Party All the Time

Some would call me a glutton for punishment. Others would say I thrive on chaos. Both, I guess, are accurate. After Katie's sleepover party last year, I hastily vowed to not go through that again. A year later and what do I do? Agree to another sleepover and, for the heck of it, double the numbers.

The onslought began Friday evening. Several of the girls rode the late bus home with mine and for the next sixteen hours the house was in complete disarray. All of the party guests arrived by seven. Presents were opened, sleeping bags were spread out, and snacks were devoured. Everyone changed into their swimsuits, and the gang headed down to the neighborhood pool. I had no idea twelve girls could make so much noise. My ears were ringing when we left an hour and half later.

More food was eaten, games were played, drama ensued, tears dried, "Happy Birthday" was sung, candles blown out, kareoke was played, movies were watched, more drama ensued, and finally, around two a.m. all were asleep.

I hoped they would sleep in the morning at least until seven, but madness resumed at six. They were dressed and outside by quarter to seven playing capture the flag. The morning was capped off when Larry came in with a butterscotch kitten.

All the girls were gone by ten. I told the parents that their daughters probably wouldn't make it through the day without a nap, but if they did, chances are they'd be pretty cranky.

As much as I want to swear off any more sleepvers, I know there are many more in my future. The twins have already said they want to have one in a couple of months. Give me strength.

Repeat Visit

Ok, so I swore when we arrived in China last year we would visit as many places as possible. There's so much to see here, we never have to go to the same place twice...except maybe once.

Back in April, the twins and their Year Two classmates went to the newly opened (of course, it's new) Suzhou Ocean Aquarium. It was so unbelievably crowded we didn't see everything and what we did see we certainly weren't able to linger. Wendy and her family invited us to meet them at the aquarium this past Saturday. Even though the twins and I had been, I figured it didn't really violate my self-imposed rule since Larry and Katie hadn't gone.

We arrived just before the last of the afternoon shows. The first one we went to was the Mermaid Show, which consisted of a girl in a mermaid costume diving down into the observation tanks and waving to the audience. I suppose some kids might fall for it, but of course, mine wanted to know why she was wearing goggles and nose plugs. The Dolphin Show was next. I use the term 'dolphin show' quite loosely as it mostly consisted of juggling clowns making balloon animals. Two seals performed first and five dolphins performed for a total of maybe ten minutes. I will say, the animals were better this time. The last show was a 3D movie. We had the entire theatre to ourselves. Unfortunately, both short movies were in Chinese.

When we came out of the little theatre we were able to really explore the aquarium since there were probably three other patrons in the entire place. The girls examined all the creatures and left their fingerprints on all the tanks. Quite a different place than it was back in April.

Construction

The entire country of China is under construction. Everywhere you look, there are tower cranes working on high rises. Roads are being built, railroad systems are expanding and airports are being enlarged. It's mind-boggling to actually witness an industrial, societal and economical...explosion of sorts as it's happening so quickly. Coming home one day from the store, I counted 42 cranes and I'm sure I missed many. However, these buildings are going up much faster than they are being filled. Hugh apartment complexes sit empty, shopping malls are deserted and failed stores are stripped down and demolished as quickly as they go up.

Construction has even invaded our neighborhood. Royal Peninsula, where we live, is about five years old. Each townhouse is individually owned and most are then rented out, like ours. Three units across the street are being completely gutted and renovated. I have pitied the poor families who live in between the units as the sounds of jackhammers, saws and drills have filled the air from 8am to 6pm everyday through the week for the past eight months. Now, I am in need of pity. The unit next door to us was sold, the family was told to move out and now it's being gutted and renovated. Dozens of workers are busy from dawn to dusk. A truckload of sand was dumped in our driveway. The machinery cannot be started until 8am, but, I swear, they set their watches and as soon as they click to 8, all hell breaks loose. When I don't have a driver or it's raining torrents forcing me to stay home, I've been popping Excedrin like it's candy. Today, I have gotten a bit of a reprieve. The jackhammering has temporarily stopped and they are removing the debris from the third floor. It's been quite an event to witness. With 'rope', which looks suspiciously like twisted fishing net, tied around the waist of one worker, they are lowering cement-filled bag after bag from the third floor balcony down to another awaiting worker, who has to sidestep the giant pile of sand and our basketball back post. Safety issues are not their top priority. When I took the pictures the guys all started laughing and pointing. I'm not sure who's watching whom as they seem to be looking at me everytime I glance out the window to watch them. Anyway, I hope these guys are quicker than the crews across the street or it's going to be a long fall, winter and spring.

