
When I found out the Year 3s were going on a field trip to Tiger Hill I immediately volunteered to chaperone.
I was charged with watching Sarah and three of her classmates. All four Year 3 classes were together most of the time, so I did get to spend some time with Syd.
Tiger Hill is beautiful and definitely worth the wait. I loved exploring the bonzai tree park, which showcased hundreds of different little trees. The rock formations and inscriptions were fascinating. The girls bounded from one part of the park to the other, with barely a moment's breath in between. Their interests laid in the little rivers and searching for 'giant birds' in the forest rather than the thousand year old pagado tower that leans almost as much as the one in Pisa.

After we'd spent a couple of hours at Tiger Hill, we headed over to a small park to have a picnic lunch. The skies were overcast, but the rain held off and we had a wonderful day.

Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat

We all know the Whitfield women love the spotlight. Whether it's nature or nurture, my girls are performers. I can't say I haven't influenced them because that would be a big fat lie. They've grown up with me singing around the house or talking in strange accents. Also, I can't say I wasn't secretly doing a happy dance in my head when they all told me they had decided to audition for the Junior School's production of 'Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat'.

The day they found out what part they'd be playing was tricky. Katie was ecstatic as she'd been cast as Joseph. Sarah was a bit upset because she had auditioned for Joseph as well. Both she and Sydney were cast as brothers of Joseph. I told them not many Year 3s had been cast in speaking roles and they should all be proud of themselves.

Rehearsals ensued, lines were learned and songs were sung. Frankly, I was in seventh heaven. All three of my girls were going to be performing together. Syd was relishing the scenes she and the other 'brothers' were cruel to 'Joseph'. "Art imating life", I told her. She gave me a devilish smile.

After two months of rehearsals, their moment to shine was upon them. And, boy, did they shine. Unfortunately, Larry had to go to Korea and he missed the live version. I, however, arrived super early to ensure a front row seat to film the show and to beam proudly at my three stars.

My face hurt from smiling so much that night. Sarah and Syd hammed it up and sung their little hearts out. I never doubted their characters' dislike of Joseph for a minute. Katie was a star. She didn't look a bit nervous. In fact, she looked at home in the spotlight. Ok, this may be just a proud stage mother talking, but geez, "Wow, Katie...wow!"

And...We're Back

The summer of 2011 will definitely go down in my record books as the quickest and busiest to date. When I last wrote back in June, I mentioned I was going on a writing hiatus. I really thought it would only be for a few weeks, not a couple of months. Where did the time go? Well, let's see if I can recall the events, including the last couple of weeks of school. As many know, I tend to ramble and my mind is churning with everything I need to write before it's lost in the memory abyss. The next few entries will be a bit dated as I try to catch up.

Hiatus

Taking a bit of a break, if you haven't already guessed. And by break, I mean packing and moving to another house here in Suzhou. When we came two years ago, all the packing was done for us. Not this time. the boxes and packing paper were provided. Nope, none of that either. I've been prowling the local stores in search of both. Mr Liu has been instrumental in securing quite a few, but many more are needed before next week. Supposedly, that is when the 'movers' will be here. For 150RMB they'll load and unload said boxes and furniture. I'm a bit worried about this whole arrangement, but several friends have been through the same thing. They and their belongings survived.
Add to this, my seasonal case of stomach...well, you get the picture.
I'll try to get caught up once we touch down in the U.S. of A. mid July.

The Finger Saga Part 2

Syd put on a brave face the morning of the surgery and kept it for the duration. The more the nurses and doctors commended her for her fearlessness, the more fearless she became. The frown in the photo was strictly for dramatic effect. Having been through the exact same pre-op procedures, I prepped her for what she had in store. Her favorite part was being hooked up to all of the wires for the EKG. When the time came for the nurses to take her surgery, my brave little girl had them all laughing as they wheeled her down the hall.

