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.