Larry and I have commented how most of the chinese population cannot afford to shop in the stores that are currently being built, nor can they afford to live in the new housing complexes. An example, for instance, is Linda. Her monthly...yes, monthly salary is 700RMB. That's roughly $100. She said chinese people on average make around 1200-1500RMB a month and with that they have to pay for housing, food, etc. and give money to their parents. And they manage. One can sense a change is brewing, though. As more 'westerners' and their western ways embed themselves, the more the younger chinese generation begins to embrace those ways. Good or bad? Only time will tell.

Bullies

I worry about everything when it comes to my girls, most are inconsequential, others have me gritting my teeth at the very thought. Bullying falls near the molar grinding. It doesn't matter what school you attend or in which neighborhood you live, bullies are everywhere. They come in all shapes and sizes, and their mode of attack can be either physical or verbal. Stereotypically, boys use the physical while girls stick with the verbal assault, but both sexes know how to use both methods. I have been hit and have been called names. If you ask me which hurt more, I'd have to say the physical pain was gone in minutes, but I remember every hateful word the "MeanGirls" said. The old addage 'sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me' falls short...WAY short.
These memories are probably a bit keener than normal as my oldest is nearing the age when such meanness seems to appear. Boys, hormones, mood swings, and cliques are all coming into the pictures. She'll be ten next month and I know that's young, but I can see it coming. The little boy down the street, who would buy Katie flowers, wrote her a mean note, because his friends were teasing him for having a girl friend. Katie has always had boys as friends since before she could crawl, and now she seen what happens to those boys who cross the boy/girl line. She's a smart girl and understands it intellectually and it may have happened with her best "boy-friend" in the States had we stayed, but I know it hurt her feelings.
Larry and I have tried to teach all of our girls to stand up for themselves as well as for each other. Our methods are as different as we are, but the combination has provided for some well-rounded takes. There's another little fellow, who lives in the neighborhood and he's the same age as the twins, who has always been a bit of a storyteller. Last year, after rolling around on the ground and getting dirty, he told his mother that Sarah threw some special kind of sand at him that sticks to clothes. Unfortunately, I wasn't home when she came to our door and told Sydney they couldn't play together anymore. This year, he thought it would be fun to teach a three year old German boy the phrase "shut up". Katie told him he shouldn't be saying words like that to a little boy. The mother shows up. She wants Katie to stop giving him a hard time. I looked at this crazy woman and said "So let me get this straight, you're upset at Katie because your son taught a three year old to say shut up and Katie called him on it...just so we're clear".
Come to find out after the fact, he'd called Katie a rather hateful word and had kicked Sydney in the stomach at recess. I told the girls to stay away from him, and if he so much as breathed near one of them, I wanted them to fall on the ground and scream in pain so the whole school heard. Larry told them if he touched them they should knock his teeth in.
I waited with baited breath as they got off the bus the next day. They all looked like they were going to burst at the seams. Sydney was the first to tell her story. This little guy walked up to her on the playground and told her "My mom told your mom to shut up" and grabbed her arm. Sydney said she fell to the ground and started screaming, added a few tears to boot. She said everybody heard her and he just stood over her looking scared. The monitor took him to his teacher. Katie was next. She said he kept calling her name, but she ignored him. He kept saying "My mom told your mom to shut up", and he went to grab her arm. When he did, Katie shoved him back into his seat and said "If you ever touch me again, I'll knock in your teeth".
Guess what? No knocks on our door since. Now, if I can only keep the "Mean Girls" at bay for a few more years.