Two surgeons, one steel pin, and one and a half hours later, the bone was realigned. Her hand looked like that of a heavyweight boxer.
Those first few days were tough. The doctor didn't give her any pain medication beyond Childrens' Tylenol. Thankfully, my friend, Anne S. hooked me up with some 'good stuff' from her tumble down the stairs. Don't panic, I broke the pill into thirds and Syd only wanted it for nighttime.

For the next month we had to return to Shanghai to have the incision cleaned and dressing/cast changed once a week. One of the visits, the doctor noticed the pin had worked itself out a bit. He starts to work it back in. For the first time, Syd screamed, but he kept grinding away. Just as I was about to jump over the table and throttle him, he stopped, saying it was back in far enough.
School work was a challenge. She missed over a week in total. Two of those days came during exam week. Most teachers were accommodating enough, but one told her she needed to learn how to write with her left hand. She was bummed as she really wanted to earn her pen license in Handwriting. I told her it wouldn't take her long next year. The little guy was told to keep his distance and her teacher did her best to watch. Syd did tell us of every encounter, but all were positive. I guess the threat of expulsion did the trick. The pin was removed without incident and we are now in the process of rehabilitating the frozen joint, which is no fun at all. The parents, after some prodding from the Junior School headmaster, paid our out-of-pocket expenses, saying they hope that is the end of it. "No more than I do, buddy", was my response.

The Finger Saga Part 1

Who knew one of the smallest bones in the body would be the center of attention for over a month.
It was back on May 3 and I was standing at the arrival gate in Shanghai waiting for Larry when at the same moment he came around the corner, my phone rang. "Melissa, this is Sydney's teacher. There's been an incident and it looks like her finger is broken. Can you come to the school immediately?" "Umm, no. Her father and I are two hours away!" Now what? After a flurry of phone calls back and forth between the school, Kowloon (ugh!) hospital and me it was decided one of the school's nurses would take Sydney and we'd meet them there. From what I initially gathered was a boy in Syd's class had kicked her. We were sure we'd get a more detailed, animated report from Syd.

Mr. Liu correctly assumed we were in a bit of a hurry to get to the hospital and made record time getting there. He normally drives NASCAR fast, but that day it was closer to Formula 1 speeds. Sydney had already been seen, x-rayed, consulted and treated by the time we arrived at the VIP wing of Kowloon. She had a nice popsicle stick jutting crookedly out from her finger, which was wrapped in a sticky ace bandage. We asked to talk to the doctor. He happened to be the same one who told me to stay off my feet for three weeks and my knee would be fine, while hawking giant lugeys into the trashcan by the exam table. He basically said the same thing regarding Syd's finger. "All would be healed in three weeks." The x-ray wasn't very clear, but a very distinct break could be seen. We asked if it needed to be set and the response was that it was such a small bone it wouldn't need to be.

When we got home, Larry immediately unwrapped it and held up her hand. The little finger was curving in a direction it shouldn't have been. "Looks like we'll be going to Shanghai, Syd".

We went to the same doctor who operated on my knee. He took another x-ray of her hand and it showed the top of the bone below the first knuckle to be completed separated and at an angle, causing her finger to curve. Blown up so large it looked gruesome, but he said it was so small that trying to put in a pin may not work. He wanted to try to set it then and there. Syd let him try for a bit, but it was too painful. He then asked if I wanted to try the surgery. I told him I didn't want my daughter to have a crooked finger. Surgery it was, the very next morning. Now, I was really angry.

Syd told us what happened and we were appalled. Evidently, while she was putting her lunchbox away, this boy grabbed her behind. When she turned around he grabbed her off-limits area. She screamed at him and ran out of the classroom. He chased after her and when she tripped, he started kicking her back and stomach in a rage. It was when she put her hand out to protect herself that he kicked her finger.

