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.

Sulzer Family Day

The last weekend in May turned into one of our busiest weekends to date. We were up and out of the house Saturday morning for play rehearsal at Dulwich. All three girls are in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat". They have learned their lines and memorized their songs. Now the times comes for blocking and staging. I've offered my assistance, but the teachers don't want any stage moms just yet. The rehearsals were slated to go until 1pm, but Sulzer's big family day was also taking place. We'd already missed the morning factory tour, but since we'd already seen the place we figured we weren't missing too much. The afternoon show at the Science and Technology Center sounded much more appealing. The event was supposed to take place the previous weekend, but some government officials had swooped in and demanded the entire venue. Larry had already made arrangements and paid for a golf outing, which left us girls to represent the Whitfields.
We arrived towards the end of the buffet lunch...chinese style, leaving the girls hungry. I tried picking out bits of chicken and shrimp from the colorful entrees, but they turned their noses up.
After lunch, we were herded into one of the performance halls. The four expat families and the GM were then escorted to their VIP tables. Now, I'm all for VIP treatment, but I think there's a time and a place for it. It's not like we need any more help standing out. The girls, however, got a kick out of being seated at their own table with Larry's name prominently featured. A slide show was playing of the past year's factory construction and opening. If you look really close in the group picture, Larry's in the back right.
Presentations and announcements were made, the GM spoke and songs were sung...all in chinese. We smiled and nodded and smiled some more when folks wanted to take our, or should I say, the girls' picture. Just when they started to get a little antsy the show began. We were treated to a collection of dances, acrobatics, songs, and even some rollar skating. It was a wonderful little performance, showcasing the chinese culture and tradition. I adored every minute of it and could have stood another hour. The girls, of course, wanted more swinging people and death defying tricks. It is becoming increasingly more difficult to entertain them. It's almost as if the fact that we're living in China is no big deal any more. The sights that still mesmorize me, bore them.
"Been there, done that. What's next?"

A Slice of Suburbia

With the deteriorating state of this townhouse, the cruddy internet and satellite reception, mold, and impending rent increase, Larry and I decided it was time to search for a new place to live. When we first looked, we really liked a particular compound for its western-style homes and grounds. However, we felt (or should I say, I felt) it was too far out from the main drag. What a difference two years can make. It is still a bit of a jaunt from the areas with which we are familiar, but so much has been built out there, we decided we just need to expand our horizons.

Our 'relocation guy' as I call him, John, showed me three homes in the neighborhood and I instantly liked the first one. Honestly, he probably could have shown me the worse one in there and I would have liked it. The stairs and tomb-like interior of this townhouse have taken its toll on me. I almost got tears in my eyes when I saw one of the two kitchens with all western appliances AND outlets. This means all of my kitchen accessories (blenders, toasters, and George Foreman grill) will work without blowing any fuses.

All of the bedrooms are on the same floor, which means I will actually be able to sleep in my own bed. Carpeted floors will prevent the sound of echoing footsteps and bellowing conversations. There is a front porch and a fenced in backyard with room enough for a chicken coop (yes, three of the blasted chicks are still alive and pooping up a storm in the interior grilling room. They look like little chemo chicks as they are losing their fuzzy feathers for grown-up feathers). The family room furniture is completely hideous and way too big for the room, but I will deal with it. Cats will have to be declawed as it's all leather and I've seen what they can do to fine leather purses.

The girls are excited and sad. They love the new house, but they love their friends in this compound. The ease with which they can just pop over to play will be sorely missed. However, I am certain their relationships will continue and new ones will be formed. As with everything else they've done, they will take Green Lake Gardens by storm.

Tai Tai Life

As we are nearing the end of our second year, I think back to when we first arrived. Back when I was itching to work, swearing I'd go crazy if I had to be a "Tai Tai", a housewife. I immediately started taking Chinese lessons and planned to be employed before we left for our first summer break.

Well, I am still learning Chinese with the help of the Rosetta CDs and Mr. Liu, but as Larry predicted, the search for gainful employment has stalled. Every once and a while, the urge to join the ranks hits, but quite frankly, I'm busier now not working than I was when I did work.