Solo Shopping

Taking a quick trip to the store is but a memory. When I want to go shopping for anything I either have to arrange my day around Larry's, get a taxi or hitch a ride with another expat. Oh, I could ride my bike, but after experiencing a few of the sudden thunderstorms that seem to pop up at random times, biking is my last resort. Going with friends is fun as the conversations are lively, but I never feel like I can linger or stroll. Women on a shopping excursion is serious business. Family shopping trips are similar, with more "I want this!" and "Are we done yet?" Last Friday, I had the rare treat of going to Shanghai by myself. I didn't have to worry about being back in time to meet the girls at the bus stop as Larry said he would be home. An entire day in Shanghai...where to start?
Our trip back home seriously depleted my purse supply. I'd also been eyeing some furniture for Katie's room and our bathroom. Everyone knows how I love my nicnacs, but I haven't been able to display them here...no shelves or bookcases. Mr. Liu made it downtown in record time. I only feared for my life a half dozen times. The World Expo has brought traffic levels to a new level of horror. First stop was the Nanjing Road market. This was my first time going solo, but my confidence at bargaining has increased. We have our favorite vendors and they know us, but seeing me by myself made them a bit bolder. Our electronics vendor told me the police had been there and she didn't have any movies or games, but could get some in a day. My girls' Nintendo DS charger got fried when they plugged it in here, so I managed to get a couple of those. My purse lady had also been raided and was very skiddish about showing me anything with a designer label. I managed to find the Coach bag I'd seen back in the States and a snazzy black Louis Vitton just because. On my way out, a horde of uniformed men came barreling by me into one of the stalls. They flashed their badges and began ransacking the shop. They bagged up all of the hidden DVDs and games. It was quietly terrifying. It reminded me of one of those nature shows where piranhas devour everything off their prey. The shop was stripped to the walls with the vendor left standing there with a piece of paper in his hand. I'm guessing either a hefty fine to pay or the location of where his inventory was being taken.
The next stop was Ikea. The girls and I went there one day, but I couldn't stop and look too long at any one thing as their attention span was ultra short. The place was mobbed with couples, families with rambunctious children and a few expat women going solo. I spent a couple of hours scanning the place and found a couple of pieces. Things got interesting at check out when an older chinese man cut in front of me and I looked at him and called him rude. He just said "Duibuqi", which is "I'm sorry". An older chinese women who was behind me asked if he was with me and I shook my head. She let this guy have it with all the fury she could muster. He stood there dumbfounded as she basically ripped him a new one, but in the end he left ahead of us and probably didn't give us another thought.
Last stop was the Hong Qiao market. This market isn't my favorite, but I was on a mission to find some DVDs and some new earrings. I get lost everytime I go in there, but managed to stumble upon my stores completely by accident. I found two of the three movies and two pairs of earrings. Many of the expat women have these lovely silk bags. I've been gawking at them for a year now, bargaining and then backing out. This little old man finally wore me down. He brought out his entire stock, letting me look at all of them. When he put one on his shoulder and walked around the store, I told him that did it.
We rode right into a whopper of a storm on the way home. Cars were stopped on the highway...stopped on the highway because it was raining so hard. I tried to capture some of the lightening shots, but wasn't quick enough. I also wasn't quick enough to capture the truckload of huge pigs, goats and a doubledecker sleeping bus.
I did manage to get home three minutes before the girls' bus and surprised them as they thought I would still be shopping. I told them it just wasn't as much fun without them clamouring for everything, which was partly true.

Rain...Lots of Rain

Suzhou is in the midst of its rainy season. This fact escaped me last year, either because we didn't get a lot of rain or I was too overwhelmed with everything else going on to notice. Showers will sprout up in a matter of minutes, last about that long and then the sun dries things in even less time. Now, I've seen plenty of gully washers, but yesterday I thought we were going to get washed into the canals.

After the girls returned from Mandarin camp, we all went to Auchen so they could get their hair cut. I must add that for less than it costs for one of them to get their hair cut in the US, all three got some styling 'dos'. Wash, head massage, cut, dry and style for fifteen RMB (roughly, $2.10).

When we were finished we treated ourselves to Dairy Queen. As we sat and people-watched we noticed folks coming in absolutely drenched. I'm not talking wet hair, I'm talking dripping wet from head to toe. Soon we saw everyone standing at the various entrances. The rain was coming down so hard it looked foggy. When my eyes finally were able to focus, I could see the torrents. Gutters were inundated, water overflowing like Victoria Falls...ok, maybe not that much.