The Year 3s have been a bit of a handful all year with the kids giving the teachers fits. So, when we learned of this little boy's actions I wasn't all that surprised. It was only a matter of time before someone got hurt. What I was surprised with was the limited punishment he received, which was one day out of school suspension and one day sitting in the Junior School headmaster's office. He also had to write a letter of apology to Sydney. That was it. AND we learned this was the second time he'd groped a girl. We were told if he did anything 'of the sort' again he'd be expelled. Dear my, I sincerely hope that is the case. So, while Sydney was at the hospital having surgery, he was back in class.
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Daddy's 'Little' Girl

The time had finally arrived for the Girl Scouts' Daddy Daughter Dance. We'd been preparing for the day for a month. Three trips to the tailor, two hours getting fake nails put on, and an hour trying to figure out how to wear the hair culminated in a stunning "are you sure you're ten?" daughter.
I fought the urge to cry when she walked down the stairs. I am pretty sure Larry had to fight it, too. I also really wanted to sneak my way to the Renaissance, but knew this was daddy time. The play-by-play I was treated to upon their return was enough.
The entrance to the ballroom had been transformed into a red carpet paparazzi-filled venue. They posed next to a giant Oscar statue before entering the glitzy ballroom. Each girl received a wrist corsage and the dads got a boutonniere. Dinner, dancing and singing made the two hours go by fast. I asked if they danced together. Larry said he managed a couple of dances with her, but most of the time the girls danced together in a big circle. The highlight of the evening was the presentation of awards. Several girls were given a mini Oscar for their outfits, like 'Best Couple', 'Sparkliest Dress', 'Highest Heeled Shoes'. The final award was 'Best Red Carpet Dress' and it went to Katie. Larry said she was just beaming.

Next year the twins will be joining Girl Scouts with yours truly as their troop leader. When I told Larry he'd have three beauties on his arms next year, he rolled his eyes. Though, by the giant smile he has in the picture I don't think he'll be too put out about going again.

A New Audience

The Hip Hop dance club in which Syd partakes was invited to perform at the Suzhou Social Welfare Center's 2nd Annual International Day this past Sunday. The expats who volunteer at the center, which includes an orphanage, psychiatric hospital, and nursing home, helped organize the event. Similar (but not really) to the International Day at Dulwich, there were country booths manned by volunteers from their respective countries. Several hotels donated their time and food as well.

Sydney's dance teacher picked her and Cate S up at 8am. Anne and I decided to investigate this event. Neither one of us had been to this facility and we were both pleasantly surprised by the gorgeous grounds. We'd both heard horror stories and the areas not accessible to 'foreigners'. This event, however, brought in a lot of press, so only the positive was shown. We arrived about ten minutes early giving us a time to scope it out. The four-story building in which the event took place housed the elderly patients. We walked through one of the art studios and watched an old woman as she meticulously painted a picture. Some of the paintings that were hanging on the wall were absolutely beautiful.

Soon, the open common-area began to fill. The workers were wheeling, walking and carrying the very young to the very old. Everyone was freshly washed and wearing their Sunday best. I noticed all of the heartbreakingly adorable children had short hair, so there was no way to really tell the girls apart from the boys. Most of them were so excited. Only a couple appeared to be severely handicapped. Again, I'm quite sure only the best of the best were brought out. One of the volunteers told Anne that most of the children will get sick after eating all of the different foods because they mainly eat rice and noodles. The little tikes had their plates piled high with cupcakes, fruit, sandwiches, and cookies. I've often thought about volunteering, but we all know how I am with strays. Put me in a room full of pitiful children and I'll be taking out a loan, wanting to adopt the entire lot.
The two dance groups performed for the crowd, reporters and camera crews. It was quite a task for them to try to dance on astroturf, but they did their best. Afterwards, Syd and a couple of other girls were in great demand. They posed for pictures for a good five minutes.

Syd said to me later that day, "You know, it wasn't my usual audience, but it was still an audience." If that kid doesn't end up in front of a camera in some capacity I'll be very surpised.