I've mentioned how it takes four times as long to do any one task. Grocery shopping is an all-day event. Laundry with my itty bitty washer is depressingly painstaking. I've ironed more in the past two years than in my previous forty-one. The school always needs volunteers and I love the fact that I can help whenever. I don't have to take a vacation day in order to go on field trips.

I also love the new social events and the gorgeous locations these events take place. I haven't been to many this year with all of the accidents and injuries that have befallen the Whitfield women. However, this past week I attended a wine-tasting lunch and had a great time. We sampled one champagne, three whites and three reds. Yes, I had a slight headache when the girls came home from school that day, but for a couple of hours I truly felt like an expat "Tai Tai".

Social Butterflies

I remember when going to a friend's birthday meant picking up a six-pack, or a bottle of wine if it was really fancy, doning my nicest pair of jeans and standing around someone's kitchen or a local drinking hole, waiting for the burgers to cook.

Last weekend, Larry and I went to our first dress-coded birthday party for our friend Brett. I'd never heard of "Chinese Cocktail Chic" , but figured our tailor had. Of course, like with most things, I waited until the last minute and was concerned the dress wouldn't be finished in time. No worries as it turned out as I do believe they thrive on deadlines. Larry had his attire all planned and pressed.

We had roughly thirty minutes to transform ourselves from International Day patrons to glitzy party goers. Thankfully, Mr. Liu is perhaps the fastest driver in Suzhou, maybe even Jiang Su province.
Upon arrival we were directed to the Presidential Suite and handed a glass of champagne. Delicate music from a chinese string quartet played softly in the background as we mingled with friends. Everyone was complimenting each other on their mode of dress. We strolled through the courtyard, where the servers were busy slicing roasted duck, and past the kitchen as the general manager put the finishing touches on the seafood buffet. The large outdoor patio was filled with tables that overlooked the hotel.

Natalie, Brett's wife, was the perfect hostess. She'd planned the entire shindig and left nothing to chance. Emails from far away friends, a cute movie from his Aussie co-workers and toasts that warmed even the coldest hearts made for a lovely evening. We even met some new folks towards the end of the evening. A very distinguishable southern accent was detected, so we introduced ourselves. The couple was from Alabama and had us laughing the entire shared taxi rode home. His accent is a combination of Larry the Cable Guy and Paula Dean. He and my Larry instantly hit it off. While getting dressed up every once and a while is fun, according to them, "You can take the boy out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boy".

Tastes of the World

Preparations for this year's Dulwich International Day began, I imagine, shortly after last year's event ended. The parents' group, Friends of Dulwich, does a great job organizing the fundraising event. It is a fabulous day of food, music, arts and crafts, and games. Each country that is represented at the College is responsible for organizing a booth, complete with traditional food and trinkets. More than thirty countries put their best tastes forward and close to 150,000RMB was raised.

I worked the drink booth and the USA booth, but had plenty of time to sample foods from Mexico, Austria, Korea and France. The UK booth had an advantage over the rest of the booths as it was somehow able to sell an 'adult only' beverage. I was going to boycott them, but couldn't resist trying my first Pimm's.

A New Ride

When we first arrived in China, one of the first purchases we made was a set of wheels for each of the girls. They'd started to learn to ride at my parents that summer, and we'd promised to get each of them a bike. Sydney made sure we didn't forget.

A year and half later, they've all outgrown those bikes. Now that the weather is nice, the girls spend almost all of their afterschool daylight outside. On weekends, they get up even earlier than school days and are raring to go.

The weekend before the 'finger break', Sarah went to a birthday party. Syd decided it was an opportune time to find a new bike. So, we dropped Sarah off and headed to Old Town in search of Giant bike store. Larry thought it was near the Howard Johnson. As we headed down one street, I noticed all of the these kitchen accessories stores. I pulled out my taxi cards and asked Mr. Liu if we were on "kitchen street", a street I'd been wanting to visit. We were. Katie and I jumped out and planned to walk to Howard Johnson, which appeared to be a straight shot, and meet up with Syd and Larry. Unfortunately, my cell phone was dead and the hotel ended up being much farther away than initially anticipated.