For the next forty five minutes, while we went grocery shopping, it continued to rain. We came out of the parking garage into a newly formed lake. The streets were flooded and cars were stalled everywhere. What a mess. By the time we got home, however, the roads were already drying and the workers were out sweeping up the debris.

One of the things I haven't yet learned is to take in my drying laundry before I leave the house for the day. Chances are it's going to rain and something is going to get blown off the racks. I forget just about everytime and everytime I end up washing a few things over again. This particular storm put down so much rain that the clothes that did fall weren't lying on the ground, they were floating in about six inches of standing water. I waded out to gather the filthy mess and then had a slight panic attack as the water was only about an inch from coming over the door jam into the house and thunder was rumbling in the distance. You're probably thinking there must be a drain or something. Well, there is, but in an effort to fix the leaking second floor bathroom ceiling I think the repairmen just sealed off the third floor balcony drain. Absolutely no water was going down that thing.

So with thunder and lightening closing in, I called on my girls. With plastic cups as our scoops we threw water over the railing in our attempt at makeshift drainage. A couple of cups got tossed in the haste and we were all disgustingly sweaty and wet at the same time. Hopefully, this storm won't put down as much rain as yesterday's storm. Though, I did remember to bring in the laundry.

Time Change

It's hard to believe we've already been to the US for our summer visit and are back in China to start our second year. We all battled a stomach virus soon after our arrival last year and it appears as if the same is holding true for this year. It's hit Katie and I the hardest. Coupled with the stifling heat, about which I'm not complaining, merely mentioning, we've had a rough few days.

The flight back to China, which I was dreading due to the fact Larry wasn't with us, was long but tolerable. The girls are travelling troopers and can basically have fun anywhere with anything. Those screens on the back of the seats are life-savers or at least sanity-savers. We watched movies, television shows, listened to music and played games. I pitied the poor souls whose systems didn't work. They were offered "credits" or SkyMiles, but honestly, anything less than a free flight or upgrade to first class would not cover the loss.

Larry was waiting with an arrival sign "The Sunny Girls" in hand. We were so happy to be together again, but beyond tired. Unfortunately, we all got our second wind when we got to the house and it felt like we were never going to fall asleep. I unpacked two of the eight suitcases before the high wore off. I don't even consciously remember lying down, but I woke up around 3 a.m. That whole day was a blur. We went to get Rosie, who'd turned into a cat in a month, but she was healthy and still friendly so I was pleased with the care (considering the cost, she should have received VIP spa treatments). By 3 p.m. the Whitfield women, including the cat, were down for the count. And so the routine continued for the week.

Larry left for Dalien, but he really didn't miss much with us. I welcomed the morning sun each day and pittered out by dusk. We ventured out one late afternoon in an attempt to stay awake. It wasn't pretty. Sarah fell asleep on the way there and almost passed out into her dinner plate. Bribery by ice cream helped, but we only prolonged our day by a couple of hours.

The heat, about which I'm still not complaining, makes everyday tasks a bit more sticky. I mean that literally. The humidity is ruthless. Cleaning house takes place first thing in the morning. Laundry is actually not bad, things dry outside in about fifteen minutes. Thankfully, we got some good news that our neighborhood pool opened. It's an indoor pool that right now is quite refreshing. We've been a half dozen times as an afternoon 'pick-me-up'. The girls are quite adept at swimming and many of the other residents stand there watching them, which they of course relish.

It took about ten days to get my internal clock situated, just in time to get hit with a stomach bug. Katie came down with it first and missed a day of Mandarin camp at Dulwich. I thought she was faking, but when it hit me I profusely apologized before running to the bathroom. We took turns for the next forty-eight hours. She's feeling better so I guess there's light at the end of the tunnel for me. Larry's lucky he's in Korea this week, but we did manage to squeeze in a birthday celebration for him before he left.

The girls start school in a week and tomorrow I have to go buy their new uniforms. The twins are going to have to learn how to tie a tie, which means I guess I'll finally have to learn how to tie a tie. Linda and I have resumed our Chinese/English lessons. Rehearsals for Snow White start in a couple of weeks. It's still difficult to comprehend sometimes that we're actually here getting into a routine of sorts, but we are.

And so begins our second year...