After picking up a new grater and strainer, Kate and I started walking and walking and walking. We stumbled down some pretty interesting streets. We saw a man carving out a wooden tub with a chisel, and we also saw chickens in various stages of disembowelment. A woman was just finishing up washing the freshly plucked feathers and was stuffing a blanket with those same feathers. Katie, of course, stopped and talked with all of these folks. No fear, no worries, just making new friends.

About an hour later, we finally found Larry sitting on the steps of the Howard Johnsons with a not so happy look on his face. Evidently, the bike store turned out to be their scooter store and I had the bank card. So much for impulsiveness. Oh well, Syd got her new bike, while Katie and I had an adventurous stroll, seeing things we'll never forget.

Don't feel bad for Sarah and Katie. The following weekend they got new bikes, too.

Junior School Sports Day

The Dulwich year is coming to an end. The month of May is filled with cumulative activities, including musical performances, academic testing and the athletic competitions. The Junior School's Sports Day is a particular favorite as it is a heated competition amongst the Houses of Shackleton (of which my girls are members), Anand, Howard and Wing. If you are not familiar with Houses, just watch Harry Potter. The girls say their house is most like Harry's house of Gryffindor, and Wing is like Slytherin. This only slightly clears things up for me, but I get the gist of it.

The temperature was perfect for the kids, but the wind was brisk for those of us watching in the stands. The younger juniors were the first to run. Sarah and Sydney lined up with the other Year 3 girls for the 800M, which is two times around the track. I was worried about Sydney since she'd had her finger broken the previous day (another story for another day), but she was determined to run. They both did well. Syd finished fourth and Sarah finished sixth. They each had to run in the 4x100M relay and their teams won. Sarah...little Sarah was on the tug of war team. Needless to say, they did not win. They switched to the field events and the older juniors came to the track. By the way, Sarah finished first in the long jump, which I missed.

Katie was chosed to run the 800M as well. She was nervous because she didn't want to let her team down. The other Year 6 girls were off in a shot with Katie plugging along behind them. She ran the entire first lap, but started to slow on the back half. One of the other teams' mum was watching her daughter on the field events, but saw Katie struggling and started running with her. The entire school was cheering her on as she rounded the final turn and sprinted as much as Katie can sprint to the finish line. Once again, the sportsmanship of all the kids brought tears to my eyes. Katie was awarded an effort point for her determination.

Shackleton finished second to Wing and the kids should all be proud of their efforts.

I did notice, however, the effort put forth on one of the Friends of Dulwich tents was not so apparant. Look closely.

Tea for Two

Katie joined Girls Scouts last fall and has really enjoyed being a part of the troop. She's earned a half dozen badges and has taken a keen interest in many of the tasks they've done. Last month, we baked (ahem, cough, cough) ten dozen cookies for a charity bake sale. They are preparing for their end of the year bridging ceremony, finishing up badge work and excited for the first Daddy Daughter Dance in a few weeks. I even got caught up in the fun and volunteered my services as a troop leader for next year.
The meetings are Mondays after school and since they were off, their leader decided to host an afternoon tea at the Renaissance. So, the mums and girls got dressed in their best 'teatime attire', arrived promptly and were treated to a lesson in tea etiquette. One of the restaurant's managers told the girls about the various teas, and the appropriate times those teas should be served. We were then introduced to Ms. Manners, who happened to be one of my minions from Snow White. She showed the girls and a few of the mums the proper way to hold the teacup and saucer, when to take the first sip and how to sit. Katie was chosen as host, so all the girls waited until Katie gave the go ahead to fill their plates with goodies. They also had to wait until Katie took her first bite and sip as custom would have it.
I am not a big tea drinker. I know, I know. I live in a country that basically survives on tea, and oh, how I've tried to like it. I'll drink it if it's my only option. But, I'd much rather have a good ol' Diet Pepsi or coffee. A couple of the other mums ordered coffee. Not sure what etiquette says about coffee and all, I asked Ms. Manners if the saucer is raised with the a cup of coffee as well. Her response, "You have a saucer don't you?" Well , I guess I was told.
pictures to come